Board Games Top 10: Featuring Everdell
Time passes and seasons change, but the critters of Everdell keep working to build the best city they can.
The Weekly Board Games Top 10
“The Hotness” on BoardGameGeek is a list of the currently most popular games, as based on views. This week brings us these winners:
| 1. Root |
| 2. Caverna: The Forgotten Folk |
| 3. The Ancient World |
| 4. Gloomhaven |
| 5. Everdell |
| 6. Hail Hydra |
| 7. Futuropia |
| 8. Brass: Lancashire |
| 9. Terraforming Mars |
| 10. KeyForge: Call of the Archons |
Root is maintaining it’s top spot from last week, which is no surprise, considering the reception it is getting. Gloomhaven, Everdell, Brass: Lancashire, and KeyForge are all sticking around from last week as well. Since it’s only an expansion, we won’t be going over Caverna: Forgotten Folk today, but I did want to give it a shout out. It began as a fan project that gained so much attention, the publisher decided to make it an official expansion! I love when things like that happen. Similarly, since The Ancient World is getting attention for the Kickstarter for it’s second edition, we’ll not be discussing it today either. Today, we WILL be looking at Everdell. We’ve seen Everdell hovering around on The Hotness for a few weeks, so I thought it was time it got it’s due.
Everdell
Everdell is a competative worker placement and city building game. Players take the role of woodland creatures each trying to build the best possible city.
On each players turn, they will take one of three actions.
- Place a worker
- Play a card
- Collect workers for next season
Placing a worker
When placing a worker, the player puts one of their workers on any location on the board showing a paw print.
Once the worker is placed, it will remain there until they are retrieved using the ‘collect workers for next season’ action. With each placed worker, the player will gain the resources listed on the sign next to that paw print space; twigs, resin, pebbles, berries or even cards and victory points. Closed circle spaces are limited to 1 worker, but spaces with an open circle can have any amount of workers placed there.
Additionally, workers can be placed on special locations for more unique benefits and on certain building cards for the bonus listed on those cards.
Note the paw print space on the Post Office
Playing Cards
Cards can be played either from the player’s hand or from the shared supply of cards in the Meadow, in the center of the game board.
In either case, the player pays the resource cost listed in the top left of the card and places the card in their play area. A player can only have 15 cards in their city.
Cards can be either Constructions or Critters. Constructions and Critters can be purchased separately, even though Critters have associated Constructions. However, if a player already has the associated Construction within their city, they can gain the associated Critter for no cost, assuming they have the card in their hand or it is available in the Meadow.
In addition to various bonuses and actions the buildings grant, they also reward the player with victory points at the end of the game, as noted on the central right on the card, in the yellow circle.
Prepare for Next Season
When a player decides to prepare for the coming season, they collect all of the workers they have on the board and add them back to their supply.
Additionally, the top of the Evertree shows a bonus granted at the end of that season; additional workers for next season and either the option to trigger certain building abilities again or drawing cards from the Meadow.
While it might seem slightly unusual, players do not have to wait for other players to pass into the next season before they are allowed to do so. So, it’s possible for one player to be placing workers in Spring while another player is still playing in Winter.
Scoring
After passing out of Autumn, a player will take no further actions. Once all players have passed out of Autumn, the game is over and scoring begins. Players tally up points scored during the game, through cards, events and other bonus events and add all the points gained from their buildings. Whichever player has the most points wins the game!
Everdell is a very cute tableau building game. While it might not bring anything revolutionary to the genre, it’s a strong and solid game and certain to be a hit for anyone who likes seeing their city come to life.
There’s been a small influx of woodland critter themed games recently, but I certainly don’t mind it. With so many years of having every big game be tough and gritty, I’m glad things are starting to even out and games are being themed about more light-hearted and cheerful things. But maybe I’m just being sappy.
From Starling Games
Everdell – $80 – Available Aug 31
From Everfrost to Bellsong, many a peaceful year have passed in Everdell — but the time has come for new territories to be settled and new cities to be established. You will be the leader of a group of critters intent on just such a task. There are buildings to construct, lively characters to meet, events to host— you will have a busy year ahead of you! Will the sun shine brightest on your city before the winter moon rises?
- 1 – 4 Players
- 20 Minutes per player
- Ages 14+
~Get it? “I’m being sappy” and it’s a game about a tree? Right? Eh? eh?
