Everdell Full Review: A Beautiful City-Building World Featuring Forest Animals
We bring you a detailed review of Everdell , a fascinating board game where you build a city of animals in a beautiful forest world where you discover something new every time you play.
Read on to find out everything you need to know before you buy Everdell, from its engaging gameplay to how it feels to play.
Game Basics
Everdell is a board game in which forest animals develop a town.
- Players: 1-4 (optimal for 3 players)
- Play time: 40-80 minutes (actually about 50-70 minutes)
- Ages: 10 years and older (recommended ages 13 and older)
- Game Designer: James A. Wilson
- Artwork by Andrew Bosley
Everdell is a board game where forest animals build, recruit, and develop their town. It's a mid-level game that cleverly combines worker placement and tableau building elements.
Players spend a year starting in winter and progressing through the following sequence: Winter ⇒ Spring ⇒ Summer ⇒ Autumn. What's unique about this game is that each player can progress through the seasons at their own pace . The seasons can be different for different people, so for example, Player A might be in "summer" but Player B in "autumn."
The core mechanics of the game are simple: you perform one of three actions: ① Place a piece, ② Play a card, or ③ Change the season. However, behind this simplicity lies a deep strategic nature.
Everdell: The perfect blend of beauty and strategy
We will introduce the charm of Everdell, which beautifully blends stunning art with deep strategic depth.
Overwhelming art and components
Everdell is one of the most beautiful board games ever made, with every piece created specifically for this world, and you'll find yourself spending hours staring at the card artwork instead of thinking about strategy.
The most striking feature is the imposing Evertree , which has become an iconic part of the game, being the most striking and memorable part of seeing Everdell on the table.
Each resource has its own unique look, shape, and even feel: fluffy berries feel like real berries, tiny pebbles are smooth and textured, jagged resins look shiny and valuable, and finally twigs are perhaps the most basic, but still resemble twigs and have their own unique texture and feel.
A brilliant integration of theme and mechanics
Everdell strives for immersion: every component, every piece of artwork, everything in this game has its own identity, making you feel like you're actually walking through the world of Everdell.
For example, there is a mechanic that allows you to play a critter for free if you control a particular construction. Every critter has a main building that they live in. For example, a teacher calls a school their home. If you control a school, you can play a teacher for free, and when you do, you place a small closed door token on the construction card to indicate that the construction is now occupied.
Strategic depth and freedom
Your turn is pretty simple, as all you have to do is place a piece or play a card, but your turn can also snowball into several other actions, making it more involved and interesting.
Starting in winter, you only have two pieces available, but as the seasons (rounds) progress, you gain more, up to six by autumn. Starting with this limited number of actions is great. With only two workers to start with, you have to think strategically about how to use them to maximize your first turn.
Excellent interaction between players
One of my favorite parts of Everdell is that you're playing along as you play your own game, and in many ways Everdell is full of indirect player interaction.
Player interactions also have a really good balance of being present but not obnoxious. Since all players use the same space for workers, there can be some jockeying for position and holding valuable spots to prevent others from getting there. But in general, especially in later seasons, there's always another route to take to get what you want.
Concerns and solutions
We will explain some of the things you may be concerned about when playing Everdell and what you can do about it.
The challenge of a slow start
It took me a few plays to get used to Everdell: the game is played over four seasons, and often it feels like the first two seasons just flew by, and it's still far from achieving everything it set out to.
The solution: This slow start is intentional game design. The final two seasons usually completely flip this feeling, and suddenly there's too much to do. Once you get used to it, the real challenge is seeing how much you can do in the early seasons. You'll discover the joy of maximizing your options and effectiveness in the later seasons.
The influence of card luck
If your luck with cards is unlucky, you may not get the cards you want at all and your score may not improve.
Countermeasures: The fun part of the game is that you have to decide whether to "create a solid strategy from the cards in your hand and the cards in play" or "bet on luck with cards and build the foundation for a combo." You can use either your "hand" or the "eight cards in play," so there are plenty of options.
Too complicated for beginners
There's a lot to see. Not only are there places to place workers all over the board, but they're also in other players' towns (cards in hand), and there are eight usable cards in play as well as in your hand, so it can be hard to keep track of everything.
Tips: You get used to it after playing once, and because the game is beautiful and you have so many options on your turn, downtime in Everdell always seems minimal, even at higher player counts. I personally consider it a good game to play as a step up to heavyweight board games.
Recommended for these people and occasions
We will introduce the people and play situations that Everdell is particularly recommended for.
Ideal for families
Everdell is a game the whole family will definitely want to play. It's a great fit for kids in the 10-13 age range, and the game is challenging but never feels punishing.
Those who love the beautiful game
If you're drawn to the theme and art of the game, you won't find many better options than Everdell. It's also incredibly photogenic and guaranteed to be a show-stopper at any gaming gathering.
Strategy game enthusiast
Everdell offers multiple ways to score, and it feels like we haven't seen all the strategies and ways to win yet. The self-paced gameplay adds to the strategic element, as the game ends when you can no longer take any actions.
Solo play enthusiasts
Everdell also features a unique solo mode, which feels completely like playing Everdell in a two-player setting, but allows for more thoughtful and strategic time investment.
Play Time: Each game lasts about 50-70 minutes, depending on the number of players, making it long enough to enjoy on a weekday evening.
Everdell is as close to the complete package as you can get. Beautiful artwork, clever game design, and endless replay value make it a must-play for any board game enthusiast. Everdell is not only a place worth visiting, it's a place you'll want to stay and never want to leave.
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