I can almost guarantee that everyone’s first play featured mildly neglected cities or cities engineered specifically to grab pearls to get the big Wonders, just to see if they pay off. I can still remember my daughter striving to build the EverTree—her favorite card—only to then trash it via the University or Ruins for a bonus and a chance at the twenty-five point Starfalls Flame. It was exciting, but why must the inclusion of a River eradicate celebrated Events and thrust play in one specific compass direction? The idea that a natural setting could upend the and eliminate key bits of creaturely life seemed odd then, and still does. A new resource is introduced in the form of pearls, and an additional animal meeple (a Frog Ambassador) is added for each of the existing colours from the base game, plus one for each of the four new animal types/colours that are included in Pearlbrook itself. The box also includes four three-dimensional monuments that represent different wonders, and these sit along the top of the river on the base board, which is amended slightly by using a couple of overlay tiles. Now the modules—we’ve stumbled upon another story altogether! We enjoy the Market, though we find we don’t utilize it all that often. The Garland Awards and the Flower Festival Event are fun and seamless boosts to the game. We don’t even pull out the northward-reaching Bellfaire board for these extras half the time, but that doesn’t make us love them any less! Bellfaire includes rules for adding a fifth and sixth player to your games of Everdell. I prefer lower player counts if only to save on time and table space. Having said that I do have a regular 5 player gaming group so adding the facility to play above the original 4 player max is very much appreciated. It also makes this one of the more versatile games out there with an incredible solo to 6 player range. You may pay as many twigs as you would like. Example: You could pay 6 twigs to decrease the cost of a Construction by 3 resources.

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. Moles: Whenever you use a worker to gain resources from a location, you may pay up to 1 of those resources you just gained to gain 1 pebble. While I now own the wooden EverTree, and it is beautiful, I would hardly call it necessary. It is more of a conversation piece for the mantle than a practical component. Before we logged a half-dozen plays of the base game, we dispensed with the assembly of the tree. While the world stretches less into the third dimension without it, I cannot defend it as anything more than decoration for those playing on oversized tables. In the name of science, I had no choice but to play one game with every available expansion (with the exception of Mistwood) simultaneously to see if Everdell can bear the weight of its own worldbuilding glory. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised, though the absurd play did reinforce several of my opinions regarding the expansions. Hedgehogs: If you did not gain a berry when you placed a worker on a Basic or Forest location, gain 1 berry.The card mechanics are interesting and come with elevated depth via the Plots and Plans for those who prefer a more storied encounter. I appreciated the variety of actions on the cards, and I thought the progression of options was easy to follow and administer. There is a variable and viable opponent in Nightweave, and for that, I celebrate the solo offering. If nothing else, Mistwood might entice more players into the Everdell world. There are clearly laid out procedures to integrate every other expansion with the spider’s lair. Across the board, there seems to be a lot of love in this particular expansion. 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. Everdell Bellfaire is the most recent expansion in the Everdell line. The expansion is modular, meaning it comes with different pieces that can be mixed and matched. While it changes gameplay less than Pearlbrook and Spirecrest, and is less thematic, I consider it the most functional of the expansions, since it has some cool elements that integrate nicely with the base game. While Pearlbrook is my favorite of the expansions, if you’re looking primarily for a few extras (including components and rules for 5-6 players), Bellfaire is where you should look first. Asymmetry has come to the land of Everdell! One of the most interesting modules added by Bellfaire are the unique player abilities. Each critter type, including all those from the collectors editions, get their own critter card with a totally unique ability or power. If you like asymmetry in your games or just fancy a bit more variation this is a really nifty way to achieve it. Each set of rules are concise enough to fit on a very small card but can change the way you play appreciably. Critter comforts

The new Bellfaire special Events are less specific events than those found in the base game. These can be added to the game in a number of ways, depending on preference: Spirecrest proved its worth admirably. The Big Critters were a massive help in the wider affair, and the Weather effects forced the same sort of strategic adjustments along the way. We were still able to pull off most of our Expedition targets. For what it’s worth, the new saddles (if any out there know the frustration of the first edition’s troubles) work beautifully—we were so happy to finally mount up the critters properly. I am not a solo gamer. In fairness to my love of Everdell, though, and in my desire to represent the full breadth of options well, I sat down to Mistwood and a mono e mono showdown (does Nightweave even have hands?!) with the spider. This expansion did not convert me. But there are two reasons I look at Mistwood so favorably on this list.A shedload of realistic looking and nicely crafted resources (rolly wooden logs, hard, shiny stones, translucent, golden amber and squishy pink berries) are also placed along the river at their gathering locations, with the effect of both the tactile resources and the huge Evertree put together resulting in a nice sense of height, albeit one that is, unfortunately, purely cosmetic. There are, of course, the animeeples, money tokens and a few other components, but the final major piece of the puzzle (and the one that you’ll spend the most time staring at) is probably Everdell ’s single, huge pile of cards. I was worried the Visitors would turn into a late-game dumpster dive, but the mechanism is preventative. With a one-worker limit on the location at a given time, the stars must align to pull multiple cards in a given season. Plus, with all the work being done in the city, there isn’t always time to spend a worker gaining the card. Instead, they are a pleasant temptation and an occasional competition. Nicely done!

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.

Components

You only gain the reward and move the token if the card is played, not if it is drawn or discarded. Without hesitation or doubt, Legends is my favorite expansion concept to grace the big board. Available from the first cards in the Collector’s Edition, this set has been further expanded by the occasional promo and in the Mistwood box to its full potential, and I honestly love every last bit. Pearlbrook was the first box expansion to see the light of retail day after the base game and Collector’s Edition. The western expansion introduced a new scene—the River. It also introduced the first oversized and specialized meeple—the Frog Ambassador, a specialized resource—the Pearl, and a game-changing substitution in the Wonders. River destinations instantly became a charming and lucrative source of resource swapping. Adornment cards introduced fascinating ways to spend the Pearls. The twenty new cards drew players into the new locations and options by earning and rewarding pearl collection.

There isn’t much more to say, and that is probably why it sits in the #2 spot. It just fits. #1 – Legends In the same vein as adding the Garland Awards, Bellfaire ups the ante on the different events that players are vying for. The Flower Festival Event tile acts similarly to the four Basic Event tiles found in the base game where a player can place a worker here once he or she meets the criteria and score four points at the end of the game. To be eligible for the Flower Festival Event, a player must have one of each card type in their city. Besides these cards, the biggest change is probably the Bellfaire board, which sits atop the base game board and eliminates the need for the tree. Like the tree, the Bellfaire board has spaces to hold your workers for future seasons, as well as spaces to put special events. In the middle of the board, though, are some new elements: the flower festival, a space for a garland award, and the market. I get similar feelings—feelings of home and grandeur—on a lesser scale when I finish a game of Everdell. The work of city building finished, with every uncertainty laid to rest, nothing remains but to enjoy the splendid scene and leave the critters to their new home in relative peace.

Personally, I enjoy the thought of the Market since it provides a flexible action location but, in all honesty, I don’t find myself using it very often. I think it would have been more useful if the number of resources you get from each token were slightly different. One token has three twigs on it and a card, but there is already a normal location with three twigs. Sure, that extra card might be good but then the tile swings to the Trade side and that gives my opponent an easy three victory points and two resources if she decides to turn in the three twigs (that she could easily secure from the main board) and a card.