Photosynthesis Tree Score Calculator
Photosynthesis Tree Score Calculator
Estimate tree score from sun points, shadow pressure, harvested soil tiles, living canopy, seeds, phase timing, and endgame bonuses.
Use this calculator during a Photosynthesis round check or final count. It combines harvested soil values with current sun income, live tree potential, shadow risk, and remaining cycle pressure.
☀Scenario Presets
🌳Tree Board Inputs
Crowding affects shadow risk and tile race pressure.
Later phases weight harvest timing more heavily.
Direction note is echoed in the breakdown for table talk.
Represents the next large tree harvest target.
Unspent points available before the next action.
Count of completed scoring tiles in your supply.
Sum printed point values from collected tiles.
Seeds add future reach but can sit inside shadows.
Each small tree can earn 1 sun when unshadowed.
Each medium tree can earn 2 sun when unshadowed.
Only large trees can harvest soil tiles.
Shadowed seeds reduce your next growth tempo.
Small trees blocked by taller or equal trees score no light.
Medium shadows often decide whether a large grow is reachable.
A blocked large tree loses 3 sun this direction.
Count light rotations remaining before final scoring ends.
Projected Score
0
points
Next Sun Income
0
sun points
Harvest Potential
0
tile points
Shadow Pressure
0%
canopy blocked
📊Forest Component Snapshot
6Light directions in one sun revolution
1/2/3Sun income from small, medium, large trees
2/3Seed reach from medium and large trees
LargeRequired tree size for soil harvest
📘Soil Tile Value Reference
| Tile Zone | Common Values | Best Use | Calculator Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Center spaces | 22, 21, 20, 19 | Early large-tree harvests | Highest harvest potential |
| Inner ring | 18, 17, 16, 15 | Reliable midgame scoring | Strong projected score base |
| Middle ring | 14, 13, 12, 11 | Secondary harvest route | Moderate endgame gain |
| Outer ring | 10, 9, 8, 7 | Fast access and seed spread | Lower tile score, better tempo |
☀Sun and Shadow Reference
| Tree Size | Sun Earned | Shadow Length | Growth Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | 0 sun | No scoring shade | Future space claim |
| Small tree | 1 sun | 1 space | Cheap growth base |
| Medium tree | 2 sun | 2 spaces | Seed placement engine |
| Large tree | 3 sun | 3 spaces | Harvest and long shadow |
⚙Action Timing Table
| Action | Typical Sun Need | Board Signal | Score Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plant seed | 1 to 3 sun | Open lanes near taller trees | Raises future canopy count |
| Grow small | 1 to 3 sun | Seed outside heavy shade | Adds light income |
| Grow medium | 3 to 7 sun | Good seed reach needed | Improves income and spread |
| Grow large | 7 to 8 sun | Tile stack still attractive | Sets up harvest score |
| Harvest large | 4 sun | Top tile value beats growth | Locks printed points |
🧩Player Count and Phase Grid
| Scenario | Open Space | Shadow Load | Scoring Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-player duel | High | Lower | Center tile race and clean income |
| 3-player grove | Medium | Moderate | Balance tile value and tempo |
| 4-player forest | Low | High | Harvest before lanes close |
| Final revolution | Varies | High impact | Convert large trees into tiles |
Harvest timing: A large tree beside a strong tile should usually be measured against the sun it would earn across the remaining light directions.
Shadow reading: Count blocked tree sizes separately. A shadowed large tree is a much bigger income miss than a blocked small tree.
The game of Photosynthesis is a game in which the direction of the light move across the six edges of the game board, and the shadows that the trees creates impact the other trees on the board. Each tree that a player plants create shadows that can impact the other trees on the board; the shadows can help some of those trees while others may be negativeley impact by those shadows. Players must think ahead about the layout of the trees on the board several turn into the future, as considering only one move at a time isnt an efficient strategy for the game.
One tool that players use to determine their position relative to other players on the board is the scoring estimate for the game. This number provide a single number to each player that represents the total value of that player’s position on the board, allowing players to make comparisons between players. There are several different input into the calculation of the scoring estimate for the game.
How to Use the Photosynthesis Score Calculator
Some of the most important are the number of large trees that are currently in sunlight, the number of seeds that is sitting in the shadow of another tree, and which soil tile a player is currently reaching before the light change to a new direction. These three factors are important to a player in that they help to determine whether the player should be placing sunlight into growing trees or into harvesting a soil tile. Other factors in the game, such as the number of small trees that is on the board or the number of extra seeds that a player controls, are important only in that they will feed or block one of the three important factor.
The only way to gain points on the game that a player keeps in their score is through the acquisition of soil tiles. Additionally, each large tree on the board can earn three sun value every time the light reach that large tree. A large tree that is sitting adjacent to a soil tile of high value may appear to be worth pursuing by a player, but a player must also consider whether the points from that tile are worth more than the sun values that the players trees will lose once the remaining direction of the light pass over those trees.
This calculator is used to calculate these values once a player has determined their current state of the game, and it avoid the guesswork of players who would otherwise try to determine these values themselves. Through using this calculator, many player have discovered that they are either harvesting their trees too early or too late relative to the rest of there opponents. Crowding trees together is a factor in the calculation of the scoring estimate that a player can easyley under-estimate.
With four players in a game, for instance, the outer ring of the game board will quickly become filled with trees from each player. A medium tree may be safe from blocking another tree in a two player game, but that same medium tree may prevent another large tree from receiving its sunlight during a complete revolution with four player on the board. The calculator also produce a pressure number for players to view that represents the cost of crowding trees together.
If the pressure number is high, the move that should be made is to early harvest a shadowed large tree and replant that same tree. The phase that the game is in is another factor that is as important to a successful player as the trees themselves. During the early phase of the game, a large tree is more valuable for the sun values that it will produce during the game, as there are more revolutions of the game that will occur with the players.
During the late phases, however, a large tree may be a liability for a player if it is not adjacent to a soil tile that the player claims. The calculator allow for players to adjust the settings that relate to the games current phase. This setting will influence the value of future harvests of trees and the value of the points that can be gathered with the current trees on ones forest.
The calculator cannot factor in the game elements of table talk and the advantages of the other player who know the players’ scores. A player may appear to be behind in harvested soil tiles, for instance, but have the best trees for large tree. Another player may be one step away from claiming one of the best soil tiles on the board.
These situations are rewarded for those who count the shadows of their trees. Thus, the calculator provide a player with a baseline score, but a player must also read the table to the opponents to make necessary adjustments to their baseline score. Finally, the forest reward patience and timing more than it does raw aggression from the players.
A player who immediately begins harvesting their trees when their tree come into contact with a valuable soil tile is potentially leaving sun values behind that could be used to create another tree. A player who waits too long to harvest, however, risks having another player claim their soil tile. Thus, one of the benefit of using the scoring calculator is that it help a player to make such a decision before the next direction of the light move across the game board.
