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Quick Look: Everdell Duo
Designers:James A. Wilson, Clarissa A. Wilson
Artists: Enggar Adirasa, Andrew Bosley
Publisher: Starling Games, Tabletop Tycoon
Year Published: 2025
No. of Players: 1-2
Ages: 10+
Playing Time: 30 minutes.
Find more info HERE.
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From the Publisher:
In Everdell Duo, you either compete against your single opponent or play co-operatively with another player to earn the most points. You accomplish this by placing workers to gather resources, then use those resources to play cards face up in front of you, creating your own woodland city.
Cards may be played from your hand or from the face-up area on the board called the meadow. However, only cards touching the sun or moon token may be played from the meadow, and players move these tokens each time they perform a turn. Therefore, planning for and timing which cards you play is critical.
Each game you try to achieve various events, the requirements of which differ from game to game, making certain cards and combinations more important to pursue.
The game lasts for four seasons, then players add their scores to determine the winner. If you’re playing co-operatively, check the requirements for the chapter you are playing to see whether you have won.
Disclaimer: The publisher provided the copy of Everdell Duo. The opinions expressed in the review are completely my own.
Review:
Overview:
I’ve enjoyed playing Everdell, so the chance to play another Everdell game seems like a good fit. There are a number of 2 player games that I like to play, so I’m hoping I’ll be able to add one more to the list. I especially like that the game may be played either competitively or cooperatively; many games pick one or the other. I also like that there is a set timeframe (4 Seasons) rather than the game is over once a goal is reached, or you’re defeated. I suspect I will be playing this game for quite a time moving forward.
Rules & Setup:
The rule book for Everdell Duo is very well organized. It provides clear instructions without over explaining them. Eash rule has an associated graphic so you know what it is referring to. Explanatory examples are also provided. The rule book is mainly split into two parts. The first part explains how to play the game in competitive mode. The second part explains how to play the game in cooperative / campaign mode. Also included are instructions for Solo Campaign and Challenge gameplay if so desired. Finally, the instructions also include index explanations of the River Locations, Constructions, and Critters.
Before beginning the setup, players decide if they are playing competitively or cooperatively as this will determine which side of the main board will be played. (The following is the setup for the competitive game play, which has the most setup.)
Place the game board with the chosen side up in the middle of the table. You place the Sun and Moon tokens on the left side of the board on the center path. The resource, point, and Occupied tokens are placed near the board. The Critter and Construction cards are shuffled together to form a deck, and 1 card is placed face up in each spot in the Meadow on the board. The River tiles are shuffled and 2 are placed face up on the board. Four season tiles are placed to the right of the board. Event tiles are placed face up at the top of the board. One player takes the Hare workers and the other player takes the Tortoise workers. The game is now set up and ready to play.
In Everdell Duo you are a woodland creature trying to build a woodland city and earn the most points. Everdell Duo has the same look and feel that you get with Everdell, but also makes it fresh and new so it doesn’t seem like you are simply playing a game of Everdell.
The mechanics of the game include both worker placement and card based actions. Each turn you either place a worker and take the action, play a card and take the action, or draw a new card. Placing a worker gets you resources. Playing a card builds your woodland city and each card has different abilities. Some give resources, some give points, and others provide further actions. The winner will be the player who can most efficiently plan what actions to take when, since there is only 4 Seasons of gameplay.
It would take too much room to cover all of the gameplay modes in the game so I’ll just keep with the competitive game mode.
On your turn you will either Place a Worker, Play a Card, or Pick a Card. Which action you take may be determined by where the Sun and Moon tokens are on their track.
Placing a worker advances the Sun token on its track. A worker may be placed on a Farm or River Location, which will gain you resources. Or a worker may be placed on a red Destination card in either your or another player’s city. These cards have actions which you may perform. Workers may also be placed on Events if you meet the criteria. This will gain you an immediate bonus as well as end game points.
Playing a card advances the Moon token on its track. You play a card from your hand or from the Meadow if the card is next to the Sun or Moon token. Playing cards is how you grow your city. There are 5 different card types that you can play, which I won’t go into detail here.
Last thing you can do is Pick a Card which advances either the Sun or Moon token on its track, your choice. You can either draw 1 card from the deck or take one from anywhere in the Meadow.
If the Sun or Moon token reaches the end of the track, you can’t take actions that would advance that token. Once both the Sun and Moon tokens have reached the end of the track, that is the end of the round. The next season begins and you take the actions indicated on that season’s tile.
After 4 Seasons, the game is over. Points are tallied and the player with the most points is the winner.
I really like that they haven’t simply taken Everdell and slimmed it down to a 2 player game, but they haven’t taken it in a new direction either. The game feels like Everdell, so if you like that game you will like this game, but it also feels like a stand-alone game. You can easily enjoy this game even if you haven’t played Everdell yet. For those of you who have played Everdell, the instructions provide a good explanation of the differences between the two games, so make sure to take note.
What some may find issue with:
There is quite a bit of programming / chaining of actions in the game; one action leads to another action which leads to a goal. Players who have a hard time seeing such connections may have a harder time playing the game. And sometimes you have to pivot from one goal to another, and players who are more linear thinkers will have a hard time pivoting.
What a wonderful game. I played most of the modes described and had a great time playing each one. Since I’m not as big of a fan of cooperative game play, I think I enjoyed the competitive mode the most. The games felt tight enough that you had to pay attention and make good decisions, but not so tight that one misstep made you feel like you were out of the game. I think those who like strategic (puzzly) game play will enjoy competitive Everdell Duo. Those who like cooperative gameplay with smaller, non-committee game groups will thoroughly enjoy cooperative Everdell Duo. I haven’t played the solo mode yet, but I’m almost certain I will enjoy it. I am happy this will be joining my game shelf and expect I’ll be playing it for some time.
Fantasy or woodsy themed games, 2-player / solo games, cooperative / campaign games, and puzzly / programming game play
After reading Thomas Shepherd’s review, if this sounds like a game for you at the time of this posting Everdell Duo is available on Amazon for only $35. Check it out and get it HERE.
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Check out Everdell Duo and Starling Games on:
Disclaimer: Anytime you see a link to Amazon on our site, it is another way to get your product there for the normally listed price as well as a way to support Everything Board Games and everything we’re doing here, without paying any extra. We appreciate the support!
Thomas Shepherd – Reviewer
Grew up loving to solve puzzles, play games. In younger years he had fun playing pencil games, playing D&D with friends, and hanging out with others. His favorite thing to do was to make puzzles, mazes, word games, picture games, etc. Sadly his career took him in a different direction. Gaming came back into his life, though, about 15 years ago & held onto it since. He enjoys designing games and has 9 published titles, through, Toresh Games. Sadly he wasn’t able to sustain the company. He would love to see a return to games as the best social media platform for the masses.
See Thomas Shepard’s Reviews HERE.
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English (US) ·