Sorry, ‘Stardew Valley’, ‘Mythwind’ Truly Embraces Cozy Village-Sim as a Board Game
Mythwind is a game with no end, where players build unique characters and relationships in a mystical valley of magical sprites.
Sometimes, it’s tough to really see something for what it is and isn’t, until you have something else to compare it to. That’s how I currently feel about Stardew Valley: The Board Game. Back when it was released, I praised how the Stardew Valley: Board Game perfectly captures the magic of the video game. However, now that I’ve seen Mythwind, I didn’t realize how wrong I was.
Mythwind Overview
As stated, Mythwind truly leans into the “cozy” game vibe. It’s a game with no concrete conclusion. There is a story to follow, and seasons will change. But it’s up to the players how long that will take and if the end of the story is even the end of the game. Plus, players can pause playing at any time by “saving” the game using the excellently designed player trays.
The core gameplay of Mythwind is a cooperative worker placement style of game. Players will be gathering resources like culture, wealth, production, and food and spending them on additional buildings for the village.
Each day, players will be able to take a town action based on the buildings they have completed and a character action that’s unique to themselves. During each season, the players will have certain goals to work towards and will have to make choices based on random events.
Each character in Mythwind has a unique system for how they interact with the game. Longtime readers will know I’m a huge sucker for any level of asymmetrical gameplay and unique character mechanics. But Mythwind turns it up to 11.
This is best evidenced by the fact that you can find full 20+ minute video tutorials on how to play each character. However, don’t take this as a sign that Mythwind is overly complicated. This is only highlighting how unique each character really is.
It’s up to the players how they want to engage with the narrative story the game offers. It’s up to them how they want their characters to grow. Mythwind is a game that takes what Stardew Valley: The Board Game could have been and makes it a reality.
Back Now on Kickstarter
Mythwind will be launching a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter in March for a reprint with new additional content. You can check to be notified when the campaign launches, so you won’t miss your chance to back when it launches.
