INTRODUCTION

It funny; when one becomes a father he suddenly reflects on his own childhood in a different light. Growing up, the works of literature and cinema that made an impact on me all shared a common denominator: anthropomorphic animals. From Winnie the Pooh to The Wind in the Willows and The Fantastic Mr. Fox these were stories of moral and lessons of life told through the eyes of animals sharing human traits. I am guessing, nay I am certain nostalgia played a huge part in me taking an interest to Everdell designed by James A. Wilson and published by Starling Games. The concept of anthropomorphic woodland critters toiling to make preparations before the arrival of winter is as endearing today as when I was a young lad but is there a good game to be had behind the endearing façade?

COMPONENTS

To me, a large part of what makes board games such a wonderful hobby is the visual aspect. When taking the lid off the box, the first thing that greets you are the components. It is the reason that I choose this headline as the initial part of a review, as the components are literally the first thing that catches your eye about any given board game. And in the case of Everdell, the components deserve to be brought out into the spotlight because goodness me this is a charming bundle of woodland critter cuteness. It is impossible to write a review without mentioning the stunning illustrations on display courtesy of Andrew Bosley. To me, his work on Everdell is proof that we truly live in the golden age, where board games can contain interesting mechanisms and look beautiful at the same time without having to sacrifice one for the other. Every illustration, be it of buildings or critters, is infused with such a level of charm which makes the game quite irresistible. Simply put, Everdell conveys a sensation of comfort; like a warm cup of tea and a blanket to snuggle up into as autumn winds are howling outside your window.

The various resource tokens used in Everdell are also of high quality: from the plastic resin pieces that almost seem to emit a bright orange glow, to the “squishy” texture of the pink berries favoured by the woodland critters. And let us not forget the piece de resistance: the Ever tree. Towering over the game board, this multi-layered cardboard tree serves as both a display for the special event cards (more on those later) as well as the “recruitment pool” for collecting new workers as the seasons i.e. rounds pass. From a visual standpoint, it is truly an impressive piece as far as board game components go. Now, is the tree a necessity? Not by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, one could make the argument that the tree is a classic example of style over functionality. It is also the case that depending on table configuration the tree actually blocks line of sight as a result of its size. This problem is easily remedied by simply not utilizing the tree, the game play is unaffected by this compromise. But I have to admit: the tree does look awfully impressive when assembled and positioned on the main board.

OVERVIEW

Everdell is a board game that combines worker placement with tableau building. New territories need to be settled, new cities established. As the leader of a group of woodland critters you are tasked with the mission to collect resources in order to construct said buildings and landmarks while simultaneously attracting other creatures of the forest to become residents of your anthropomorphic society before the winter moon rises. The game consists of four rounds, symbolizing the passing of a year spanning the seasons from winter all through autumn. At the start of the game you find yourself with a hand of five cards and two workers at your disposal. From these humble beginnings you will use worker placement in order to acquire the resources needed to construct buildings and recruiting woodland critters to inhabit your town, which constitutes your tableau of cards. On your turn you will perform one out of three available actions: place a worker, play a card or prepare for season. Let us begin by taking a closer look at the worker placement aspect of the game. As per usual within this game mechanism, you will utilize your workforce by placing a meeple on a location which in return will grant you a reward that comes in the shapes of resources and cards. Some of these locations are permanent from game to game: for example the ones on the main board which serve as basic resource gathering for acquiring wood, resin, pebbles and berries sprinkled with the occasional card draw.

There is also the option to place a worker on one of the Forest locations. These are drawn at random from a deck of cards at the start of the game and provide more lucrative resource gathering opportunities when compared to the basic locations. They also add variety from game to game which is always a welcome feature. Another aspect of the worker placement in Everdell revolves around acquiring Events. The events are worker locations that reward you with victory points, in order to achieve the event you have to meet the listed requirements. By having enough buildings or critter cards of a certain category one can lay claim for one of the basic events, while the special event cards that rest on the Ever tree usually requires specific combination of critter and building cards but in return also grant you a bigger reward.

Speaking of cards, there are two main categories one can acquire in Everdell: buildings and critters. The buildings are the foundation of your city, literally and figuratively. They range from production which provides you with valuable resources during certain phases of the game, to alternative locations where both you and even your opponents can plop down worker meeples in order to trigger effects. Nearly all of the buildings have an associated resource cost and usually provide victory points at the end of the game. Another thing of importance, which constitutes one of the key strategic aspects of Everdell, is the interplay between the building and critter cards. Critters can be acquired in one of two ways; either by paying the cost in the shape of berries, or by utilizing a matching building card. Each building card has an equivalent critter associated with it, for example the Crane is matched with the Architect, the Theater with the Bard etcetera. If you have appropriate building card in your tableau, then there is the option to play down the matching critter card for free! Mind you this only works once per building but it is still a vital part of forming a strategy as to which buildings and subsequently critters that will populate your town i.e. tableau. These free critter cards can either be played from your hand, or from one of the eight public cards in the market which is known as the Meadow.

Once you have placed all of your workers and you are unable or do not wish to play any more cards into your tableau, then you will take the final action: prepare for season. From a thematic point of view, Everdell is played over a single year beginning and ending in winter. When taking the prepare for seasons actions, new workers from the Ever tree will join you to contribute to the expansion of your town. In addition to gaining new worker(s), the shifting of seasons also activates associated bonuses. For example, when transitioning into spring in addition to gathering a new worker all green Production cards in your tableau activate in order of your choosing. Summer on the other hand grants you the opportunity to draw two face up cards from the Meadow. Seeing as there is no fixed round structure per se, there is the possibility that players will shift seasons independently of one another. One player could still be toiling away in spring time, while their opponent has already transitioned into summer time with more workers at their disposal as a direct result.

THE SOLO MODE

When solo playing Everdell you will be and I quote “competing against a cantankerous old rodent known as Rugwort, and his pack of rowdy, rambunctious, rat ruffians” end of quote. I absolutely love that description from the rulebook. Anyway, Rugwort has lofty ambitions of creating the greatest little city in all of the magical forest. Albeit filled to the brim with troublesome rodents but still. In order to accomplish his dream of a dystopian rat filled city he will gather cards from the Meadow whilst simultaneously sending out his thugs in order to block you from certain locations on the main board. The solitary version preserves the mechanisms that form the basis of Everdell. On your turn you will perform one out of the three actions previously described. Rugwort will also carry out these actions, albeit in a slightly modified manner. At the start of each season the scabby rat will have his minions positioned on the main board, covering predetermined locations described in the rulebook. His workers will move to a new location as each season passes, always blocking two different locations on the main board. Seeing that Rugwort’s workers movement is predetermined, the upkeep is kept to a minimum.

Rugwort will also acquire cards in order to create and expand his rodent filled metropolis. He will do so by taking cards from the Meadow. Every time you chose to play a card into your tableau, Rugwort follows suit. This action is resolved by rolling an eight-sided die, depending on the result of the die roll one card will be removed from the market display and added to the artificial opponents play area. As Rugwort’s tableau of building and critter cards expands he will be able to lay claim on the basic Events, possibly earning him an additional boost of victory points at the end of the game. For each season that passes Rugwort will also add additional minions onto cards in the Meadow, effectively cutting you off from acquiring them. As a result, in the last round Autumn the top four cards of the Meadow will be out of limits for you! At the end of the game Rugwort will score points based on the number and type of cards in his tableau, any basic Events that he managed to snag right before your eyes and also additional points for every Special Event that you did not manage to fulfil.

And despite its many merits, here lies one problem I have with the solo mode in Everdell: it is too much dependent on the luck of the draw for my taste. This becomes evident particularly in the case of the Special Event cards. These cards have a specific criterion that needs to be met in order for a player to acquire them. The majority of them call for a combination of “critter X and building Y”, and based on the market display and the configuration of the cards in the draw deck it is not an unlikely scenario that you will never see the required combination of cards. As an example, during one of my solo plays I did not manage to acquire a single one out of the four Special Event cards due to being unlucky with the card draw. This made Rugwort extremely happy seeing he scored a whopping 12 victory points thanks to my misfortune. Now, there is a perfectly valid counterpoint to be made here: draw more cards. And yes, I guess one could make the case that milling the deck is a solution of sorts to this issue. But the overall sensation of playing Everdell solo is that it is a bit too random, too dependent on the luck of the draw. I struggle with the same feelings when playing Viticulture, another fine worker placement board game. Drawing three vine order cards, none of them are either applicable to my current vineyards production, nor do I have enough time to pivot. Then again, I am quite rubbish at Viticulture and so this “problem” that I have described might just be the result of a lack of talent on my part.

FINAL THOUGHTS

If there is one thing that I truly appreciate in any given board game regardless of genre or theme, it is the sensation of progression. It does not matter if I am playing a dice rolling fantasy themed dungeon crawler or a bone-dry Euro about trading in the Mediterranean, what does matter though is the presence of an arc, an evolution in terms of the game state and moreover the impact I have on the world. I am guessing this idea about the evolving state of the game engine is one of the reasons that tableau building as a board game mechanism is so popular but that is more of a side note. The point is that Everdell provides me with the sensation of progression. At the start of the game the idea of having a tableau 15 cards strong seems almost implausible based on the effort of just two meagre worker meeples. But much like the woodland critters you will put your head down with sheer determination, collecting one resource after another in preparation for the winter that is most certainly looming on the horizon. For each season that passes, new workers will be added to the ever growing town. And before you know it, what was once a struggle to make ends meet has suddenly become the opposite.

Would I recommend purchasing Everdell solely for solitaire play? Even though I enjoy the experience, I still hesitate to do so. The solo mode in is perfectly fine, although being rudimentary it still conveys the sensation of an opponent blocking your progress on the main board whilst simultaneously providing competition for the basic events. However, if you are looking for a medium-light worker placement and tableau building board game with absolutely gorgeous production values and has the option of a decent solo mode then I unreservedly recommend Everdell. If nothing else then for the artwork by Andrew Bolsey, it is truly endearing.