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). In addition to the worker placement spots that allow players to collect one of the games resources, everyone also has a hand of personal cards, as well as access to a shared hand of eight cards that are placed on the board, in a location called The Meadow. Many cards can be played without an action (although they may cost resources) so whilst the game appears as if it will be very brief thanks to the low number of workers in hand, it is actually much more involved that you might think. 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. The expedition map is worth a decent percentage of total score if you can pull off the whole thing. It’s nice having the choice of tiles to take so you can plan ahead a little. It’s not too tough to complete the expedition usually but it is something else to think about when planning your grand strategy. You might even consider Preparing for Season early to nab the map tile you want.

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. Whilst this additional board – and the focus on it when it is in play – adds some additional complexity, it’s all relative, and Spirecrest does not turn Everdell into a heavyweight experience. Almost all of the action in Spirecrest (aside from additional critters and a few new clearing and event cards) takes place at the end of each season – effectively giving the player options and decisions to make at a phase in the base game where not much usually happens. Law, Keith (December 18, 2018). "The Best Board Games of 2018 Party games, town-building, reissues, and more". Vulture . Retrieved January 18, 2019. Hall, Charlie (December 11, 2018). "The best board games of 2018, as chosen by the Board Game Geek community". Polygon . Retrieved June 27, 2019.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

The expedition map that you build is yours alone and you can plan specifically to complete it rather than aiming for a powerful wonder that someone else could steal away at any second. 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. 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.

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. 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. The board itself is fantastic quality with absolutely gorgeous artwork that clearly depicts all of the key locations, without ever losing the sense of style that links visual functionality perfectly with the whimsical woodland setting of the game. On the board, the player will position a three-dimensional model of the Evertree, which towers over the board and features a couple of tiers of branches on to which cards and animeeples will be placed. There are also a number of bonus cards (some of which are random) that will be added to either the branches of the tree, in clearings around the board or along the river that runs across its top third.

The last thing you do when changing seasons is “travel,” meaning you move along the mountain board. As you do this, if the next weather card is not revealed, you do it now. Weather affects general rules of the game — for example, a blizzard means you take a resource fewer at forest spaces, or a drought means production cards do not activate when played — so this can alter the strategy. This is probably my favorite of the new mechanics, since it works thematically and, with 12 different weather cards, adds variation to the game.

The stunning art Everdell is known for flows perfectly through into the Spirecrest board which sits neatly beneath the original. 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.