In Birdie, 2-4 players are bird watchers enjoying the colorful display of different birds throughout the seasons. The game is played over two rounds, with a scoring phase taking place at the end of each. Each turn, a player will either take cards that share a matching element into their hands, or they will play a set of cards to roost in their score pile. (Cards have been placed in a score pile may not be examined until the end of the game.) Collected bird cards may also be saved, instead of being sent to roost, in order to trigger the special ability of each bird during the scoring phase. In the scoring phase, each player will reveal and display their collection in a horizontal line, without changing the order of the cards. Points are primarily scored by sets of adjacent cards that have a matching bird or sets with a matching season, which are recorded using the included dry-erase markers and player boards. The player boards are where you will find the twist that makes Birdie so enjoyable. Pictured on each board are the four seasons and four bird types (pigeon, owl, woodpecker, and robin). Each category can score exactly once during the game. Therefore, if you score a set of 4 robins in the first round but manage to collect 8 robins in the second, you cannot improve your score for robins. Players must take care to choose the right time to score each type of bird and season.