Lol, so it turns out one of my criticisms of the game is slightly unfounded. As there are marks on the cards to show their frequency. Little score marks on the branch. I completely missed those. My bad :)

@thelaughingman4791

4 жыл бұрын

You caught me, I was coming down here to say that.

@tychay

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah I missed that too, but then someone explained it when I asked on the forums about why the Pearlbrook card numbers were weird. The mistake that got me heading in the wrong direction is that "unique" and "common" is a tableau/power restriction not a frequency restriction.

@emmaplaysgreen2849

2 жыл бұрын

To be fair, those marks are teen-tiny and when you are as old as I am, they are bloody difficult to spot unless someone actually points them out!

@Thalassicus01

Жыл бұрын

Where exactly are the marks? I genuinely can't find them.

@3MBG

Жыл бұрын

@@Thalassicus01 Ok, its really small. Grab a card, look at the name of the critter or place, move your eyes to the left of the coloured bar the name is in and there is a part of the left tree thing growing over the top of the name bar. In there are slash marks. Super small and real easy to miss.

THE BERRIES ARE SQUISHY.

Bought it on Friday, been playing for three days straight, never happened with a game before. We're eating or having coffee and people who are not into board games keep talking about strategies and plays. It's been a huge success in my family.

@3MBG

4 жыл бұрын

Fantastic. I think Everdell is one of the best games to come out in the last few years. Its not too complex, but it has depth

@TheShapingSickness

4 жыл бұрын

@@3MBG yes! The core gameplay is super simple, but you can make stuff happen and it feels very satisfactory to pull off combos even if you don't win.

The component looks so yummy

Really love your series of videos. Remarkably concise while providing enough to get going!! Many thanks

This is one of our favorite games to play with our kids. We also nearly forgot about the events on our first few plays.

That game looks just adorable. Definitely one for my list . Thanks for the review. Have to see if our local shop sells it.

Ok so I played this game once from my friend's collection and I knew I had to have it for two reasons. 1. Badgers. 2. It may be really strange but it reminded me so much of Redwall and gave me such a wonderful sense of peace and nostalgia I knew I would have to have it. I actually bought the massive collection thing that I will not be getting until early next year, but it will come with eeeverything. As for the Event Cards, in the 4 player game we played they were almost ignored, but in solo play you really can't ignore them or you will almost immediately lose as the AI gets a lot of points for the ones you did not claim. I would say the only thing I do not like about the game is actually the tree itself. Mainly because It's a bit flimsy and I felt it got in the way so I don't use it. Plus in the four player game we played, because it's a round table, the person sitting behind the tree had vision difficulties.

I have this game sitting in Kentucky - I am so ready to get home and dive in. Even with the crit - I am biased for forest creatures XD

Great work as usual. Cheers.

I have Skulk Hollow on order. First time looking up Everdell, looks good.

It has a solo mode?! Okay. I'm sold!

I played Everdell for the first time at games night last week. With four players, three new, one who had played the game once and was doing 'the teach', it took us four hours to complete the teach and then the game! We spent so much time looking up specific details in both the rules and FAQ, and that's with me having a second copy of both in English (we were playing in French). I also had to look up a couple of things on BGG that weren't covered in either. I think that a second game, with the same players, will go much faster! I've borrowed the game from the club's library to try out the solo mode now. We also need to find a way to protect the tree over the long term. One solution while it's in the cupboard at the club is to keep it stored already assembled but as members will be borrowing the game regularly - we only bought it a couple of months ago - it will still be disassembled and reassembled frequently. And unlike similar components such as the Wingspan dice tower or the Kabuto Sumo platform, it's too large to be stored pre-assembled in the box. As to the gameplay, I really enjoyed it, I found it more accessible than Terraforming Mars and the only card that I've come across so far with any real form of take was 'Fool' which deducts 2 points from another player at the end of the game. The Post Office could indirectly interfere with future plans by adding unwanted cards to a players hand, maybe? Unlike in Terraforming Mars which has cards - like the infamous Asteroid - that can actively disrupt and setback the engine you've already built. Fulfilling the special events did rely on being able to access the right cards, at the right time, during the game - probably harder at four players than at lower player counts, to be fair. The biggest problem though goes back to the tree. It's beautiful and, from the game's launch, was the first thing about the game that caught people's eye. But, besides my previously mentioned concerns re: durability, it also reduces the accessibility of the game, placing already small cards with tiny print far away from the players . For context, I was sat right next to the tree, we had two folding tables (the sort often used in community rooms) arranged in a T, with the tree on the horizontal of the T and two players sat next to it and the other two on the vertical. I found the special events cards and the further half of the Meadow cards very difficult to read but even the two Forest Location cards closest to me, which were more complex than the two just take these resources' cards across the other side, were difficult to read. As for reading other players' tableaux? The player next to me was fine but not those opposite, unless I recognised the cards because they were also in my own tableau or had passed through my hand at some point. As for seeing the little OPEN signs? Forget it! I've seen KZreadrs and streamers play with the tree placed flat, unassembled and I think that might be a better choice for games at club nights where we frequently have at least one person playing a game for the first time, and given the size of our specific tables too. Personally, I'd have preferred a more accessible approach all around, without the tree, and maybe that would have also brought the price point down a little too? Finally, and sorry for going on so long on an older video J, but I was happy to be able to play this at club as it meant that I have not personally, directly made a financial contribution to the nightmare publisher: Starling Games. The club copy was actually published here by Matagot and the purchase decision was made as a result of a regular voting process. My votes went to different games. I hope that one day, Everdell finds a better home, with a much more ethical publisher.

@3MBG

2 жыл бұрын

I've never had any problems with the tree. Seems to store and setup just fine. The special event cards on the other hand, we just don't use them at all anymore. Using the monuments from pearlbrook instead. Easier to read, act as an end game goal and are just generally better for the game

@adventure_hannah3841

Жыл бұрын

A+ review, I'd agree with all of it.

i wasnt quite sold yet until the squishy berry part!

"Wife. Common critter." xD

Best quick summary I've seen, and I've seen 4.

@3MBG

4 жыл бұрын

4 of mine, or 4 of tapestry, or just 4 in your entire life :)

@camfreeman8325

4 жыл бұрын

@@3MBG 4 of Everdell. Now I'm curious about your Tapestry summary. That's some trickstery self-promotion, you...

@3MBG

4 жыл бұрын

Lol, oops. In my feed this comment is in between a bunch of tapestry comments I was answering. And the thumbnails of the covers are similar colours, so my brain didnt notice it was for everdell.

This looks awesome, and great review as always, Since I know you share my love for Terraforming Mars, could you maybe elaborate a little on how the two compare? The shared middle cards seem like a great addition!

@3MBG

4 жыл бұрын

Its mostly about how you build a tableau of cards that connect to each other. Everdell is more simple in the terms of card interactions. But in both games, you end up with a sprawl of cards in front of you that you want to have working together

@SummaPlusANumberGrrr

4 жыл бұрын

@@3MBG thanks mate! I'll have to check it out for sure!

Everdell is deceptive. People think, because of the theme, that it is a gateway/starter game, but the weight is firmly in the middle and the play is tight. For instance, I lost my first game with my girlfriend, and I **never** lose my first game of a euro to her. The reason was I thought filling the tableau would not happen (the first season seems impossibly weak), but I basically hit that wall by the start of the last season (built the engine too fast and it ran out of steam so to speak). She swept up a bunch of points since I was played out and won by a single point.

@3MBG

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah, at several points in a game i've had to shift gear from builfing a tableau to blowing up cards to make space. I love the dungeon for that :)

@ThomasLuongo

4 жыл бұрын

This is a rare euro with engine building where building an efficient engine will cause you to lose. You found out the deceptive balance point in Everdell I adore. Force the bit twiddlers and the mathists to stop looking for efficiency and balance that with 'points per spot' and 'points per action'. I mentioned this on BGG right after the game came out after seeing it happen in both of our initial plays and James Wilson confirmed that was a design goal. This game is not 'He Who Builds the Best Engine Wins'... and that is really refreshing in a spate of stale engine-building euros.

@tychay

4 жыл бұрын

Tom Luongo Yes. Such a refreshing take on engine building. I hope more game designs try this idea out.

@emmaplaysgreen2849

2 жыл бұрын

Sorry for replying two years later but only just played my first game. Yes! I had a very similar reaction to the first season! As someone who's played many euros, I tried straight away to see the path through the game, to building resources over and over but it was very well-camouflaged! My engine and general thread also run out of steam but more because of my fatigue - we'd been at the table for 4 hours, including the teach! I'm looking forward to playing it more and more.

Root is an effing war, very roothles, if you catch my cold^^ I always build an engine and advance to spring when everyone is in the end of their summer....

Why this game gives me The secret of NIMH vibes? Guess now i have to buy this lol

@3MBG

4 жыл бұрын

A lot more cheerful than NIMH :) Closer to sylvanian families

We just got this. I am really enjoying it. You mentioned that you thought the basic events were a weakspot in the base game. Can you explain a bit? I thought those worked pretty well. Looking at the expansion (without having played it of course) I would think the new event monuments would be overkill. I assume this is not the case? Interestingly, the 2-player game, I did not find much use for the special events, but in the 4 player, they became much more useful--I think because we went through the entire deck in 4 player, so all the cards got revealed. The base game is fantastic.

@3MBG

2 жыл бұрын

I found the events were combinations of things that didn't normally work well together, so to me it felt "anti-combo building" in a way. Most of the game is about chaining together the right buildings and creatures, but the events seemed like random pairs. To me, that felt off

Squish squish! xD

Thanks for the review. Game looks interesting. I can't have been the only one expecting at 2:56 to say "Heroquest", right?

@3MBG

3 жыл бұрын

Heh, must have been your first video of ours as that's a regular segment. But props to the bard for that amazing review.

Wish there was a board game like this with the 3d parts, but simpler to play

@3MBG

4 жыл бұрын

I'm sure there is out there somewhere.

I think it would be great if you would note that many of the things shown are not in the game if you buy it retail. Especially the Pearlbrook expansion. Only has 8 adornment cards, only one New type of critters, no 3D wonders and no open/closed signs. As in at all.

@3MBG

4 жыл бұрын

I wasn't aware of that. I've played my copy and a friends. Must have both been KS versions (mine was a review copy)

@TheLuminousCleric

3 жыл бұрын

@@3MBG You are showing the Collector's Edition stuff.

Interesting. If you had to go with one pastel-hued, sylvan engine builder, do you go with this or Wingspan?

@3MBG

4 жыл бұрын

Everdell by a country mile. My main issue with wingspan is the lack of control over what cards you get. The meadow in everdell, and all the options for drawing vastly increase your options and decision space.

@tychay

4 жыл бұрын

Wingspan is basically Terraforming Mars lite in terms of mechanics. Everdell is a worker placement with tableau/engine building: the closest examples I've seen are Anachrony (the tableau when it has free actions) and Manhattan Project Energy Empire (generate turn). If you like birds, I think Wingspan. It's also good for non-gamers since it is so light. I don't think it's a game that rewards skill though. (I'm open to being wrong, I'm just saying the skill cap in Wingspan is low and the variance in the game is high.) But overall, I feel Everdell has both a higher floor and a higher ceiling in both difficulty of play and overall enjoyment. It's hard to imagine if you've seen Wingspan, but Everdell has it beat in component quality, component "fun" , and overall table presence. Very few games can claim that. When I brought the game to our boardgame cafe, even the owner stopped by to watch us play. And the resources have to be seen in person to be believed. Marie Kondo would say the berries "spark joy" - which means I can keep it on our game shelf.

@3MBG

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah Terry, on the podcast i said Everdell was the game i thought should have gotten as much love as Wingspan did. As its, in my mind, a better looking, better playing game.

@ThomasLuongo

4 жыл бұрын

@@3MBG Absolutely. Rote engine builders are, frankly, boring and you burn out on them quickly. Everdell was hurt by a small KS campaign and no initial presence in retail. Jamie Stegmaier is an excellent marketer/publisher of his games, a far better marketer than game designer IMO.

@tychay

4 жыл бұрын

@@ThomasLuongo Actually, I feel Jamey is a brilliant designer but he is more like a Steven Spielberg than a Martin Scorsese. They are both brilliant in their own way, but to an game enthusiast (movie buff), the former give up some of the pursuit of the art in order to generate mass appeal. With Spielberg it is things like the unnecessary, happy endings (end of Saving Private Ryan, A.I. and Schindler's List). With Jamey it is a higher variance, lighter weight, lower confrontation to create a slow buildup to satisfying-and-powerful late game turns. (BTW, Jamey didn't design Wingspan. However I am pretty sure he had a huge hand in it. I've only played the game once, but those last moves of your engine are a hallmark of most of Jamey's games-pretty much every one I've played other than Between Two Castles.)

How would you compare this to 51st State? They seem to have some vague similarities gameplay-wise, from open production locations to places you can fight over with workers, although the lack of variety in card usage and lower interaction is probably what might tilt me towards 51st, at least from what I'm seeing.

@3MBG

4 жыл бұрын

Pretty good comparison actually. 51st state is a bit nastier as you can directly trash other peoples stuff, and the card drafting is each turn and not a shared pool you can play from. But the feeling of collecting sets to make an engine in a tableau is very close. If you like more "biff" in your games, 51st state is probably a better pick. As there are few ways to screw people over in everdell.

@tychay

4 жыл бұрын

3 Minute Board Games Yeah there is basically only 2 cards that resemble 51st State/Imperial Settlers in the base game. Contention is mostly through taking or sitting on worker placement spots and removing or building meadow cards. If you want 51st state interaction, but want a less cuthroat/dark theme then I recommend Imperial Settlers: Empires of the North. It’s basically the same game more refined.

Hey I'm an avid gamer of all sorts, mainly video games. I rediscovered board games a couple of weeks ago and I'm binging it :). I wanted to go with Stone Age for my next purchase but it looks to me that Everdell is an improved version of it, thoughts? Also, would you mind letting me know what would be your top 10 games, especially playable with 2 players? So far I've bought 7 wonders Duel and Hive that I love but also Pandemic which is alright. That's an open question, please guys feel all free to respond to your new community member! :))

@3MBG

4 жыл бұрын

Cheers Angelo. I am planning on doing two top 2 player lists in the future, one of for competitive games and one for co-ops. I'm personally a big fan of heavy 2 player games like Twilight struggle, Rebellion, War of the ring and paths of glory. For lower complexity, azul and santorini.

@angeloptz1475

4 жыл бұрын

@@3MBG Thanks! :)

@BenjaminoBest

4 жыл бұрын

Splendor and Carrcasonne are low complexity as well. I haven’t played them yet but Gloomhaven, Spirit Island and Dead of Winter are on my list too and seem doable with 2 players while being a little more complex it seems. Perhaps Mage Knight and Zombicide too but waiting for the 2nd edition of zombicide. All very different from each other but all on my list nonetheless.

Thx! Great review. Now I want to buy it to play with my family. Our should I go for wingspan instead?

@3MBG

4 жыл бұрын

Personally, i vastly prefer Everdell, although its probably a half step up in terms of complexity.

@alexanderavdeyenko1106

4 жыл бұрын

@@3MBG well, i bought one game after your video(mage knight) and like it so much. I should trust you again I suppose:)

@tychay

4 жыл бұрын

Alexander Avdeyenko Well if you own mage Knight then Everdell is a few steps down in complexity so you’ll be good. I think Everdell is a hidden gem, just wait until it is back in stock before purchasing, especially if you are going to go with collectors edition versions (direct or through the kickstarter that will drop in a week). Wingspan is good to, especially if you like birds and bird facts. But Everdell gets most people more involved in its theme.

@LeeroyPorkins

4 жыл бұрын

Wingspan is fine. I think it's overhyped, but still a decent game.

Oh dang Root burnnn

Is saying you only get 4 frog actions correct? I recall some major events allowing you to recall worker, could you grab a frog back that way?

@3MBG

4 жыл бұрын

Frogs don't count as workers unless specifically mentioned in the text. There may be a way to recall one but i didnt see it. Normal recall tricks wont work

@ConanMcKegg

4 жыл бұрын

@@3MBG It's specifically mentioned in the Pearlbrook rules that Ambassadors are not workers. Hence the different name and location options. Frogs can only be used once per season.

@tychay

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah and Pearls are not resources. If either weren’t special, it’d break the game economy (after all pearls are worth 2 VP by themselves and often much more in concert with other things for adornments , special events, or rulebreaking caused by the new tableau cards) and Frog (ambassadors) are the only way to get pearls.

If I already have Lost Ruins Of Arnak and Terraforming Mars. Should I get this too? I'm thinking I have this space covered. But this game looks so good. Idk.

@3MBG

2 жыл бұрын

Potentially yes, i find it scratches a different itch to the other 2

@manonfire4jc

2 жыл бұрын

@@3MBG ok. I went all in on the late pledge. Thanks.

Is this game have good replayability? My friend said too many similar card so there is not a lot of option, is that true?

@3MBG

4 жыл бұрын

Nah, i wouldn't say that at all. They are not all unique cards like terraforming mars. But the game is far from being scripted with low options. With a hand of up to 8 cards and 8 on the meadow, you can have 16 cards to play + worker placement options. So the only way i could see you being short on options is if you stack the deck the same way each time.

@albertk3038

4 жыл бұрын

@@3MBG i see. Thanks for the explanation

@tychay

4 жыл бұрын

Yes it does have replayability. You will see the same cards again, but play is varied because the forest (the best worker placement spots) and the special events (endgame VP bonuses) are always different. Plus, the card draw and meadow will vary which has a huge impact on the fact that the “rounds” phases (season bonuses) are out of order (see the text above the meeples at 2:07 . Mechanically, one of the most innovative parts of the game is how the pullback turns (and endgame) become staggered and the bonus varies on the phase. Jamey Stegmaier took that concept for his latest game, Tapestry, which will officially be out in November. Keep in mind, because the engine building aspect is card specific (instead of tag specific like in Terraforming Mars or Wingspan), it is absolutely essential that you see the same cards at some point (so often you will have at lease one chance to grab them). But on the other hand, you won’t get as much random variance/luck determines winners that happens in those other games. Think of it this way, In Ticket to Ride there are the same ticket cards over and over, while the route cards won’t be repeated. Does this repetition make TTR non-replayable? Some games are designed around that novelty (CCGs LCGs, deck builders, card-based engine builders (Terraforming Mars, Wingspan,…) Cards Against Humanity (and CAH inspired games)…) and the vast majority of others are not. If you have the collectors edition, there are a set of extra extra cards (like the cards added in Pearlbrook, but without the extra card draw balance), heroic cards (like the adornments in Pearlbrook), as well as 3 rugwort cards (take that cards). The CE version of Pearlbrook (the one featured in the review) has more cards than the retail one and will be available direct purchase after the kickstarter finishes fulfilling (and most likely through their next kickstarter next week). Obviously, the kickstarter will be adding 2 more expansions which adds even more variance. While I can’t speak definitively, there is someone on the BGG forums who has played this game well over a thousand of times. If you do the math this means his family is playing it multiple times each day (the game only came out last year).

@albertk3038

4 жыл бұрын

@@tychay thank you for the very detailed explanation. I dont know there is a pearlbook CE, i thought it was the same as retail. Kind of regret not backing everdell, never see this game in my country until now.

@ThomasLuongo

4 жыл бұрын

@@tychay Moreover, the order in which cards come out determines what you have to do. You can't just suck through the deck to get to a card you like to build the engine you want to build. And without a card draft to start the game, you have to play the hand you're dealt. Lastly, the timing on grabbing cards out of the meadow is an important part of this game as @3 Minute Board Games pointed out in the review.

As someone who loves Terraforming Mars, Anachrony and Energy Empire, would this be a good pick? I've heard some people complain about randomness, but that's maybe just a first playthrough feeling? I generally don't too much randomness in my games, and it's the reason I don't like games like Viticulture and Champions of Midgard.

@3MBG

4 жыл бұрын

It has probably less randomness than terraforming mars as your tableau is smaller and you can essentially have a 16 card hand using the meadow cards. Sure, you will get occasions where you don't draw the right card to finish a combo. But thats comparable to ending a game of t-mars with loads of titanium because you didn't get any space cards for ages. It happens sometimes.

@andreaslr27

4 жыл бұрын

@@3MBG Thank you for the reply. Yeah I have been there with lots of spare titanium by the end playing as Phoblog. I think, I will pick up a copy of Everdell, when the new print is hitting retail by the end of this month :).

Lol THE BERRIES ARE SQUISHY

Thanks a lot for this nice video. Unfortunately, this game seems to be exclusively for KS backers. It has never appeared in retail stores, neither online nor physical stores.

@3MBG

4 жыл бұрын

Should be arriving very shortly for retailers. Its going to be available in stores in Aotearoa. Not sure about where you are from.

@paolopiccione7470

4 жыл бұрын

@@3MBG Thank you. I live in Brazil, but I buy most of my games in the US. In Brazil it has not even been announced yet.

I'm just commenting to make a soundboard. :) 03:33

@3MBG

4 жыл бұрын

squish squish..... squish squish.

This game looks interesting, too bad it’s pretty pricey.

@3MBG

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, it ain't cheap. It's fancy looking though

@fightingkitchen7960

3 жыл бұрын

@@3MBG True.

6 minutes is NOT 'about 3 minutes'

@3MBG

2 жыл бұрын

"Everdell and pearlbrook in about 3 minutes each" Is the title of the video. I'm sorry if that concept is a little complex for you.