Everdell (2018)
Designed by: James A. Wilson
Produced by: Starling Games
Players: 1-4
Age: 14+
Play Time: 20 min/player
Overview: Play as the woodland creatures to build up your city within the valley of Everdell. In this worker placement game you are play as a crew of cute critters, gathering resources to build your city, and building your city to score and prosper.
Main Mechanics:
Worker Placement
Hand Management
Resource Management
Tableau Building
Components Review: It's no surprise that Everdell thrives in this area. This game is probably the prettiest in my collection. Everdell is beautiful with incredible components and art. I have the Collector's Edition, so that is what I'll be referencing.
The cardboard components include the box, game board and 3D Ever Tree. The board is large and a real table hog, but with its irregular shape, combined with the Ever Tree, it has a wonderful table presence. Speaking of the Ever Tree, this 3D cardboard tree adds to the theme, but doesn't just take up place, it serves as place to hold the deck as well as extra meeples and event card. Lastly the box is sturdy and hold all of the components well.
The cards have a linen finish with really immersive art. The cards drive the game and, while feeling great, make everything streamlined and easy to understand. The 3D components are simply fantastic. The custom critter meeples add such a charm to the game, while the 3D resources make the world seem so much more full. Overall, Everdell is so well produced.
Gameplay Review: Everdell is played over 4 asynchronous seasons. Each season, players choose from 3 action options, and take as many actions as they want/can, until they decide to prepare for the next season. On their turn, players can either: place a worker, play a card, or prepare for the next season. Players start the game with only two workers, so the place a worker action feels so important in the first few seasons. Players might place a worker to gain resources, visit a location, or host an event, which (other than events) generally help players play cards. In playing cards, players either attract a new critter to their city or build a new location, which can score points or make resources easier to get. In preparing for the next season, players receive more workers, which is a really interesting mechanic. Play continues until all players finish all seasons and can't take any more actions.
This one is really fun. The worker placement is super solid; Starting with only two actions makes each of your actions feel important from the very beginning. The five card types make for a variety of viable strategies. And the art and theme, keep you engaged the entire time.
Final Thoughts: I'm sad I waited so long to join the Everdell bandwagon. I know I'm pretty late to the table with this one, but I'm so glad I finally played it. Everdell is so fun! I love worker placement games and this one is excellent; The way workers are gained as the game goes on makes each decision feel important and each season builds well. There's really not much I can add that hasn't already been said about Everdell. I guess, if you're on the fence, just climb down and buy this game already!! After two plays, I really regretted not backing the expansions all well, but don't worry, I've already ordered them both! Can't wait to play Everdell again.
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