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Spirecrest is about a journey, and every player begins with the rabbit meeple of their color on the Mountain Board, which is placed below the main board of Everdell. The Mountain Board controls the main actions of the expansion, and it is activated — with players travelling along it — at each new season. A note in the rulebook says, “Spirecrest adds substantial complexity to Everdell. When playing Spirecrest, it is recommended that you do not include other expansion material.” I agree with the second half of this statement — I wouldn’t recommend adding in other expansions with this one — but not the first. While I think Spirecrest is the most complex of the expansions, I don’t think it is that much more burdensome than Pearlbrook, and I wouldn’t say the additional complexity is substantial. I think new players can learn Spirecrest in conjunction with the base game, and I think its mechanics integrate fluidly with the base game. The term gateway game is now used so frequently that I’m not sure it has any value. What is a gateway game anyway? Often it simply seems to suggest that a game has to be as straightforward as something like Monopoly, yet I find that a lot of games carrying the label fail to prepare their charges for what modern board games are really capable of. Everdell might be the perfect gateway game based on my new definition. Why, you ask? Simply put, it does almost everything right — it’s beautiful and well made, it’s very simple and easy to teach, yet despite all that, it’s complex enough to develop some very competitive play. If I have one complaint about Everdell , it’s only that the final scoring can be a bit messy with the frequent need to recount when the score is close. Everdell is a game of worker placement, resource collection and tableau building in a woodland realm populated by one to four groups of animals. Each player controls one such group, which will be represented in game by gorgeous little wooden animeeples. Everdell is set in a forest beneath the Evertree, which is represented in the game by a large, well made and gloriously detailed model that is included in both the basic and Collector’s Edition versions of the game. Having worked tirelessly to build the perfect woodland city, and having populated it with only the cutest, most charming inhabitants, the time has come for a new adventure. Far from the safety of the Evertree, beyond the calm boarders of the meadow lie twisting paths and new locations just waiting to be explored, and now is the time.
One key aspect of Spirecrest is the implementation of the weather cards, which I suspect may cause some difference of opinion in the board game community concerning whether said cards are a positive addition or not to the core game experience. It is certainly the case that they force you to approach the game from a different point of view, finding new venues for collecting resources or playing down cards into your city tableau. I can understand those who feel that the effects of the weather cards are too punishing, transforming Everdell from a relative tranquil board game affair into something more serious and complex. Mind you, we are not talking added complexity in the vein of a Vital Lacerda board game design. Spirecrest doesn’t remove or alter the gameplay of the base game like ditching events or increasing play time with an extra worker, it just enhances it with very little extra time added to each game. Charting means you take a faceup map tile — there is one more than the number of players — which can earn end of game bonuses. For example, one one map tile, at the end of the game, you can trade 2 wood and 2 resin for 5 points on one of them. The catch is that, at the end of the game, you must move from map tile to map tile, so if you don’t complete one, you can’t complete the next ones in line. This rewards planning, and is a good way to use resources at the end of the game, since they tend to accumulate in Everdell.When it was announced that publisher Starling Games had launched its latest crowdfunding campaign with the aim of bringing not one but two new Everdell expansions from designer James A. Wilson to the market my initial reaction can best be described as cautiously optimistic. On paper though, when compared to its forbearer it seemed that Spirecrest was indeed a much more evolved addition to the core game experience. And let us be honest: cute woodland critters hitching a ride on a regal white wolf who has wandered from the frozen tundra is a pretty enticing proposition, at least in my book. COMPONENTS Law, Keith (August 13, 2018). "The Best Games at Gen Con 2018". Paste Magazine. Archived from the original on September 30, 2019 . Retrieved January 18, 2019. Once everyone has completed their actions for the final season (fall) the game ends. The winner is determined based on the sum total of points on all of the cards that players have in their personal tableau (up to a maximum of fifteen.) There are eight bonus objectives to score as well (four of which are randomised during setup) and some cards provide bonuses when combined, or bonuses for collecting certain resources or similar.
Law, Keith (December 18, 2018). "The Best Board Games of 2018 Party games, town-building, reissues, and more". Vulture . Retrieved January 18, 2019. Those of you who have read my review are undoubtedly aware of the fact that I am not overly fond of the Pearlbrook solitaire experience, the first expansion to the critically acclaimed board game Everdell. In terms of actual content, the discrepancy between the retail versus collector’s edition proved a bitter pill to swallow and the added difficulty to the solo mode did not do Pearlbrook any favours. Elderkin, Beth (September 11, 2018). "Pandemic Infects Rome, Tales From The Loop Heads to the '90s, and More Tabletop Gaming News". Gizmodo . Retrieved January 18, 2019. After journeying through the Spirecrest mountains, collecting map pieces and discovering all sorts of wonders the time has finally come for your brave rabbit Traveller to embark on the grand expedition. At the end of the game, each player’s expedition row will consist of their starting Everdell Valley tile along with three additional atlas pieces that they have previously acquired over the course of the game. Starting with the first map tile to the right of the Everdell Valley tile, the player has an option to pay the resource cost(s) printed on the map piece, if able or willing they then move the rabbit token one step to the right repeating the same procedure. Only by paying the resource cost will you be eligible to score the associated amounts of victory points during the final tally. THE SOLO MODE By far the largest and most complex expansion to Everdell, Spirecrest introduces a large new board that adds to the bottom of the base game, and brings with it a load of additional content. For starters, there are new critters, and each of the species that exists both in this expansion and across the base game and other expansions also gets a rabbit explorer. Those rabbits are the brave souls who will adventure into the mountainous region of the titular spirecrest.A follow-up to the game called Everdell Farshore has been announced and is expected to release in August 2023. [1] Gameplay [ edit ] Nonetheless, I greatly enjoy the expansion, and fans of Everdell will enjoy it too. This hits all of the high marks of the series, and like all good expansions, it highlights the best parts of its base game. If you take a Big Critter, you put a saddle on them, put a worker on that, and then the Big Critter replaces your worker. They earn advantages when you play them. For example, when preparing for the next season, you can leave the one named Stubblehoof where he or she is, and instead activate the location again, plus draw a card and any resource. The one named Honeypaw gives you 1 berry for each resource you gained on a placement (up to 3) that did not give you berries.
Kaufman, Rachel (December 11, 2018). "The 10 Best Games of 2018". Smithsonian . Retrieved January 18, 2019. a b Law, Keith (August 30, 2018). "The Beautiful Everdell is One of the Best Board Games of the Year". Paste Magazine . Retrieved January 18, 2019. Players can get pearls for being the first to visit the underwater locations/citizens and flipping those cards over (which then become additional expansion spaces.) Sometimes these spaces allow pearls to be spend, as do some of the seasonal event cards that Pearlbrook introduces, but the main way in which you’ll spend pearls is by investing in the monuments, which are worth increasingly more points (right up to 25) should you be able to afford them.A simplified version of the base game aimed at a younger audience called My Lil' Everdell was published in 2022 . [12] Digital edition [ edit ] But ultimately, with the exception of the weather cards, this felt a bit like more of the same. I think I’m in the minority on this — my family loves the big creatures, for instance — but this expansion didn’t capture my attention quite like Pearlbrook (where I love the wonders and the pearls as resources) and also doesn’t have the functionality of Bellfaire (which provides new components and 5th and 6th player pieces and rules). EVERDELL New Expansions And Complete Collection Includes Spiders With Top Hats!". GeekTyrant . Retrieved 2022-11-21.
What this results in is the initial impression that the game might be quite brief (because everyone only has two animals) but in fact, it’s more likely that the first season will last four or five rounds of turns, with the second more than doubling in length and the third and final season taking up around half of the play time. As each season begins, the players will take one or two new workers to add to their pool (depending on the season.) At the end of a couple of the seasons, all buildings that previously produced when they were built, will produce again, generating a vast amount of resources for the final round of play. The Spirecrest expansion for Everdell introduces weather cards, big critters, and a journey/exploration mechanic. Does this expansion enhance the Everdell experience, or does it unnecessarily complicate gameplay? Review I’d show them now, except that the other side to Everdell , the side you can only experience (because it’s not really visible on the cards) is how deep the game is. I’ve played it with some of the best board gamers I know and we’ve had games that reached nearly a hundred points between the top players, yet there was only one or two points in it. We once had a game that was so tight, we drew on seventy three. Creating a game that has as many ways to win as Everdell does, but which remains as tight as it does is a real marvel.I love the fact that all the various facets of Spirecrest are tied together by your rabbit explorer travelling along the trail at the end of season. Your rabbit Meeple is little more than a place marker really but it’s a nice thematic flourish. More importantly though It keeps the expansion compact, easy to understand and remember. As you’re completing your explore action the next player can even be continuing with their go. This keeps the total time added to each game very low too, while the effect on gameplay is considerable. My point is that this particular collector´s edition adds a cherry on top, as opposed to Pearlbrook which robbed you blind of the entire dessert if you acquired the retail equivalent. As for the actual components, they are of outstanding quality throughout. I never cease to be amazed at the wonderful artwork courtesy of Andrew Bosley, his vivid illustrations of anthropomorphic woodland critters and the locales they inhabit are one of the main reasons I keep returning to this magical realm known as Everdell. OVERVIEW Season cards now effect gameplay, putting players through blustering blizzards or ferocious floods as their brave meeple soldiers on. These seasons can slow you down, reducing the resources you can gain or increasing the cost to play critters, hindering whatever plan you might have had. Spirecrest also adds a new mechanic to gain victory points, where players stitch together pieces of a map that they collect as they undertake their expedition, fulfilling tasks as they go. I love when a board game or expansion manages to exceed one’s expectations and Spirecrest does this in spades. A contributing factor to my positive feelings towards this most recent expansion to Everdell lies in the fact that James A. Wilson has designed the solo mode to provide the player with tangible options to manage Rugwort, as opposed to Pearlbrook where I always felt handcuffed and limited when trying to carve out a strategy for myself. The way this is achieved in Spirecrest is as simple as it is clever. Having the player choose which map tile to keep versus leave behind for Rugwort’s shady critter provides a much needed sense of control and tactical consideration, as you ponder over what will benefit you versus providing the scruffy rat with precious end-of-game victory points. This rather agonizing decision also extends to the acquisition of Discovery cards. Sure, the leftmost card on the market row is looking rather tempting, but do you really want to hand over three point tokens to Rugwort? It may sound somewhat simplistic but believe me when I say that these tweaks to the solo formula provides such a more enjoyable and interesting experience compared to the solitaire aspect of Pearlbrook. With Bellfaire, players are treated to an expansion that I would say falls firmly into the “more of the same” category, offering a number of small expansions that can be used in a modular way. Like the other expansions, it adds another side board or two, although the setup instructions are keen to point out that you don’t always need those.
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