Everdell Farshore: Rapid Review

Everdell Farshore: Rapid Review

Information:

Mechanics: Worker Placement, Engine Builder
Player Age: 13+ 

Player Count: 1 - 2 Players 

Time to Play: 40 - 80 Minutes 
Game Designer: James. A. Wilson, Clarissa A. Wilson
Game Artist:  Jacqui Davis

Publisher: Tychoon Games, Starling Games

Year Published: 2023

BGG Weight: 2.83
Disclaimer: A review copy for the game was provided by Lets Play Game.

Refresh:

Farshore is a streamlined version of the original game Everdell in many ways. As played in the base game, a player will either place a worker, play a construction/critter, or recall from the round. Players need to remember that they can play cards from the central board area (bay) throughout the game. The cards continue to come in the form of; unique (only one instance of this card allowed in a town), and common (any amount of duplicates allowed). 

These cards will either be critters, which are paid for with anchor tokens or mushroom resources, 

and constructions, which are played with various other resources. 

The cards also come in the five types; Prosperity (end game scoring), destination (new worker locations), governance (bonuses that unlock with certain requirements), traveller (one-off benefits), and production (activate when played and during the recall of two seasons). The player with the most shells at the end of four seasons is the winner. 

Altered Material:

Although Farshore does share many similarities with the original Everdell, there has been some alterations, such as;

- Each player will only have five workers throughout the game. Each critter type still has six critters, however, one will be on the boat the entire game to show how far the player has travelled.
- During the game, any duplicate card that enters the bay will be placed on the existing card, meaning that there will always be eight unique cards in the bay at any point.
- There are no open destination cards owned by one player that opponents can visit, instead players may only use their destination cards themselves. 
- Cards have become easier to get and have more ways to be discarded to gain benefits.

- Critters no longer have a particular matching construction, instead, each player has three anchors and one anchor can be used on any construction to play a critter for free of the matching colour type.

Several changes will require more details to be explained in the ‘Intricacies’ section. The events have changed to a map system that gains the player more points as they advance. There is a new treasure token that will count either as any resource, or as two points at the end of the game. Lastly, there is a windrose system which will move the boat to score more treasure and points when players play matching card types during each season

Production:

It is worth noting that Everdell Farshore comes in two editions; the essential edition that contains cardboard tokens, and the collectors edition, which this review is based on. Much like the original Everdell game with the squishy berries, Farshore has soft to touch mushrooms and textured seaweed that makes the collectors edition worth seeking. This, combined with the wonderful plastic clam tokens, makes the production simply fantastic. The only issue being the new treasure tokens which are cardboard but could be replaced by 3D printed tokens. In the original Everdell, there was a tree structure that was both functional and aesthetically pleasing, however, functionality became hindered over several uses. With Farshore, all the relevant season details have remained on the board, which I find preferable.

Intricacies:

Maps:

There are six map tiles that require the player to play a certain number of card types before it can be gained. Each map tile will come in either; 2 points per map, 1 point per map, or 0 points per map. Essentially, the first player to gain these card types and visit this location will gain the map worth a higher amount of points. At the end of the game, these work like a score multiplier where the amount of maps will be multiplied by the amount of points per map shown on the tiles.  

Ships:

Each season will have a visible A and B windrose. When a card is played, if the card type or colour matches a windrose, that player’s ship will move 1-2 spaces further on the track, dependent on how many windrose tiles are matched. Whenever the ship lands on a value with a treasure token beside it the player will gain that token. The last player standing in each season will reveal a new A and B windrose, changing the card requirements that move the ships. 

Many cards will focus on this ship system in ways such as; gain something for how far the ship has moved, advance the ship along the track, and gain benefits when the ship advances through the wind-rose cards. 

Treasure:

The treasure is a great new introduction. It is essentially a wild resource that can be used in-game, or it will gain the player 2 points at the end if the game of it is still in their possession. 

Determination:

- Much more streamlined than the original Everdell.
- Great production for the art and the components.
- New race mechanism with the events creating a scarcity for how much the maps score.
- Treasures are a great addition that makes resources feel easier to collect but adding a push your luck mechanism to using them.
- Windrose is a unique way of creating a different priority for what cards should be played.
- There is less variability with the maps than with the events in the original Everdell. However, the map system works as a race across many different card types.

Over the years Everdell has had many modular expansions that work together to create a very complex game. The edge of the map series, which Farshore is the first of, is a reinvigoration of the core experience that makes Everdell great. These games are said not to have expansions but instead focus on switching up a few things in the core game, making them a perfect supplement or addition to your Everdell collection. I find there are a few things that I enjoy in Farshore with how the system has been streamlined, such as; one less worker, no open destination cards, duplicate bay cards being stacked, and the anchor system. All of these changes help to speed up gameplay and create a much more user-friendly atmosphere. The anchor especially allows players to build their engine faster, or stash the mechanism until later game when expensive critters are hard to bring out. The new thematic changes to the gameplay are also elements I enjoy. The windrose tokens make players consider which cards they are playing in certain seasons. The treasure tokens allow for easier resources but can also be used for end game points. Additionally, the maps change the events from a set collection experience to more of a race as players want to first gain the 2xmaps multiplier, creating a better score at the end of the game. Farshore is great for anyone interested in Everdell, as it can be enjoyed by the Everdell fanatics who want a change now and then, or by players who found themself daunted by the size of the original game and prefer a standalone entry.

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