Gather resources to develop a harmonious village of woodland critters and their homes!
The time has come to review one of my all-time favorite games: Everdell. I will try my best to be unbiased as I know some people don’t get the “hype,” just like Wingspan. This review will focus on the base game, not its many expansions.
I have always been an animal lover my entire life, and the second this game came out, I remember seeing it on the shelves for a Black Friday deal and immediately fell in love. The animals are cute, and the game has an actual tree structure where the components are placed. I found this very intriguing and had to know more.
In Everdell, you are building a community in the forest where woodland critters need to gather resources to construct their homes. Each critter does its share in supporting the village. Once all players have gathered their animal meeple workers throughout the seasons and placed their last worker, the game ends. Whichever player has the most points in their village wins!
Mechanics & Categories: Resource management, Engine building, Worker placement, Open drafting, Hand management, Card, Family, Animals
ART: 10/10
Everdell undoubtedly deserves the top for artwork. You don’t have to like the style to appreciate the artwork is well done. Throughout the game’s board and cards, the paintbrush stroke style displays beautiful colors and gradients that showcase any time of day or atmosphere.
The personified animals take you back to childhood novels and movies, but they are designed so realistically that this game does not feel childish at all. The gameplay graphics are realistic: a giant tree branch covered in resin or berries with stones between their roots. The artist managed to tie their style into the graphical elements required to play the game.
From the daybreak of dawn shining through the trees or the foggy depths of the forest where the dungeon lies, the artist does a fantastic job evoking the right tone for the different aspects of a fantasy woodland forest. Each critter card and its corresponding home structure card use the same color hues and setting to unite them as a set. Across each critter, a myriad of color backgrounds are used, covering all colors of the rainbow.
STORYTELLING: 7/10
The designer created the entire world of Everdell with expansive realms all protected under The Ever Tree. The roles each critter plays feel very fitting for what one would expect. Each card also contains flavor text, so you can try to get a glimpse of each critter’s personality.
Some characters have names, as seen in the rule book, but you won’t necessarily read them on a card. Most critters are defined by their roles in the village: the shopkeeper, the innkeeper, the teacher; the list goes on. There is even a bard whose song is printed at the beginning of the rulebook.
The artwork on the board where actions can be taken also immerses you into the world. There is the berry patch where you can collect berries and the beaver dams to collect wood. You genuinely feel like a critter skittering around the forest floor, trying to gather what you need to continue thriving.
COMPONENTS: 9/10
Other than the cardboard tree, every component in this game is what I wish every game took into account. At the price point, it is incredible what Everdell provides without the need for buying upgrades. I recommend picking up the wooden tree as the cardboard tree becomes unmanageable as the interlocking ends begin to split, making it harder to construct.
That aside, the resources look like the real thing. The berries are rubber, bouncy, pinkish-purple, and blueberry-looking. The resin is golden orange plastic gems (that you tend to find in other games as well, mainly Ascension comes to mind). The logs are more than brown rectangular wood; they are cylindrical and bumpy textured like bark. The stones are gray, plastic ovals that are incredibly flat, like skipping stones.
The worker meeples are actually animal-shaped! You can become turtles, hedgehogs, squirrels, or mice! They are all in unique colors, unlike your standard RGB meeples that look like mini Michelin men. (Note: you get more amazing options with the expansions.)
The main cards are well printed (and air-cushioned finished) with no apparent printing errors, as there are no borders, and the artwork bleeds all the way to the edge. The smaller tree and forest cards are just your standard smooth texture. The board is uniquely shaped with the intention to extend the board with additional boards in each expansion. Now that is planning ahead! The box insert doesn’t necessarily have a place for everything, but you can buy a small bead organizer to make it work.
COMPLEXITY: 5/10
The gameplay is simple: take actions to acquire resources that allow you to build cards into your village. However, there are a lot of cards in this game to learn. Deciding between the cards in your hand and those in the meadow may be daunting for some. The woodland theme might draw many players in, but they might need help determining the best play to win.
There are engines that can be made and ways to play cards for free, so there might be better lines of play than just playing a card that you can afford to build. Also, with experience, you can learn which cards do well on their own to score points versus which cards rely heavily on others to do well. You only gain this knowledge from playing, which will significantly lower the complexity.
TRAVEL-FRIENDLY: 5/10
If you enjoy this game and have friends who are moderately into board games, you likely will bring this along. As long as where you are going has a table, the base game box is reasonably sized and makes sense to bring to someone’s house.
Otherwise, you aren’t going to bring this on any faraway trips or just hotel rooms. It takes up way too much table space and setup. You probably won’t bring this unless you know you will play it. It’s way too much work if it won’t get played.
UNIQUENESS: 2/10
Since Everdell mixes every board game mechanic under the sun, it’s hard to stand out. There aren’t a lot of woodland critter games that come to mind, but the way you play this game is far too much like every other game out there. That’s not bad; familiarity can be nice when purchasing a new game and is comforting, especially if you are infatuated with the theme.
The tree is the most unique thing about this game, but it is also not a critical component that can be left out, and it still functions fine. The base game, including realistic components, is unique. Still, these days, the best of the best developers out there always include top-notch components without buying a “collector” edition.
Innovation:
The board shape is like a puzzle piece; allowing all the following expansions to fit nicely into one cohesive experience takes a lot of foresight and planning. The designers excellently planned the shape and the background artwork to create a seamless realm of Everdell. Their continued innovation into this world has spread into a children’s book with imagery from all the games and an entirely new game just taking place in this world. Fans of Everdell are die-hard and get their hands on everything created in the world, such as myself.
Final Comments
Alright, I tried to be unbiased, but it is difficult. James A. Wilson clearly knew what he was doing to create such a hit game. Not only does he cater to those who just want something pretty in their collection, but the gameplay is enjoyable to players worldwide. With such a wide variety of cards (and expansions), no game is like another.
The gameplay is simple for those skeptical, and there is nothing overly well-architected or clever. It’s true. Nothing stands out to me regarding the actual gameplay experience and ruleset. I am just a sucker for nature and artwork. But hey, that marketing strategy works for me. Before brushing it off as a boring game, try to see if you can create a cool engine. Everdell deserves at least one play.
But Katie, why did you say in the beginning this was one of your favorite games if the mechanics aren’t interesting? Though Everdell draws on common game mechanics, each game provides a challenge to create a new engine to see how cards interact. Gameplay is never linear from one game to the next. I often do very well in this game by optimizing my choices, but I find myself choosing to play new cards and trying to make them work to see how well I do. When given something simple, it’s up to you to take what you're given and see what exciting ideas you can come up with.
Similar To: Root, Wingspan, The Lost Ruins of Arnak, Imperial Settlers
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Publisher: Starling Games
Game(s) Pictured: Everdell
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