The Japanese term "bonsai" means "planted in a pot." A bonsai is a living work of art, a perfect miniature plant, identical in every aspect to its full-sized counterpart, but smaller.
In the board game Bonsai, players take on the role of expert bonsai masters attempting to cultivate their own bonsai tree. The player who grows the best bonsai will be chosen to showcase their tree in the Imperial Gardens.
On your turn, you choose and perform one of two actions: meditate or cultivate. If you meditate, select one of the face-up cards on the board and take it, along with the bonsai tokens represented beneath the card you pick.
If you cultivate, you can place tiles from your personal reserve onto your bonsai. You can place as many tiles as the total number of symbols shown on your seishi tile and any or all of your growth cards. Each symbol allows you to place one tile of the corresponding type.
During the turn in which your bonsai meets or exceeds the requirements of a goal tile still in the middle of the table, you must immediately decide whether to claim that tile or forgo it in an attempt to achieve a more challenging goal tile.
When the last card from the deck is revealed, the end of the game is triggered. Each tile in your bonsai is worth a specific number of points.