Description
Deep in the tropical jungle west of the Everdell valley lies Emerland, a lively land known for its art, music and wealth of natural resources, including precious gems from underground caves. Here tiny creatures, mostly insects, are skilled helpers of the larger animals, and the jungle was once home to mysterious ancient inhabitants. Everdell Emerland is a standalone game set in the world of Everdell: you send workers to locations on the board for resources, use them to play cards and so build your city in the jungle.
How to play Everdell Emerland
On your turn you choose one of six actions: place a worker (with or without helpers), place a helper, play a card, use an artisan card, dig with your archaeologist, or prepare for a new season. A helper next to a worker activates a location twice or lets the worker into a location that is already occupied. The cards are double-sided, and the upgraded side brings more points and a stronger ability.
The game begins in summer, and as you prepare for autumn, winter and spring you gain new workers and helpers. Once all players have finished spring, you add up the points from cards, tokens, artifacts, landscapes and the path to the Lost City. The player with the most points wins.
Why you will love it
- Helpers add a new layer to worker placement: with them you activate a location twice or squeeze into an occupied spot.
- You can later flip any card to its upgraded side, and with a harp you play upgraded critters without paying resources.
- Your archaeologist advances along their path towards the Lost City and uncovers artifacts, the most valuable of which is worth as much as 7 points.
- Landscapes expand your city by one card and score points at the end for what you have built.
Who is Everdell Emerland for
The game is for one to four players aged 10 and up and takes 30 to 120 minutes. Players like it best with two or three. It is of medium difficulty, so it is a great fit for anyone who already knows Everdell and wants new combinations, as well as for fans of games in which you build your own card engine. The rules also include a solo game against Professor Koto D. Figsmash III.
What you might not like
Emerland has many new rules and cards with different abilities, so it may not suit those who prefer quick games with little card reading. The text on the cards is in English.
What's in the box
- 1 rulebook
- 1 game board
- 1 jungle ruins board
- 3 board extensions
- 100 double-sided jungle cards
- 18 landscape cards
- 4 rules overview cards
- 24 wooden workers (6 capybaras, 6 tree frogs, 6 chameleons, 6 monkeys)
- 16 wooden helpers (4 beetles, 4 caterpillars, 4 dragonflies, 4 ants)
- 4 river market dice
- 1 cloth artifact bag
- 45 artifact tokens
- 20 golden harp tokens
- 25 emerald tokens
- 25 tokens each of bamboo, marble, leaves and figs
- 40 point tokens
