Everdell Junior

The game takes place over four rounds, one per season, and in each round, every player gets three turns. Per turn, you do three things: you place a critter on an action spot to collect resources (twigs, berries, or resin), you may buy a card from the communal meadow and place it in your own city, and you take a parade tile if you have the correct set of cards. The basic spot always yields one resource; the dice spots yield more, but are occupied as soon as one player is there. After four rounds, players count their points from cards, parade tiles, and end bonuses. The player with the most points wins.

Everdell Junior is almost universally praised by reviewers as one of the most successful junior versions of an adult eurogame. The core of Everdell – worker placement, tableau building, card synergy – remains intact, but cleverly simplified: shorter playtime, less text on the cards, and a clear meadow of just eight cards. Both children and adults who rarely play pick it up quickly, and even those familiar with the original enjoy it as a quick filler. One caveat: the recommended age of 6 is optimistic for beginners, and the strategic depth is, of course, more limited than in the main game. Nevertheless, as an introductory game or a gift for young explorers, it is a surefire choice.