Out of the blue, the long awaited Mistwood arrived, completing my Everdell collection.
There are as always, plenty of opinions about the Evedell expansions, but anyway, here is another.
Bellfaire is a must if the core game is well played and getting a little thin or predictable, or the big tree wrankles (we tend to miss things on it and it can get damaged easily). Mine spent six months assembled sitting on the box until it inevitably got bent. Also increasing the player count to six, it fills out and balances the card count, adds race specialities*, makes the solo game better, replaces the tree, adds a way to trade resources (a massive road-block remover) and adds more victory options, all without changing the core game’s feel much at all. Highly recommended especially for bigger groups or if the game is getting stale. It does make the board bigger, but less unweildy by replacing the tree.
Mistwood is my next choice because again, it adds depth to the core game and introduces an even better solo option**, one that can be played as a disruptive ghost player. This does change the game dynamic considerably, but it is a call out to a different style within the envelope of the basic game, not a change of the core game. Solo is important to me, but also the vibe of the game appeals, taking the sweetness of Everdell and adding an all against the menacing nasty dynamic. Even if you don’t use the Spiders, there is some good content added. Recommended especially for solo players.
Spirecrest is one of the big expansions, adding a large “questing” board and changes the core game. This does not appeal. Apart from the board size and major emphasis shift, the table real estate is strained and the core game changes too much for me. This could have been made as a separate game completely that could be played along side or before/after Everdell. The weather mechanic is also disliked by many as being either irrelevant or too effective! Up to you, changes the game some, not in my collection.
Pearlbrook, take Spirecrest and double it. Pearlbrook seems to take over the game, hyjacking the victory conditions and shifting the game dynamic to one I find a stretch thematically. Up to you, changes the game-a lot, especially the victory conditions, again not for me. Ironically, if you get the lot, the base board is completely surrounded by extra panels, but it is not recommended you play them all together! Everdell is a simple, elegant concept, muddied by too much going on.
Newleaf is the most likely to be added (but won’t be) as it seems to fit well with the original feel of the game, but it hints at a larger world, which again takes away (for me) some of the Everdell feel. It goes from a late Medieval fantasy civilisation hidden in the woods, the center of the world if you like (like Mouse Guard) to an early steam era country outpost of a bigger world. Personally I do not want Everdell to feel like Schythe or Ticket To Ride. Another board, more mechanics, maybe too much.
Extra Extra! is a small box expansion with just more and different cards. All good and glad I got it for variety. Recommended, but not needed.
Legends is the same, adding in some major players with a handful of cards. These tend to be very popular in our games and add some role-playing immersion. Mistwood adds more of these, so we anticipate the even deeper stories. Recommended, but not needed.
Rugwort was the original small solo expansion. The game has easy solo rules built in, but Rugwort adds the actual villain and his black rat minions. I missed the original upgrade pack, so I bought the cards from BBG store and the meeples from Etsy. Some feel the three Rugwort cards are too powerful, mean even, so choose your day, but the black meeples are good when playing solo as they feel more menacing. With Bellfaire and Mistwood, the Rugwort cards feel more balanced, so they will likely be used more. Up to you, good for a solo player or if you want a little nasty.
My three boxes with the small expansions integrated.
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So, if you like the game but want more, or feel there is a need for some added depth and balance;
Bellfaire, Extra Extra.
You want more characters and bespoke story elements in the game;
Legends, Mistwood.
You like, or need to play solo (neither is strictly needed for occasional games);
Mistwood, Rugwort.
You don’t like the core game as is, but wish you did or love it and cannot get enough;
Spirecrest, Pearlbrook, Newleaf - basically everything.
This brings us logically back to the “Expansion envelope theory”. Here are my rules for avoiding or embracing expansionism.
Does the expansion add to the game in a logical and meaningful way?
Does the expansion feel right to you?
Is balance retained or even better, is balance improved?
Does the expansion change the core game assumptions and if so is it for the better or is it worse?
Can the expansion be played more often than not and with other existing expansions?
With 7 Wonders Duel for example we love the Pantheon expansion and feel it makes the game better and balances some elements. It’s telling that my wife is less inclined to go for a military victory and has pulled off the odd science win, which would not have happened in the base game. This fits in the envelope, although it doubles the table space needed.
Agora is not played much, but is in the wings for essentially a different gaming experience. For us, Agora makes the game less about a long term civilisation building game and more feels like the story of a single city in a more machiavellian, Roman civil war competitive feel. We feel it plays more as a mob/territory game. This one is purely optional, feeling like Pealrbrook above and it breaks most of the above rules.
The Etsy printed/freely downloaded Leaders expansion, fan made content based on the full 7 Wonders expansion of the same name, is an ideal booster for the base game if you don’t want to set up Pantheon or you are travelling light (it fits in the Core box), but my wife is less keen on it and really dislikes it if we are using Pantheon (although oddly she likes it more with Agora). I think this is as good an addition as the Pantheon expansion, with easier setup and a smaller footprint It offers alternatives to both the base game and Pantheon mechanics and tons of immersion with named characters. We have messed around with the application of this one and it seems to take it well.
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For Eldritch Horror as another example, the same goes. The four small expansions are great additions, either adding balance, depth, good additional elements or all of these. The large box expansions are far less compelling, just adding more of more at a premium.
Three good games completed and balanced. Yes I could add more, but there are so many more games to play.
*We use all of them as “allied” abilities if the meeples are not available, but may end up buying all the meeples separately from Etsy.
**Rugwort is fine, but the AI in Mistwood is more balanced, varied and intelligent.