Everdell

Everdell is a strategy game for 1-4 players which sees players drafting cards and placing animal-shaped workers through a charming forest themed world beneath the towering tree. The game is designed by James A. Wilson and published by Starling Games, with beautiful artwork by Andrew Bosley and Dann May.

Players: 1-4
Suggested Playtime: 40 to 80 minutes.
BGG Rating: 8.0

Danny had played Everdell once before in solo play, but MB had not played it before and we hadn't played it together. We watched the following "How to Play" video on YouTube:

How to Play Everdell | Roll For Crit

Game play gives you three action choices: Place a Worker, Play a Card, and Prepare for Season, and there are lots of different ways to gain points that add towards your total tally at the end. There are a few 'mean' cards which give you tactical advantages at the expense of other players, but for the most part we kept it civil and stuck with the more gentile choices as they suited our strategic goals more.

One of the highlights of this game is the quality of components and the charming artwork. There is something really sweet about the story and world that Everdell takes you to, and the different parts of game play are well thought out and varied.

We have only played by ourselves so are really not sure how well this one works with more players although it would be fun it could also significantly change how well you are able to work 'to a plan', and it would be interesting to see it it made it longer and confusing.  Our cats also loved this game and kept sneaking up to try abduct meeples. 

Since our first game we have played Everdell 5 times in 8 days, and played through a bunch of different 'luck' scenarios of dealt/meadow cards which made each game a little different. Within our plays, Danny won 4 times and MB won once.

We also wanted to note here that Everdell has an existing expansion (Pearlbrook) and two new expansions up on Kickstarter (Spirecrest & Bellfaire). MB backed it immediately to add all three expansions and a wooden tree to our collection. Estimated delivery is in Feb 2020 (which is also when we are getting married so perhaps a wedding gift to ourselves?).

MB:

Overall thoughts: I love this game and want to play it on repeat. Gameplay is so interesting and all of the components are nicely weighted. I really dig the overall story and theme - it is like if Terry Prachett wrote Wind in the Willows. Even though I lost 4/5 games I can't wait to play it again, this is obviously just my kind of game. 

Best bit: The lux components are wonderful, and the story is just so darn cute. 

Worst bit: I found it difficult to keep track of everything and it was only in my 4th play that I figured out how to organise my city in a way that I could keep track of. We have both missed out on bonuses because we forgot them in amongst the hub-bub.

Next time: I like my strategy - would love to try this with more players, although i suspect it might be a challenge for everyone to reach everything so whoever is sitting more centrally would probably need to be 'banker'. I tend to stockpile a lot and take a longer time to make choices than Danny.

Danny:

Overall thoughts: It was good - a lot going on it felt very quick to begin with components and everything are amazing although the tree is a bit loose after just a couple of times assembling it. You need to possibly have a plan from the start or early on because everything is important and you are limited on everything. 

Best bit: My best bit was the components - I bought the collectors edition off Kickstarter and everything is so nice (except for the logs that roll away, which we problem-solved by putting in a little dish). 

Worst bit: In our first game I wasted village space without having a plan to begin with because I just wanted to build things.

Next time: After our first game I decided I would be more cautious and not build for the sake of being able to build a building. Overtime I learned a few of the cards I like to look out for that give bonuses that suit my point-collecting strategy.

Overall Rating Game: 17/20 (Danny rated 7.5, and MB rated 9.5)

We want to include ratings in our play recaps but we also want to make it clear that these ratings are based just on how this play went for us rather than a rating of the game itself - as it is quite hard to rate the game after just a few infrequent plays.