Everdell rules
Build a woodland city of Critters and Constructions, placing workers through the seasons.
- Players
- 1–4 (up to 6 with Bellfaire)
- Time
- about 60 min
- Ages
- 13+
- Goal
- Build a city of Critters and Constructions in a woodland valley, placing workers to gather resources and cards through the seasons. When everyone has passed, the most points wins.
How to play Everdell
Setup
- Board and supplies: set up the board with the Ever Tree, and put the twigs, resin, pebbles and berries in piles beside it. Keep the point tokens and occupied tokens nearby.
- Forest: shuffle the Forest cards and place them on the forest clearings: 3 for two players, 4 for three or four. Return the rest to the box.
- Events: place the 4 basic Event tiles along the river. Shuffle the special Events and put 4 on the lower branches of the Ever Tree. Return the rest to the box.
- Meadow: shuffle the main deck, put it inside the Ever Tree, and lay 8 cards face up in the Meadow.
- Workers: each player picks a colour and takes 2 workers. They put their other 4 on the upper branches of the Ever Tree: 1 on spring, 1 on summer and 2 on autumn.
- Hands: deal from the deck by seat: the first player 5 cards, the second 6, the third 7, the fourth 8.
- Start: the most humble player goes first. Each player begins in winter.
Your turn
On your turn, choose exactly one of three actions. Keep taking turns until you pass.
- Place a worker on an open location to use it.
- Play a card from your hand or the Meadow into your city.
- Prepare for season once all your workers are placed: they come home and you move on to the next season.
Each worker you place is used up until you prepare for season, so spend them on what matters most.
Placing workers
- Locations: board spaces, Forest locations, the Haven, and Destination cards. Some take 1 worker, some any number.
- Event: place a worker to claim it once you meet its requirements. It scores at the end.
- Haven: discard cards for 1 resource of your choice per 2 cards.
Playing cards
- Pay the cost of a card from your hand or the Meadow. A Critter is free if its Construction is in your city and not yet occupied.
- Place it in your city, which holds at most 15 cards.
- Refill the Meadow at once if you took from it.
- Unique cards: only one copy each in your city. Common cards can repeat.
- Hand limit: 8 cards.
Seasons
Each player moves through the seasons on their own: winter, then spring, summer and autumn.
- Spring: gain 1 worker and activate your green Production cards.
- Summer: gain 1 worker and draw up to 2 cards from the Meadow.
- Autumn: gain 2 workers and activate Production again. It's the last season.
- Journey: in autumn, place a worker on a Journey location and discard cards equal to its points.
Example: In winter with both workers placed, you prepare for season: they come home, you gain a third worker, your Production cards activate, and you're in spring.
The card types
- Card types: tan Traveler (once, when played), green Production (when played, then each spring and autumn), red Destination (when a worker goes there), blue Governance (bonuses and discounts), purple Prosperity (scores at the end).
Game end and scoring
- Passing: when you can't or won't do more, you pass; the others carry on until everyone has.
- Final scoring: base points on your cards, point tokens, Prosperity bonuses, Journeys and Events.
- Winner: most points. Ties go to most Events, then most leftover resources.
Expansion rules
Only needed if you play with the expansion named on each heading.
Solo game (Rugwort) Solo game (Rugwort)
- Setup: set up for two players. You take 5 cards; Rugwort has no hand. Put one of his workers on the top-left Forest location and one on the 3-twig basic location.
- Choose the year: Year One (Rascal), Year Two (Rotten) or Year Three (Rapscallion).
Pearlbrook Pearlbrook
- Setup: River board beside the main board, pearls on the Shoal. Wonder boards under the Ever Tree with the 4 Wonders; leave out the basic Events.
- Setup: shuffle 2 random River Citizens and 2 random River Locations face down onto the 4 River spots, 1 pearl on each; box the rest.
- Setup: shuffle the Pearlbrook cards into the deck before dealing; deal each player 2 Adornments face down; use at least 1 Pearlbrook special Event; each player takes their colour's frog Ambassador.
Spirecrest Spirecrest
- Setup: Mountain board along the lower half of the main board. One random Weather card face down on each season (flip winter's); the Discovery cards in Foothills, Peaks and Ridge decks.
- Setup: each player takes an Everdell map tile; deal players + 1 map tiles face up on Foothills and the same face down on Peaks and Ridge. Put the Big Critters nearby and each player's Traveler on Foothills.
Bellfaire Bellfaire
- Setup: choose modules. Special Events: all mixed, 2 Bellfaire + 2 others, or Bellfaire only. You may shuffle in the 4 new Forest cards.
- Setup: Market with its 4 tokens gain side up; the Flower Festival beside the basic Events; draw 1 Garland Award face up. You may use the Bellfaire board instead of the 3D Ever Tree.
- Setup: Player Powers: deal 2, keep 1. With 5–6 players: 5 or 6 special Events and starting hands 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7.
Newleaf Newleaf
- Setup: Station board right of the main board; shuffle the Newleaf cards in before dealing. Split the Visitors into 2 face-up stacks; 3 deck cards face up on the Station, and 3 Train Car tiles from the bag beside them.
- Setup: each player takes 3 Golden occupied tokens, a Ticket Outbound side up and a Reservation token "-" side up. Add Big City and Scenic Flight to the basic Events (not with Pearlbrook).
- Setup: special Events: all mixed, 2 Newleaf + 2 base, or Newleaf only. Player Powers: deal 2, keep 1; remove each player's first spring worker.
Mistwood Mistwood
- Setup: against Nightweave, set up for one more player than there are humans and leave out the Everdell Games Event. Choose a difficulty, build her 8-card winter Activity deck, and put her and 2 spider workers in her lair, 6 under Prepare for Season.
- Setup: each human takes 5 cards; Nightweave takes 1 face-down card (2 with two humans), the 8-sided die and her Season token winter side up, and goes first.
- Setup: you may add a Personality; solo only, a Plan or Plots (not both).
- Setup: Player Powers: deal 2, keep 1 (1 if no other expansion's powers are used); remove each player's first spring worker. More Legends: deal each player 1 Legendary Construction and 1 Legendary Critter.
- Setup: Through Every Season: swap in the 8 special Farms. Corrin Evertail: shuffle its 5 cards in.
Legends, Extra! Extra! & Rugwort cards Legends, Extra! Extra! & Rugwort cards
- Setup: Legends: deal each player 1 Legendary Construction and 1 Legendary Critter, secret; box the rest unseen. Extra! Extra! and Rugwort cards: shuffle them into the deck.
All Everdell rules (103)
General
- Components
- Turn Structure
- City Limit
- The Meadow
- Hand Limit
- Card Types
- Traveler
- Production
- Destination
- Governance
- Prosperity
- Forest Locations
- Running Out of Resources
Actions
- Placing a Worker
- Prepare for Season
- Spring Season
- Summer Season
- Autumn Season
- Playing a Card
- Events
- Journey
- Haven
- Basic and Special Events
- Basic Locations
Clarification
- Exclusive and Shared Locations
- Placing Workers on Destination Cards
- How Many Workers You Get
- Common and Unique Cards
- Free Critters and Occupied Constructions
- Hand Full and Cards Given to You
- Only One Player Achieves Each Event
- Keeping Achieved Events
- Drawing Cards and the Deck
- Order When Playing a Card
Special Cards
- Husband and Wife
- Farm
- Inn
- Queen and Innkeeper
- Storehouse
- Ranger
- Ruins
- Fool
- Wanderer
- Historian
- Chip Sweep
- Ever Tree Card
- Post Office
- Clock Tower
Scoring
Solo game (Rugwort) expansion
- Solo Game against Rugwort
- Rugwort's Cards
- Rugwort's Prepare for Season
- Rugwort's Score and the Three Years
- Solo Card Notes
Pearlbrook expansion
Spirecrest expansion
Bellfaire expansion
- Bellfaire
- Bellfaire Player Powers
- Market
- Flower Festival
- Garland Awards
- Five and Six Players
- Bellfaire Solo
Newleaf expansion
- Newleaf
- Station Cards
- Knoll
- Visitors
- Golden Occupied Tokens
- Tickets
- Reservation Token
- Big City and Scenic Flight
- Newleaf Player Powers
- Newleaf Solo
Mistwood expansion
- Nightweave's Lair
- Nightweave's Turn
- What Nightweave Can't Do
- Nightweave's Prepare for Season
- Nightweave Scoring and Winning
- Personalities, Plans and Plots
- Nightweave with Other Expansions
- Mistwood Player Powers
- Through Every Season
- Corrin Evertail
- More Legends
Legends, Extra! Extra! & Rugwort cards expansion
Expansions covered
- Solo game (Rugwort) rival for one player
- Pearlbrook pearls, river, Wonders
- Spirecrest mountain, Weather, Expedition
- Bellfaire Player Powers, Market, 5–6 players
- Newleaf Station, Visitors, Tickets
- Mistwood Nightweave, Legends, Farms
- Legends, Extra! Extra! & Rugwort cards card packs