There are a ton of cards and tokens, each a reference to resources available in the video game. You can even marry your favourite villager if you can find the elusive mermaid pendant. The challenge to catch one legendary fish per player can be almost impossible at higher player counts because fish are drawn randomly. If one of those legendary fish is at the bottom of the fish bag, you might never see it! In contrast, getting to level twelve of the mine is easy with four players, but a real challenge in solo mode. That isn’t to say that you need to have played the video game before. You don’t have to have any idea what a Junimo or Joja cola is before you can enjoy this brilliant game. It is beautifully designed and can be appreciated with or without any prior knowledge of the Stardew Valley universe. Set Up Today I’m very excited to announce something special: today we release the official Stardew Valley Board Game! This is the very first merchandise project where I’m acting as publisher from start to finish.

While Grandpa’s Goals will direct much of your focus, the rest of your time will be spent restoring the community centre. This is done by completing bundles. Each bundle requires specific resources from the various mini games on the board. The pantry pushes you to farm certain crops, the fish tank requires you to catch the right type of fish, the vault needs money, the boiler room will want something from the mine, and so on. Stardew Valley is a surprisingly complex and heady game, given its theme, and the balance has been finely tuned. Yes, it can be frustrating to fail multiple times to catch a fish, but the game has taken this into account with its myriad of different powers, upgrades, rewards and items.

To reveal a room in the Community Centre, players can spend an action at the Community Centre in Town and spend heart tokens equal to the number of players. They can then reveal the leftmost bundle card, starting with the Crafts Room. Donating to the Community Centre requires players to spend an action at the Community Centre and donate as many of the required resources as they are able. If bundles become impossible during the game, they can be replaced by spending more hearts. The Bundles However, as I started to play I realised that this is the beauty of the game. In that sense, it is so similar to the video game from which it originated. The goals are set at the beginning of the game but the method in which you approach them is entirely up to you. And I love that! There’s a goal that encourages fishing, another that pushes you to make friends, and since only half of Grandpa’s Goals are used in each game, every playthrough is different. To collect from animals, players need to create buildings and buy animals. These actions can be taken at locations on the board and are likely to require players to work together to obtain what they need to be able to achieve their goal. The Boiler Room Within the Community Centre are room specific. For example, to restore the fish tank players need to obtain certain types of fish which will require them to spend actions in one of three fishing areas. Some bundle cards require types of fish which can only be found at a specific location and players would then spend more actions in that location. Rolling the Stardew dice determines what combination of fish, trash or treasure chests can be caught.

In 2016, Stardew Valley-the solo creation of indie designer ConcernedApe became one of the most successful games of its kind ever to hit consoles and introduced a generation of gamers to the joys of small-town communities and living off the land. To obtain gold, players can grow crops or collect from animals. Both of these methods of obtaining gold require preparation. Players would need to water crops to enable them to grow and be sold. Watch out for crows! The game starts with 1 parsnip in the field which can be watered until it grows and can then be sold.In the planning phase, players can trade resource tiles or item cards. Although players collectively share hearts and gold, a player’s inventory is theirs individually and can be filled. There is space for 6 resources, 2 items, and 2 upgrades. There is no limit to epic items, friends or kept event cards. A starting tool begins at level 0 and can be upgraded as an end of turn effect. As well as trading, the planning phase allows players to discuss their plans for their next turn.

goals and what they could be so there is no way of telling which ones you’ll draw, and it makes the game different on each playthrough. Farmin’ Solo For more than 2 and a half years I’ve been working together with board game designer Cole Medeiros to make a board game that captures the essence of Stardew Valley. It has pretty much everything from the video game: villagers, crops, animals, fishing, foraging, mining and more. We worked hard to make a board game we think is really fun to play and to look at. I hope you enjoy it!

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Rewards include stone, Bug Meat, Ore, Geodes, Items or Mine events. If the outcome is a monster the monster ability on the Mine level card is triggered. Mine levels are changed when staircases are used and a new Map Card is revealed. Ore can be opened by visiting Clint and a roll of the Stardew dice will determine what is inside. I’ll try and keep this review short and simple as there’s a lot to talk about and if I don’t contain myself then I’ll end up going forever! Farming On Steroids And the bundles all start facedown. To reveal them requires heart tokens which are gained from befriending villagers. A trip to Gus’ tavern lets you befriend a local by gifting them one of your resources. Each villager has certain items they love and others they hate. Also, some of Grandpa’s Goals work better together than others. If you get the ‘Raise Animals’ goal, then you’ll need to build a barn, which is great if you also have the ‘Build Buildings’ goal. That’s two for the price of one. But if you get the expensive ‘Raise Animals’ with the ‘Save Money’ goal, that’s going to be a lot of gold required to win the game! Experimenting with combinations of Grandpa’s Goals will have a big impact on the difficulty of any given game. Which brings us to… Homebrew And House Rules The game timer is also very tight. Completing four goals and six bundles in 16 turns might not sound tough, but with multiple steps required to complete each goal, you’ll find a dead turn can be devastating. Not all goals are born equal, either.

Once decided, place your pawn on the location in which you want to start. During your action phase you will be able to move 1 space but no further. When all players have placed their pawn the action phase begins. Action Phase The actions available at each location are marked on the board. At the farm, a player can water crops or collect from animals. At the mountain, a player can explore the mine, buy buildings or go fishing at the lake. And so on. The actions you choose to take are likely to be targeted at completing either the 4 Grandpa’s Goals or the rooms within the Community Centre and will thus differ depending on which items are required. Stardew Valley: The Board Game is for 1 to 4 players, ages 13 and up. To play through a full year in the game (which is the standard experience) it takes about 45 minutes per player. This can be adjusted if you want a shorter game. The game has a lot to it but there are rules to make it easier or harder depending on your preferences. Just like the video game, we want you to be able to make this your own. If you’ve never played the original video game then I would still say that this is perfect for you (and so would many others based on it constantly being sold out) and is a really fun game. The board game is co-op and is quite challenging too so don’t let the cutesy stylised art throw you off, this game will make you think and strategize to get to win. I’m a fan of the original, but I’m more of a board gamer than a video gamer, and Stardew Valley: The Board Game scratches a very specific itch. It’s a game for when you need to get away from the stress of daily life and challenge yourself with something different, something new. It’s a game for when you’re in dire need of a change…The Community Centre requires Mine resources like Minerals, Bug Meat and Ore. Exploring the Mine can be done at the Mountain. Players spend 1 action to roll the Stardew dice and use the Map Card to determine what the outcome of the exploration is. To complete the game, all 4 of Grandpa’s Goals must be completed and all 6 of the Community Centre rooms must be restored. The rooms are restored when donations of the items on the cards are made equal to the number of players. The room requirements start off hidden and are unveiled as you play.