Field guide

Every issue begins with an animal. These are the field notes: the real behavior each rule was translated from, with sources.

Vol.1 Animalsreal behavior, before it became a rule

AALTERNAPill bug
APill bugArmadillidium vulgareThe pill bug alternates turns at every wall. Place stones so it eats every leaf.Being written.
BBEAVERDAMBeaver
BBeaverCastor canadensisPush logs to build a dam and sink the lodge entrance. Rising water floats the logs you placed.Being written.
DDung beetleScarabaeusThe dung ball rolls in a straight line until it hits something or drops into a burrow.Being written.
EElectric eelElectrophorus electricusPlug your head into + and your tail into − at the same time to light the lamp. Touching your own body shorts you out; a fish makes you one longer, a jellyfish one shorter.Being written.
FFire antSolenopsis invictaPress left or right and the whole colony walks together. An ant in water becomes a raft, two ants side by side can roll a rock. Bring the required number of ants home.Being written.
GGiraffeGiraffa camelopardalisStretch or lower the neck, bite a crate and carry it, and eat every leaf. A crate dropped on a leaf squashes it.Being written.
HHermit crabPaguroideaStep into an empty shell to move into it. When a shell exactly one size bigger is left empty beside another crab, it moves in and a vacancy chain begins. Reach the sea.Being written.
IIndigo buntingPasserina cyaneaPick a star and the 8 cells around it turn 90° clockwise. Fill every ring with a star to complete the constellation.Being written.
JJapanese honeybeeApis cerana japonicaMove one honeybee one step; the hornet takes one step toward the hive. Block all four sides of the hornet (at least two bees) and the heat ball takes it down.Being written.
KKiwiApteryxStab the soil: a worm is eaten, a miss leaves a number — how many worms are in the 3×3 around it. Every stab costs a moon; eat every worm before the last moon sets.Being written.
LLeafcutter antAttaCut a leaf piece, carry it through the tunnels (turn it only where there is room) and lay it exactly on the gaps of the fungus garden. Use every piece and fill the whole garden.Being written.
MMONARCH RELAYMonarch butterfly
MMonarch butterflyDanaus plexippusA butterfly flies as many steps as its lifespan. Lay an egg on milkweed; the next generation starts from the chrysalis. Reach the forest.Being written.