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Everdell Bellfaire: Review

Everdell Belfair: Review

Information:

Mechanics: Worker Placement, Engine Builder
Player Age: 13+ 
Player Count: 1 - 6 Players 
Time to Play: 40 - 120 Minutes 
Game Designer: James. A. Wilson
Game Artist:  Andrew Bosley
Publisher: Starling Games
Year Published: 2019
BGG Weight: 2.92
Disclaimer: A review copy for the game was provided by the publisher.

Introduction:

It is time to return to the magical world of everdell. Bellfaire adds multiple modules that can be used in any game.

Boards:

The most obvious addition is a board that replaces the iconic Everdell tree. The cosmetically exciting but functionally annoying tree has been replaced by a board that brings a few of tricks of its own.
Firstly, there is a new basic event worth four points if a player can gain one of each card type in their city. There is also a new end game scoring award that will give six points to the player with the most of a card type, where the second most receives three points. There are numerous versions of these awards included to increase replayability.
 
The last addition to the board is a market place where players can either gain resources and cards, or trade resources and cards to gain points and other resources. Whenever the market is used to gain resources+cards the token will move to the other side to allow the next player to trade in those resources+cards for points. This also works in the opposite manner.

Player boards have been added with this expansion, there are six of them, because this expansion allows for up to six players.

Forest Cards and Special Events:

Four new forest cards have been added to the game. They allow for beneficial actions to occur without the changing of a season e.g. activating two green cards in your city.
Additionally, there are now nine special events. These are less specific than the normal special events and may simply require a number of purple cards to be present in your city, or a certain amount of common/unique critters or constructions.


New Critters:

Cardinals and Toads have been added to the available critters that everyone will have a choice to play as. This is not quite so exciting on its own but now each critter comes with their own unique ability. 
This creates variable player powers and now gives more purpose to the choice of critter. These powers alter rapidly such as drawing from the meadow, gaining free resources, or using resources as wilds.
When playing with these unique abilities  there is one less critter in the game as it is removed from the first season, this removes at least 15 minutes from the game but still keeps the atmosphere of everdell perfectly intact. This is also done when playing with six players.

Final Thoughts:

Pros:
- Faster Games
- Removal of the tree which is visually pleasing but ultimately an annoyance
- Unique critter powers
- Market system is a good way to gain resources and points
- less specific special events
- Increased player count

Cons:
- The player boards are purely cosmetic

Everdell Bellfaire is a must buy expansion. The unique critter powers are a fantastic addition as they give a unique feeling to each critter.  There are easier methods to gain small amounts of points from the new events, end of the game awards, and by trading resources at the market. This expansion does not feel like it takes away from the base game at all (despite physically taking out some aspects), it simply creates more opportunities for all players to score. Unlike the other expansions, Bellfaire does not increase the complexity but instead makes the game more approachable. For these reasons Everdell Bellfaire has earned a go-to golden game seal.

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