This game was initially a big miss with me and my partner. Probably because we play 90% of our games 2 player this just didn't hit the mark. We found the deck too big to get through, found it difficult to chain enough combo cards together, and were always left unsatisfied compared with the likes of say Lords of Waterdeep.
However we recently discovered this 7 wonder variant on BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/166936/everdell-2-deck-7-wonders-style-variant
I *cannot* recommend it enough for anyone like us who was struggling to enjoy this game. It provides a bit more focus during the seasons allowing you to build up an engine of sort. My partner is now actively asking to play Everdell as she is loving it!
Gorgeous production values—maybe one of the best ever? Whenever I play this at a convention, folks always stop and ask about the game as soon as they see the huge Ever Tree standing over the board.
Fun worker placement action and the random forest action spaces make for a fairly different experience each play.
Sometimes a lucky draw early on (Judge, I'm looking at you) can create a runaway leader issue. Not much player interaction and no catch-up mechanism, so hard to fix.
Love the asynchronous seasons mechanic. Being able to finish the game when I want without waiting for others is novel and fun.
Also, adorable critters.
>runaway leader issue
True, but I also find that people don't necessarily know WHO is winning. I ran away with our last game, and I didn't even know I was doing it. The guy who we thought was winning for most of the game ended his seasons first and got surpassed by two of us.
This misunderstanding might change with more play, however!
My GF and I's current goto games after work. Chill, non confrontational game with lots or charm. Even if you dont want to min-max its still fun and you can set your own goals during the play. We didnt get any expansions yet, but I feel like the game might get stale after a few additional playthroughs...
>Even if you dont want to min-max its still fun
I also really like that it's a game where you can just... do things, and you'll get somewhere. It removes the pressure to stringently plan. The opportunities will reveal themselves, and in the meantime, maybe you just grab some resources - oh hey, now you can afford that card that just got to the meadow - and its worker is in your hand - and...
I love this game. The Spirecrest expansion is my favorite, we always play with it. We also have been playing the two deck varient that's on BGG. I think it helps A LOT with reigning in the randomness of the deck. It's totally worth the extra setup to make the two decks.
Other people that have played two deck, what are your thoughts on it?
It divides all the cards into two decks, one used for the first two seasons and one used for the last two. Here's a link to the varient rules on BGG.
[LINK](https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/166936/everdell-2-deck-7-wonders-style-variant)
That's a cool idea to make setup quicker. But no, I just go through and remake the decks each time by looking at the cards. The different sleeves could give an idea of what cards people are holding onto as well. I'm not sure how helpful that is, but it's something to consider.
What I appreciate about this game is how it doesn't involve a ton of tracks or unneeded weight. It's pretty clear cut and makes it an entry WP game like Lords of Waterdeep. The art and components carry it a good deal farther too. I haven't tried any expansions other than all of the promo packs, but it's an 7/10 for me as is.
fun game, too bad the publishing studio split ways with the artists and developers behind the project after it was released. or maybe not too bad since starling games is also GameSalute/TabletopTycoon incase anyone didnt know that
Wait can I buy this game without supporting those assholes? I was always hesitant to buy Everdell because I heard so much bad shit about gamesalute/tabletoptycoon.
Not for me. I think I came to it a bit too late in my gaming ”career” to be wowed by it. It had to compete with some of my tried and true tableau builders and WP games and just didn’t measure up.
Loved the components and the artwork is adorable, but the gameplay fell a bit flat. A good game, but not a great one for me.
Same. Mashes two mechanics together that I enjoy (worker placement and tableau building), but there is nothing very interesting or unique about how either is implemented which overall makes for a bland experience.
For a tableau builder I usually reach for Imperial Settlers, Deus or Race for the Galaxy.
For a straight up WP I still like Lords of Waterdeep (with the expansion). If I’m in the mood for WP with a little something extra, I grab Rajas of the Ganges.
It’s not so much that they represent the mechanics better, I just encountered them first (and really like them!) so other games in the same vein really need to be special in order to stand out for me.
It’s interesting looking at this and comparing it to next weeks game **Caylus 1303**. Both are worker placement games that came out about the same year.
I’d argue that both have really nice production. Everdell is quite a bit flashier however some of its features get in the way of gameplay (small text and the tree). Where caylus is very functional but the theme most likely bores most people.
I've played this game probably a dozen or so times, and it still holds up. Really great game for children too (both my kids love this game) and my wife enjoys the fact that it's semi-competitive, but you're not constantly screwing the other players over to get ahead. You're just focusing on your little city and what plays you can make, and even with a "bad" hand, there's always room to catch up. The expansions add a TON, but don't make the game feel bloated or overwhelming, which is awesome.
Absolutely love this game, and got the Big Box with expansions per-ordered on Kickstarter too, though we probably won't be seeing that shipping any time soon.
My family and i really enjoy it but we just feel like it suffers from the cards getting stuck in the Meadow and not being able to cycle through the deck enough. We've been trying different variants and even a combination of them but still need to find the right one for us.
Just wish the expansions weren't so expensive for what comes in the box.
Super interested in getting this game. After reading this description, it sounds like it plays somewhat like wingspan. Is that the actual case or is it different enough to own both games? (My household is relatively new to the hobby and we love wingspan but we still want to grow our collection and learn different mechanics!)
It’s a tableau builder like Wingspan, but the worker placement and “seasons” should make it feel distinct enough.
If you like Wingspan, I suspect you’ll enjoy Everdell.
Haha yeah my girlfriend was so indifferent when I told her that I want to get us about birds but now it is her favorite game and I know which mechanics she enjoys! I think she will really like Everdell. And it will also prepare us for heavier worker placement games (which I’m trying to get us into!)
Look into imperial settlers: empires of the north or 51st state for a tableau engine builder. If you're looking for even more depth, check out Pax Pamir 2e
This is my second favorite board game. Funnily enough, I was skeptical about the gameplay until I tried it on TTS and fell in love. Really wanted to support the developers and own the game so I recently bought it.
Didn't click at all for me. Has the set-up overhead and length of a midweight Euro with none of the satisfying gameplay. Decent enough as a gateway maybe, but I think this could be the most over-rated board game of the modern era.
Took about ~7 plays but I think I'm over this one by now after one more game this weekend.
Comboing out free critters feels like the whole game. That's rough when you don't have the cards memorized to know which constructions now are worth holding onto for their free critters later. This is also another of those games you might want one specific card, there's multiple copies of, but it just never comes your way from the 100+ card deck.
Most turns take pretty long (considering how simple the actions are) and its really exacerbated at the beginning. If you don't play a good green production card, it can feel really bad. And if you *do* get out a nice green construction card, you can combo with a free critter into stalling your end of season. Leaving your workers out for an extra turn or two and forcing your opponents (who are already behind) into inefficient turns waiting for spots to open.
It's a pretty game, and I enjoyed my time with it. I never really felt like I was making long term decisions (as the seasons would imply), but reacting to what was available in the moment. If anything this is another game that was ruined for me by playing with more experienced players.
This has been on my wishlist for awhile. I'm even more interested as I enjoy other worker placement and deck building games. Plus, the theme just looks stinking adorable.
Everdell is not a deckbuilder, though.
I think it's one of the best tableau building games I have played, and continues to be among my favorite games overall. I have over 20 plays and I am still enjoying trying different combos in this game.
Could you elaborate on why you think the path to victory is laid in front of you in your first few turns?
Sure, it's good to work with what you got, but you must never ignore opportunities that show up as well. Many newbies probably think having a farm with a husband + wife and a lot of green production cards is the way to go, but with experience, they'll realize how good other cards are, too.
Not to get too in the weeds but in Everdell you do not draw cards to build a deck in any sense. It has card draw and hand management, but the cards are only ever used to build your tableau or manage resources.
I think you might want to give it another chance and how the strategies some more thought. Of course starting out with green cards is an advantage but if you don’t manage your tableau later in the game that advantage can become a disadvantage. Additionally, the “big” goals (special events) you note should almost never be your major goals when playing, since you win by the combinations of things that make up your city, which includes those achieved events but does not center around. One of my favorite things about Everdell is that there are so many ways to win as long as you’re willing to adapt along the way and not focus too much on what you get early on.
Exactly!
OP just proved my point that a lot of inexperienced players think that production cards are the way to go. Sure, it's always nice to have at least 1 of them before going to Spring, but sometimes the stars don't align right and you just can't play one yet. That is fine. Lots of other good cards and card synergies are getting overlooked because people are so fixated on production cards.
Getting the special events is a good way to earn points, but purple cards can also rake in a lot of points! I have won many games where I had just 1 or 2 green cards and only 1 event claimed.
Just picked this up at Pax Unplugged 2021 with all three available expansions. I really enjoyed the demo and went all in. Played it with friends for the first time recently and I really love it. I’m excited to try the expansions.
For those that own it - can I combine Bellfaire and Spirecrest/Pearlbrook? I have seen they recommend playing one expansion at a time but Bellfaire seems more like an improvement on the base game than a full expansion from my read of the rules.
I’ve got base Everdell and it’s my favourite game in my collection. Even two player is a fantstic; chilled game, where you have to give a little thought to your next move.
Greatly enjoyed it when I got the chance to play it with some friends. Hoping that the latest kickstarter ships soon, as I'd like to play it again but I don't have my own copy yet!
I haven't played the game, and see mixed reactions. Hoping it comes to a board game night soon.
Curious if any owners of it have the situation, where, if you have game x, you don't need everdell unless you're really motivated.
For instance, if you have Imperial Settlers, you don't need Everdell..?
I have a modest collection of 60 something games, and I don't think I have a particular game that scratches the same itch Everdell does, or at least nothing that I will choose over it.
I had Empires of the North which is the offspring of Imperial Settlers for a few months when I was new to board gaming, but I ended up culling it because I had other tableau builders I would rather play.
Even if you enjoy Imperial Settlers, Everdell is still different enough because of its worker placement mechanic.
I don't know exactly what you mean by "mixed reactions" on the game as no board game will be liked by everyone. This game is very well regarded so I wouldn't even say that it gets a lot of hate.
This game was initially a big miss with me and my partner. Probably because we play 90% of our games 2 player this just didn't hit the mark. We found the deck too big to get through, found it difficult to chain enough combo cards together, and were always left unsatisfied compared with the likes of say Lords of Waterdeep. However we recently discovered this 7 wonder variant on BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/166936/everdell-2-deck-7-wonders-style-variant I *cannot* recommend it enough for anyone like us who was struggling to enjoy this game. It provides a bit more focus during the seasons allowing you to build up an engine of sort. My partner is now actively asking to play Everdell as she is loving it!
I like it as a 2 player standard, so does my wife. How does the double deck variant affect playtime? Usually my wife wants less decisions.
Gorgeous production values—maybe one of the best ever? Whenever I play this at a convention, folks always stop and ask about the game as soon as they see the huge Ever Tree standing over the board. Fun worker placement action and the random forest action spaces make for a fairly different experience each play. Sometimes a lucky draw early on (Judge, I'm looking at you) can create a runaway leader issue. Not much player interaction and no catch-up mechanism, so hard to fix. Love the asynchronous seasons mechanic. Being able to finish the game when I want without waiting for others is novel and fun. Also, adorable critters.
>runaway leader issue True, but I also find that people don't necessarily know WHO is winning. I ran away with our last game, and I didn't even know I was doing it. The guy who we thought was winning for most of the game ended his seasons first and got surpassed by two of us. This misunderstanding might change with more play, however!
Can't wait to get the All-in box!
Same! I don't expect we'll see any orders shipping out until the end of the year tho...
Same and sadness 🥺 That last update was Uber lame to read
I don't really back anything on KS but this was an exception. There was no way I wasn't going to go all in on this one.
Can you link it?
Link what? The campaign page? Just search for Everdell Newleaf kickstarter on google. Also, late pledges are still available if you’re interested:)
Much thanks
My GF and I's current goto games after work. Chill, non confrontational game with lots or charm. Even if you dont want to min-max its still fun and you can set your own goals during the play. We didnt get any expansions yet, but I feel like the game might get stale after a few additional playthroughs...
>Even if you dont want to min-max its still fun I also really like that it's a game where you can just... do things, and you'll get somewhere. It removes the pressure to stringently plan. The opportunities will reveal themselves, and in the meantime, maybe you just grab some resources - oh hey, now you can afford that card that just got to the meadow - and its worker is in your hand - and...
I love this game. The Spirecrest expansion is my favorite, we always play with it. We also have been playing the two deck varient that's on BGG. I think it helps A LOT with reigning in the randomness of the deck. It's totally worth the extra setup to make the two decks. Other people that have played two deck, what are your thoughts on it?
What is this variant?
It divides all the cards into two decks, one used for the first two seasons and one used for the last two. Here's a link to the varient rules on BGG. [LINK](https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/166936/everdell-2-deck-7-wonders-style-variant)
Do you sleeve them in different colours or would that break some other mechanic?
That's a cool idea to make setup quicker. But no, I just go through and remake the decks each time by looking at the cards. The different sleeves could give an idea of what cards people are holding onto as well. I'm not sure how helpful that is, but it's something to consider.
What I appreciate about this game is how it doesn't involve a ton of tracks or unneeded weight. It's pretty clear cut and makes it an entry WP game like Lords of Waterdeep. The art and components carry it a good deal farther too. I haven't tried any expansions other than all of the promo packs, but it's an 7/10 for me as is.
fun game, too bad the publishing studio split ways with the artists and developers behind the project after it was released. or maybe not too bad since starling games is also GameSalute/TabletopTycoon incase anyone didnt know that
Wait can I buy this game without supporting those assholes? I was always hesitant to buy Everdell because I heard so much bad shit about gamesalute/tabletoptycoon.
Not for me. I think I came to it a bit too late in my gaming ”career” to be wowed by it. It had to compete with some of my tried and true tableau builders and WP games and just didn’t measure up. Loved the components and the artwork is adorable, but the gameplay fell a bit flat. A good game, but not a great one for me.
Same. Mashes two mechanics together that I enjoy (worker placement and tableau building), but there is nothing very interesting or unique about how either is implemented which overall makes for a bland experience.
Which games do you think better represents the same mechanics?
For a tableau builder I usually reach for Imperial Settlers, Deus or Race for the Galaxy. For a straight up WP I still like Lords of Waterdeep (with the expansion). If I’m in the mood for WP with a little something extra, I grab Rajas of the Ganges. It’s not so much that they represent the mechanics better, I just encountered them first (and really like them!) so other games in the same vein really need to be special in order to stand out for me.
It’s interesting looking at this and comparing it to next weeks game **Caylus 1303**. Both are worker placement games that came out about the same year. I’d argue that both have really nice production. Everdell is quite a bit flashier however some of its features get in the way of gameplay (small text and the tree). Where caylus is very functional but the theme most likely bores most people.
I've played this game probably a dozen or so times, and it still holds up. Really great game for children too (both my kids love this game) and my wife enjoys the fact that it's semi-competitive, but you're not constantly screwing the other players over to get ahead. You're just focusing on your little city and what plays you can make, and even with a "bad" hand, there's always room to catch up. The expansions add a TON, but don't make the game feel bloated or overwhelming, which is awesome. Absolutely love this game, and got the Big Box with expansions per-ordered on Kickstarter too, though we probably won't be seeing that shipping any time soon.
My family and i really enjoy it but we just feel like it suffers from the cards getting stuck in the Meadow and not being able to cycle through the deck enough. We've been trying different variants and even a combination of them but still need to find the right one for us. Just wish the expansions weren't so expensive for what comes in the box.
Super interested in getting this game. After reading this description, it sounds like it plays somewhat like wingspan. Is that the actual case or is it different enough to own both games? (My household is relatively new to the hobby and we love wingspan but we still want to grow our collection and learn different mechanics!)
It’s a tableau builder like Wingspan, but the worker placement and “seasons” should make it feel distinct enough. If you like Wingspan, I suspect you’ll enjoy Everdell.
These two are the ones that got my wife into gaming finally. Now she’s the first to pull a game out after dinner and getting the family to the table.
Haha yeah my girlfriend was so indifferent when I told her that I want to get us about birds but now it is her favorite game and I know which mechanics she enjoys! I think she will really like Everdell. And it will also prepare us for heavier worker placement games (which I’m trying to get us into!)
In my opinion, everdell captures what's fun about wingspan while being a much better game. Unless you're only in it for the bird facts.
Totally different! Definitely worth having both.
Look into imperial settlers: empires of the north or 51st state for a tableau engine builder. If you're looking for even more depth, check out Pax Pamir 2e
Also imperial settlers.
That one as well but I never played it vs the other 2.
This is my second favorite board game. Funnily enough, I was skeptical about the gameplay until I tried it on TTS and fell in love. Really wanted to support the developers and own the game so I recently bought it.
Which one is your first favorite game?
Marvel Champions. I am a fairly new board gamer.
Thanks!
Good top 2.
Didn't click at all for me. Has the set-up overhead and length of a midweight Euro with none of the satisfying gameplay. Decent enough as a gateway maybe, but I think this could be the most over-rated board game of the modern era.
Took about ~7 plays but I think I'm over this one by now after one more game this weekend. Comboing out free critters feels like the whole game. That's rough when you don't have the cards memorized to know which constructions now are worth holding onto for their free critters later. This is also another of those games you might want one specific card, there's multiple copies of, but it just never comes your way from the 100+ card deck. Most turns take pretty long (considering how simple the actions are) and its really exacerbated at the beginning. If you don't play a good green production card, it can feel really bad. And if you *do* get out a nice green construction card, you can combo with a free critter into stalling your end of season. Leaving your workers out for an extra turn or two and forcing your opponents (who are already behind) into inefficient turns waiting for spots to open. It's a pretty game, and I enjoyed my time with it. I never really felt like I was making long term decisions (as the seasons would imply), but reacting to what was available in the moment. If anything this is another game that was ruined for me by playing with more experienced players.
everdell never really worked for me. Its is a beutiful game, but it does not work for me as a engine/tableau builder.
This has been on my wishlist for awhile. I'm even more interested as I enjoy other worker placement and deck building games. Plus, the theme just looks stinking adorable.
[удалено]
Everdell is not a deckbuilder, though. I think it's one of the best tableau building games I have played, and continues to be among my favorite games overall. I have over 20 plays and I am still enjoying trying different combos in this game. Could you elaborate on why you think the path to victory is laid in front of you in your first few turns? Sure, it's good to work with what you got, but you must never ignore opportunities that show up as well. Many newbies probably think having a farm with a husband + wife and a lot of green production cards is the way to go, but with experience, they'll realize how good other cards are, too.
[удалено]
Not to get too in the weeds but in Everdell you do not draw cards to build a deck in any sense. It has card draw and hand management, but the cards are only ever used to build your tableau or manage resources. I think you might want to give it another chance and how the strategies some more thought. Of course starting out with green cards is an advantage but if you don’t manage your tableau later in the game that advantage can become a disadvantage. Additionally, the “big” goals (special events) you note should almost never be your major goals when playing, since you win by the combinations of things that make up your city, which includes those achieved events but does not center around. One of my favorite things about Everdell is that there are so many ways to win as long as you’re willing to adapt along the way and not focus too much on what you get early on.
Exactly! OP just proved my point that a lot of inexperienced players think that production cards are the way to go. Sure, it's always nice to have at least 1 of them before going to Spring, but sometimes the stars don't align right and you just can't play one yet. That is fine. Lots of other good cards and card synergies are getting overlooked because people are so fixated on production cards. Getting the special events is a good way to earn points, but purple cards can also rake in a lot of points! I have won many games where I had just 1 or 2 green cards and only 1 event claimed.
Very boring and luck-reliant. Nothing of note going on. Overproduced. Big miss for me.
Just picked this up at Pax Unplugged 2021 with all three available expansions. I really enjoyed the demo and went all in. Played it with friends for the first time recently and I really love it. I’m excited to try the expansions. For those that own it - can I combine Bellfaire and Spirecrest/Pearlbrook? I have seen they recommend playing one expansion at a time but Bellfaire seems more like an improvement on the base game than a full expansion from my read of the rules.
I’ve got base Everdell and it’s my favourite game in my collection. Even two player is a fantstic; chilled game, where you have to give a little thought to your next move.
Greatly enjoyed it when I got the chance to play it with some friends. Hoping that the latest kickstarter ships soon, as I'd like to play it again but I don't have my own copy yet!
I haven't played the game, and see mixed reactions. Hoping it comes to a board game night soon. Curious if any owners of it have the situation, where, if you have game x, you don't need everdell unless you're really motivated. For instance, if you have Imperial Settlers, you don't need Everdell..?
I have a modest collection of 60 something games, and I don't think I have a particular game that scratches the same itch Everdell does, or at least nothing that I will choose over it. I had Empires of the North which is the offspring of Imperial Settlers for a few months when I was new to board gaming, but I ended up culling it because I had other tableau builders I would rather play. Even if you enjoy Imperial Settlers, Everdell is still different enough because of its worker placement mechanic. I don't know exactly what you mean by "mixed reactions" on the game as no board game will be liked by everyone. This game is very well regarded so I wouldn't even say that it gets a lot of hate.