Starling Games Everdell

On first order, I received a Japanese, regular (not collector) edition. After re-ordering, I did receive an English version, but still NOT the Collector's Edition.

Bellissimo

Beautiful and fun game. Worth gifting to someone that enjoys tabletop games.

My wife loves this game and we crack it out occasionally to relax after a stressful day. The game is easy to play, seems very well balanced (our final scores are usually within 10 points of each other), the art is wonderful, and it's quick. Pros: - Great worker placement/engine builder that is easy to teach - Wonderful art and theming - truly delightful, even for a cynic like me. - Quick to play and easy to teach* (more on that in a second) - most of our games take 30-40 minutes. - Card-based nature gives it a bit of (shared) randomness and replayability. - Simple, elegant design, not a lot of bloated rules or unneded complexity. Cons: - I've heard this is true of many Starling Games, but the manual is not well written and poorly laid out. My wife is a rulebook fan, but we both needed to watch a round or two being played online to understand it. There's also some imprecise wording on some of the cards that are open to interpretation. Nothing a good copy edit and wording changes in a second edition wouldn't fix, but it can make the first game or two a little frustrating. - Full sized cards (preferably with sleeves), the big standing tree, and large play area mean you'll need a lot of table space for this. I wish the cards were a smidge smaller to reduce its footprint.

After 5 games under my belt, this has become one of my favourites. I don't normally splurge to this extent -- money's tight -- but I'd heard really good things about it enough to make this a bit of a birthday treat. Contrary to all appearances it is not a "gateway" game. There is a learning curve... steeper for some depending on experience. Be prepared to spend more time on the first few games than is being advertised. The theme though evocative of Wind in the Willows, Beatrix Potter and Watership Down, this is not a "children's" game although the entire family can have fun with it. The game certainly deserves all the praise it has gotten for it's beautiful artwork and delightful components. My copy (seems to be the second printing) came with the upgraded wooden twigs as well. Replayability factor is high. Every game so far has been different depending on the movement and pick of cards in hand, in the Meadow and around the forest locations. It does take a while to get acquainted with the deck to play more tactically but it's worth it to see improvements in how the tableau and engine shapes up. The worker placement in this is also very cleverly designed. Save your pennies as I highly recommend this for those who want a bit more of a challenge in terms of tactics and strategy.