New habitats are created for wild goats, lynxes, marmots, etc. But the competition does not sleep, so the value of different animal species changes from round to round. Finally, points are awarded only for the largest group of each animal species. This requires special vigilance and flexibility, as well as attention to the activities of competitors.

There are 40 tiles in Alpino that depict animals in different landscapes. Each one of them has animal figures or a watering can. Depending on the number of players, the appropriate number of tiles is placed face up in the center of the table each round. Before you start, you should also place scoring tiles with different types of animals and watering cans in a row. Throughout the game, we learn how valuable each type of animal or watering can is. At the beginning, everyone receives a secret tile that can potentially turn the tide at the end of the game and thus ensure tension until the end. The game consists of many rounds, each of which brings new challenges and opportunities. Each round is divided into three phases. In phase 1, you must expand your own area: in your turn, you choose one of the face-up tiles and place it on your own screen. As with dominoes, you can only place them if at least one type of landscape on the new tile matches at least one adjacent type of landscape on a tile that has already been placed. If this is not the case, the tile can be flipped over. There are two water sources on the back of each tile that you can place anywhere in your area. Once everyone has done this exactly once, Phase 2 begins: increasing the animal population. The person with the initial tile grabs the remaining landscape tile in the market and slides it under the appropriate scoring tile, like a lynx. This means that the area with the highest frequency of lynx is now worth two points. Once Phase 3 arrives, preparations are made for the next round. This repeats until no more landscape tiles can be placed. Now things get interesting, a secret tile is involved. Each person in turn places it anywhere in their area, which may result in the largest group of a given animal species. Because only then do you get points. Their number depends on the number of landscape tiles between the points. Points are awarded for each of the five types of animals and the watering cans. Whoever scores the most points overall wins this tactical game for the whole family.