Mycelia - North American Expansion: Review
Information:
Player Age: 10+
Player Count: 1- 5 Players
Time to Play: 40 - 130 Minutes
Year Published: 2025
Disclaimer: A review copy for the game was provided by the publisher.
Introduction:
Mycelia is a game that I reviewed at the start of the year (click here). It is a smart engine-building game that has players competing for board supremacy while cleverly planning when the best time to decay and gain the action linked to the mushroom is. Once a player has a decayed mushroom under each spot the game will end. This expansion has added a fifth player, with no additional rule additions which is always great.
As well as 34 new mushrooms grown in North America. Some of these mushrooms have abilities that match core concepts in the base game, and some work off a new mechanism added, saplings and grandfather trees. Some of these mushrooms have abilities new resource type which is simply a clear box, this is any resource.
Saplings and Grandfather Trees:
Each new triangle tile can gain a sapling throughout the game. This is done by the player rolling the "O" symbol when the tile is added to the board. During a spore action if one of the spores is spreading on a sapling tile the player can choose to add their spore onto the saplings instead of the tile. This removes that spore from the network meaning it can not be used in fruiting mushrooms. When the spore is added to a sapling the wind die will be rolled and a bonus will be gained based on both the die and the amount of spores on the sapling.
A new type of action is introduced in this expansion called Age. To age the mother mushroom has to be on the tile the sapling is on and there have to be three spores on the sapling (of any colour). After this is done the spores are returned to their players and the sapling is removed and replaced with a grandfather tree.
A grandfather tree will reward its owner five points at the end of the game, instantly decays any mushrooms on the tile, counts towards the player's network, and lastly prevents any spores or mushrooms from being on the tile (any mother mushrooms are still allowed). If a spore enters this tile in the future it will be pushed to an adjacent tile of the choice of the grandfather tree's owner.
Final Thoughts:
- Increases player count with no added complexity.
- Grandfather trees add a new way to score by focusing on the board.
- Saplings add an easier way to add a spore to your network for that coveted resource that can't be acquired easily when the players' networks aren't working in their favour.
Mycelia North America is an easy addition to anyone who already enjoys Mycelia. For me, the base game was an instant hit with its mean/ relaxed area control board space (based on the players) and interesting twist on engine building that left players with tough choices on when it was best to decay. This expansion adds an easy addition of a fifth player, I haven't had the chance to try that yet to see if those games would be better with only three mushrooms per player. As well as some new mechanisms that don't increase the complexity too much but create a wider depth of decision space. Players can aim for a good portion of points and a better spore network by creating a grandfather tree and/or focusing on the more immediate benefits gained from rolling right when using saplings.
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