Children build cities in the clearing – review of the board game “My Little Everdell”

A smaller version of Everdell

My little Everdell,  as the name suggests, is a simplified, faster version of Everdelladdressed mainly to younger players and their families. Like its older brother, it is worker placement, in which we place our workers on the board to obtain certain goods. After performing this action, we play the card to our city, paying its cost in amber, twigs and berries. The cards feature characters or places, and they belong to one of five species. Each type offers different perks. This can be a resource received at the beginning of each of the four rounds. Purple ones generate victory points for cards of a given type collected in the city. Red allows you to place your worker on them to get some benefit. It is worth paying attention to the types, because in addition to gaining victory points from cards, VPs can also be obtained by capturing a parade token, and whoever completes the goal first will receive more points (e.g. collect one card of each species). Of course, the person with the most points wins. The rules are relatively simple, and most importantly, building your city from cards is enjoyable and satisfying.

The best bits were cut out

I realize that a lot of mechanics had to be cut out to simplify the game. However, in my opinion, the most interesting parts were removed. In My Little Everdellthere is no point in looking for any interesting synergy between the cards. Both free building and interesting combinations like “husband + farm + wife” do not appear here. The situation is even worse with the worker placement mechanics. Basically, we only have three types of fields, i.e. a space available to an unlimited number of workers, offering one resource. In addition, a more interesting location where we obtain the raw materials shown on the dice (there are as many dice on the board as there are players), under which we place our pet. Since there is only room for one pawn, this will always be the first choice of all players! The last option is red cards, but they need to be built first. My little Everdell, in my opinionit will be great as an introduction to board games for young players, but after playing this title, I think they will not be able to master the basic version so easily. If it weren’t for the beautiful workmanship, it would be enough to change the name and the reference to Everdell would only be visible in the form of red cards.

Delicious looking blueberries

My little Everdell, just like the original, delights with its workmanship. Fortunately, this version omitted the large and completely unnecessary tree. Instead, there are crates for raw materials that delaminate easily. Fortunately, it is not them that draw attention, but the beautifully crafted raw materials that we put in them. Berries, sticks and amber look as wonderful as in the original. The graphics are also beautiful. Each canvas card features a unique illustration! Apart from the boxes, there’s nothing to complain about here. The workmanship is first class, and when unfolded, the game looks great on the table.

The advantage of this item is also the efficient solo mode, in which you can face Prince Periwinkle or Princess Coltsfoot. They are exceptionally easy to use and, unfortunately, not very demanding. Finally, it is worth adding that the game includes a mini expansion for both My Little Everdell and the original.

Is it worth visiting Everdell’s world ?

My little Everdell is an extremely beautifully published game. Both the graphic design and the workmanship of the raw materials are stunning. It will certainly interest and delight the youngest players. Although unfortunately I don’t see much of the original Everdell in this entry , creating your own city by playing various cards is a lot of fun. However, the game of collecting sets introduces a note of competition between players into the game. Unfortunately, due to its poor mechanics (no fighting between players for interesting worker slots or interesting connections between cards), it is worth giving My little Everdell the right amount so that it doesn’t get bored too quickly.