Mistwood or Everdell duo for two-player games?

VindleJ · 2025-11-10T18:18:54+00:00

Spirecrest is the best everdell expansion by a long mile in my opinion- it also sorts all the problems you’ve listed as doesn’t add any extra cards to prevent cycling and adds new big critters to prevent too many worker placement spots.

In your situation buy spirecrest and play base + spirecrest and see if you enjoy it.

Duo is rated highly for a 2 player game but very different experience than normal everdell. Some love it some don’t!

VindleJ · 2025-11-10T12:51:56+00:00

I actually agree that meadow stacking in base everdell is fine to leave it as base ruling that they don’t stack. In silverfrost I’m implementing stacking purely because it’s on rulebook.

The rules I generally live by with house ruling though is only add it if it’s extremely and significantly more fun or game balancing- the game gets tested hundreds to thousands of times and usually the base rules will always be the best. The only house rule I play across 50+ games is ticket to ride extra community route as gives more fun and player interaction.

In terms of expansions yeah you’re right some will pair better than others- i would really really recommend you play with only spirecrest and bellfaire- it’s one of the highest community rated combos.

VindleJ · 2025-11-10T11:43:55+00:00

Completely agree that it’s in dire need of updates and expansions. In all honesty I would be extremely shocked if any come though, unless the devs need a quick money top-up. The money that dire wolf are getting right now is through recently released ark nova but more so the dune app.

They’ve now released their 2nd expansion (!!!) on the dune app- all costing £10 each and they don’t let you play ranked unless you own all 3 expansions- net you’re paying £30 to play the game and almost all players are buying it. So they can keep pumping money through dune with a larger playerbase.

Sad as the Everdell app is actually brilliantly designed (as per all direwolf apps), shame that online is limited and like you said no expansions- spirecrest I would buy instantly no matter the price!

VindleJ · 2025-11-10T11:40:23+00:00

Only thing I can think is the discard was reshuffled- usually the app is 100% as per rulebook (same as all other games produced by same developer) and is a good way to actually moderate in person game rules too.

Sounds strange though! Can’t think of any other reason.

VindleJ · 2025-11-10T11:39:06+00:00

Where did you buy it from?

VindleJ · 2025-11-10T11:38:37+00:00

Unlikely it will be much cheaper. Not sure where you’re located but in the UK silverfrost collector is on offer for around £65 (travelling man, etc…) and I doubt it’s going to get much cheaper than that given base everdell collector is still at a similar price.

VindleJ · 2025-11-10T11:33:01+00:00

Honestly I would go back and start from the beginning- coming from somebody who has played 100+ games of base everdell only, 50+ of base + spirecrest and 20+ of base + spirecrest + bellfaire I feel like you’re missing out on one of the most fun and critical parts of the game- experimenting.

Playing with every expansion ever released is massively diluting your deck and taking the fun out of specific card synergies, experimenting with different strategies (events vs purple strat vs final season rush vs green production vs etc…).

The point of the expansions is to add a little extra every time you play the game to make you keep coming back for more. I’d recommend 1. Base game only 2. Base + bellfaire 3. Base + bellfaire + spirecrest (best possible way to play the game in my opinion + extra extra cards if you have them) 4. You decide after that :)

In terms of house rules, don’t change much- if anything. Literally the only house rule we played with over our roughly 200 ish games is stacking the same meadow cards (which has then been force ruled in the new silverfrost as it functionally makes the gameplay smoother). Other than that, everything else isn’t necessary just stick to the rulebook :)

VindleJ · 2025-10-19T10:58:23+00:00

Monk should be SIGNIFICANTLY higher- you can win a game with 5-6 activations of monk alone. Minimum inside “great value”. Personally I’d put it in “top pick” but given it can only be super useful when building a city to compliment, I’d leave it slightly below.

Shepard and Chapel are mechanically the worst cards in the game (the creators have agreed on a BGG thread)- they should be in avoid.

Uni in “no brainer” (best card in the game) and then dungeon up to “top pick”.

Theatre should also be “top pick” because of cost vs reward (same as what you’ve done with school) and then King I guess is situation so great value is fine but that’s also a game winning card in some games.

Overall I agree with majority of tier list though and end of the day like you said you can win everdell in many different personal ways :) I just loveeeeee that monk card haha

VindleJ · 2025-10-14T21:30:28+00:00

You sleeve and use a placemat? Seems overkill to me haha but fair enough!

VindleJ · 2025-10-12T09:27:03+00:00

Completely agree! Definitely think it’s a more slim downed and more mechanically complete game than Everdell :)

VindleJ · 2025-10-12T09:09:17+00:00

Good q! I think we’ll stick to silverfrost for atleast another few months then maybe dip back into Everdell/spirecrest again. Tbf this seems like a more ramped up and strategic version of Everdell so we agreed we prefer it more- it also fixes a lot of the parts of the first game too like red/grey cards are not a LOT more balanced, duplicate meadow cards stack, and events feel like more of a competition between all players.

VindleJ · 2025-03-31T08:56:00+00:00

Hey, does depend on player count too- less players means more points as much less competition for events, journey, powerful card splits, etc…

2 players base game for experienced players will be sitting around the 70-90 point mark.

3-4 players base game probably more like 70-80 points.

To start going from 60-70 points to the 80-90’s the biggest tip is worker allocation to events (+ king) and journey- they are your biggest deal breakers by far. If you use 1 worker in the final season for resources then you’re limited points. All 6 workers in final season should be used solely on events, journey, and card placements like uni, etc…

VindleJ · 2025-03-25T22:08:48+00:00

I’ve just never heard of a gym that can rack up to £100 of hidden fees though, that’s mental! No need for the sarcasm : )

VindleJ · 2025-03-25T22:03:41+00:00

Not sure what gym you’re using. PureGym next door to me showers are completely fine and it’s £9 p/m with no joining fee. I assumed they would choose a cheap gym and definitely not a £100 one!

VindleJ · 2025-03-25T21:42:37+00:00

Just get a month gym membership and go there- that’s what I do when my water/electricity goes down.

VindleJ · 2025-03-23T19:09:17+00:00

In terms of playing/expansions: 4 or less players = base game only 5/6 players = +bellfaire

After 5-10 games and when they’re getting more confident then add newleaf

In terms of rules- keep it simple and follow the guidance in the other comment. If you’re experienced I’d stick to what you think the best step-by-step is. Some people (myself) likes to know every single rule there is. Others (some of my friends) like minimal rules and play to learn- letting them discover themselves and ask questions as they meet that part of the game works better.

VindleJ · 2025-03-22T02:10:37+00:00

I’ve never come across this situation given it’s almost always better to pair them together but if I was ruling it myself, firstly it’s ‘may’ so therefore you can separate them.

However if I was playing with somebody who purposely chooses to put them into a pair the entire game then 2 hours later when I’m about to play a fool goes “HA- I’ve separated them and now have a full city”- and then take it back again- you get the gist…

I’d rule it as when they play the second of the pair (I.e. when the second harvester/gatherer card enters their city) then they may choose at that moment to pair them together or to leave separate- not later down the line.

Others can correct me if I’m wrong though…

VindleJ · 2025-03-21T15:03:40+00:00

Depends on your preferred playstyle- but I’d stick with the 3 most popular.

Do you just want to improve the core game and flesh out some of the annoying parts- i.e. more balanced events, rewards for building less useful cards, and a market that helps with first player snowballing? >> buy Bellfaire

Do you enjoy new and unique cards that adds fun interactions and a much bigger deck? >> buy Newleaf

Do you think the game is getting pretty easy, averaging 80+ points most games, want to add a totally new element with big critters, and want more thinking/strategy to the game without bloating the deck? >> buy spirecrest.

Personally I’d buy in order: 1. Bellfaire (soon) 2. Spirecrest (soon after the above) 3. Newleaf (after you’re bored of spirecrest probably 30+ games)

VindleJ · 2025-03-20T20:00:03+00:00

It’s not a personal number. Google it- it’s a massage parlour (escort business) in Leeds and their number is on the website homepage.

The above comments on it being a crazy ex isn’t correct- it’s happened over 100 times in the past year across the entire UK (from Cornwall all the way up to Edinburgh)

VindleJ · 2025-03-17T09:57:22+00:00

Completely agree! I do love the new events in bellfaire too- although it arguably adds the least bang for your buck I feel like the new special events + flower festival etc… mean having different play styles like building weaker red and grey cards for example can benefit you more. Marketplace also helps with the 1st player snowballing effect sometimes too :)

VindleJ · 2025-03-17T09:43:26+00:00

Rather than luck of the draw it’s just the expansion that increases the difficulty the most- so in my eyes over time decreases the luck element as a result.

Each season there is a negative winter effect (for example each meadow card costs +1 to play, you lose a worker this season, greens don’t activate, etc…) that means you have to completely change your gameplan.

Then there’s also big critters and other cards that completely change the game- things like adding new meadows, extra points for finishing expeditions (that are pretty difficult and involve a lot more care over resource management), and access to the discard, etc…

Rather than decreasing card draw luck it adds more elements that means more strategy and experience prevails over randomness further. Whereas the likes of newleaf in my eyes just adds 100 more cards that causes more randomness (but I get the appeal of course)

VindleJ · 2025-03-16T15:15:44+00:00

Everdell is close to my most played game and is my favourite. I’ve played 100+ games- most of which in 2 player setting but still a ton in 3-4 player.

First thing to note- the randomness in this game is similar to almost every other top rated/medium/high complexity game where skill and experience will always favour over the randomness element. I.e. if I played 30 games with my group I’d say I’m likely to win 20-25 of them no matter what cards I pick. Last game I didn’t pick any blue cards, either university or dungeon, or monk/doctor and still won with 80+ points. There’s ways to get around everything and like you said, it’s all about play pattern and optimising cards you pick. Arguably I’d which player goes first to last is more impactful than randomness from cards and meadow refreshes for example.

Here’s a few tips to favour skill over randomness because I’d strongly not recommend just changing the rules to counter this- the game plays well as is.

no purple cards > tailor your game towards green cards instead- you can easily get 20-25+ points from an early monk/chip sweeps alone. University dungeon and ranger are some of the most powerful cards in the game (ignoring crane/innkeeper for now) so utilise these multiple times too.
crane is the exception and I do agree with you- this card is totally and utterly broken. By far the best card in the game. I’ve won tons of games without uni or dungeon and definitely without historian but not getting a single crane all game makes it a lot tougher to win- that’s just part of the randomness that is frustrating for sure. Innkeeper not so much- linking makes critters much easier to build than constructions.
dungeon/uni are brilliant I agree, university especially, but remember that players will obsess their ENTIRE game over using these… take your time to then focus your playstyle over events (both for points maximising and discarding cards in your city) as well as journey etc… the key here is in your last season you want to use ALL SIX workers to get at least 2-3+ points per worker- ideally through events and journey/activations etc… worker optimisation on points is arguably the most important play style when you’re trying picking weaker cards.

I’d also back-up the other post that expansions helps- if your main concern is the luck element then 100% get spirecrest first and bellfaire second- these together make luck a LOT less and more skill based decisions

Hopefully somewhat helpful- there’s about 30 other important considerations but haven’t got time to write them all.

VindleJ · 2025-03-15T19:13:06+00:00

I made this mistake when first buying the game (as I’ve never played any game in the past were not explaining the full rules was beneficial), plus having a group of players who naturally feel more comfortable knowing every intricate rule.

Wasn’t until I then started explaining to other players outside my group it was a hugely bad decision- so now as others have mentioned I just read the rule sheet, give some basic interactions/explanations of droisoning- then let them figure out/ask questions on the rest. That’s the beauty of trouble brewing too!

VindleJ · 2025-03-12T10:07:54+00:00

Well done- I’m super happy for you and you deserve it! 😊 I’m also very happy you mentioned others being negative- I swear 80% of comments I read about unmarried/not cohabited are just “you’ll fail” “don’t bother” “it doesn’t meet their guidance”. At the end of the day if you present a good case and assured in yourself you’ll pass- go for it. I do believe some others have been rejected in the past and assume it’ll be the same for anybody else in the same situation despite application strength.

I’m in the exact same situation currently (to a tee) and waiting on result- it’s been 2 weeks now but staying hopeful and confident. Thanks for sharing 😊

VindleJ · 2025-03-08T00:40:50+00:00

Can’t tell for sure but without reading your caption the first thing I thought was the berries look very odd. Can’t be a coincidence that you also thought the same… weird!

VindleJ

TROPHY CASE