Everdell: More than cardboard – it's ART!!!

Well, well, well, we're getting angry and the blog post hasn't officially started yet. That's how life is sometimes: you get carried away for something – a car, a sport, a trip, a job, a project – and nothing else matters. We only think about that, we only do that, we only talk about that. That's what Everdell did to us. We were hynopizz… uh… hippotzin… put under his spell. So. And it was, as the other would say, the beginning of a no worse epic. We played it to our heart's content. And we still play it. LONG LIVE EVERDELL!

Come on. We start again (and a thousand times sorry).

Everdell: OH MY GOD HAS BEAUTIFUL!

Oh no, that's not okay either.

Take 3?

Everdell: [insert sobs of joy]

Will have to settle, I imagine. Lets go. Criticism now!

The heart

Everdell is primarily a worker placement, resource and map management, and engine-building game. These are familiar mechanics to anyone who has played a few slightly more complex games before, and Everdell's average complexity makes it a good candidate both for getting started in the gaming world and for those who are used to games a little more complex. simple, like the Sagrada, Kingdomino or Catania of this world…

The game is ideally played with 2 to 4 players, although a single player mode exists. But frankly, you have to share this cardboard marvel. While the “official” suggested age is 13+, our daughter, Yukiko, was playing it with us when it released in 2018 (yes, this game is relatively old, but still super current – ​​more on that just now).

It is difficult for us not to lose ourselves in praise and wonder at the game, its presence on the table, the feeling of zen it provokes in us (see above the attempts to start this article). So, in order to avoid saying too much before we've even started talking about it, let's dive into the detail!

The style

It's true in movies, it's true for people, it's true for book covers – it's true everywhere: “the clothes don't make the monk”. This is also true in the world of table games.

THAT SAID IN CAPS, Everdell enchants with its box alone. And if some games offer a pleasant aesthetic on a tablet and then disappoint once set up on a table, this is by no means the case for Everdell. The cover illustration, by (THE MAGICIAN!!!!) artist Andrew Bosley is just a taste of what's under the hood.

Everdell's characters, depicted with majesty and soft, verdant beauty on the thick central deck of cards, are each more enchanting than the next. We especially fell in love with the Crumb Collector, a chipmunk that simply sweeps the floors of the Resin Refinery (a beautifully illustrated building, as they all are, by the way). And what about the Husband and his Wife, the inhabitants of the Farm? Beautiful!

The characters are one thing, obviously, one of the aspects of the game. But it is only once the board is laid out and the Eternal Tree assembled that Everdell deploys all its visual power. While the tree itself has drawn its share of criticism from some, it remains, in our minds, an essential part of Everdell, and an original anchor point for various elements. of the game (animals of the coming seasons and special events).

Besides the card stock, the animeeples also look great, with four to choose from: squirrels, mice, turtles, and hedgehogs. (Note, if you start adding all the many expansions offered for the game, you quickly go to about fifteen options, or even more, but the basic game is an absolutely valid and pleasant experience without any other artifices than the original box and its contents.)

Finally, the game's resources and other tokens are, like the rest, visually impeccable, in addition to adding a strong tactile dimension to Everdell. Here's our solemn promise: you'll NEVER get tired of handling the little berries and river rocks – or picking them up off the floor when you inevitably drop one off the table.

The course of the game

A game of Everdell takes place over four "rounds", almost equivalent to the four seasons. We're not playing in winter per se – rather we spend the game building and preparing our village for the off season. When the fall is over for everyone, the player with the highest number of victory points (VP), so technically the "mayor" whose village is the most glorious, will be declared the winner.

Victory points come from several sources: recruited animals, constructed buildings, organized basic and special events, as well as other methods coming from either the cards or the game board. For example, the Voyage area of ​​the board allows players, in fall, to discard X number of cards to get the same number of VP. There are multiple ways to accumulate VP, so there is no single route to winning at Everdell.

Each turn, a player always has the choice between placing a worker, constructing a building or character card, or preparing for the next season.

Worker placement is very simple – Everdell's iconography, once mastered, is superbly effective. We take one of our workers, and we install it on a base space (along the river), or a forest space. These spaces, present from the beginning to the end of the game, are restricted according to the number of players. With 2 or 3 players, only one worker can be there, while a second slot is unlocked on each space when a fourth player is added to the game.

As the seasons progress, more spaces will no doubt become available. There is the Voyage space, mentioned above, accessible only in the last season. There are also basic events and special events, which require a worker to lay down to claim them – the Harvest Festival event requires, for example, that a player has laid down four farming cards (with the green symbol ) in his village before he can activate it. Or the inn, a building card allowing anyone to place a worker there to be able to build a building or recruit a character with an attractive discount on the cost of resources...

That said, you have to know how to effectively manage investments and, by extension, resources. Everdell has a so-called "asymmetrical" season system - meaning players won't finish all seasons at the same time, nor the game. Indeed, players who manage to manage resources well will generally be able to stretch their seasons longer, and without this being an absolute guarantee, will give themselves better chances of victory.

When a player runs out of workers, and these current resources do not allow him to build or recruit, he must use his turn to prepare for his next season. During this phase, a player picks up one or more additional workers, then depending on the season, can harvest the resources produced by his buildings and agricultural characters, or go and choose new cards in the Meadow (the Meadow is the central space of the board , difficult to access, but which allows you to know in advance which card you have obtained, unlike the classic pickaxe).

So, depending on how each person uses their resources (will you save like the stingy ant, or spend on frills and entertainment like the crazy cicada?), not all players will finish the game at same time...

BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER: whether you're still active or not, you never get tired of seeing the beauty of this game! DO YOU UNDERSTAND??? [insert hyperventilation]

The verdict

We have toyed with the possibility of leaving, as a verdict, only this single exclamation mark. Everything has, in any case, already been said, in a certain way.

But let's add a layer: Everdell is one of the jewels of our collection. It's a game you'll never tire of seeing on the table, yes because it's aesthetically perfect, but also because it requires just the right amount of savvy, just the right level of thinking, to please. to almost everyone. If you're looking for a game that will entertain, while avoiding repetitiveness and charming even the pickiest of eaters with its enchanting looks and delightful characters, look no further: Everdell is your…er…man. Game. Your game.

Question to add, the game also has five modular extensions that can be added (or not) if the heart tells us (sold separately, of cooooouuuurse). While not all of them are necessarily as well balanced and irresistibly wonderful as the base game, they still each bring a little something special to the experience.

In the meantime, don't look for us this weekend: we'll be determining who, between Mooh and Bibz, will build the best, the most beautiful, and the most glorious village in Everdell! With the Carnival as a tourist attraction, and the Ramasse Miettes as its president!

2 to 4 players

40-80 mins

13 years +

- Biz and Mooh


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