Lil' Introduction to Worker Placement - A Review of My Lil' Everdell

 

My Lil' Obsession

I didn't know that Everdell could get cuter. Turns out I was wrong.

Initial Disclaimer: *A copy of My Lil' Everdell was provided by the Publisher, Tabletop Tycoon Inc., for the purpose of this review.*

Ok. Now that I've gotten that disclaimer out of the way, I get to launch into how excited I was to get a copy of this game to review. I love the Everdell Series and I went whole hog in getting the Complete Collection, getting the deluxe resource vessels and art card sleeves for the game. It was something that I immediately fell in love with upon first play and knew that I had to get it for my collection.

I wrote a review of the entire collection here, and it's one of the few games that I have in my collection that I easily rate a 10/10. I will play Everdell any day at any time and I love how much there is to the game and how much that can be added and altered with the various expansions. Even with 21 plays of the base game and Complete Collection in the last six months, I'm still not tiring of the game and I find myself wanting to play more and more because there's so much that I feel like I have to dig into with the game.

So when I found out that there was an introductory game for a younger audience in the way of My Lil' Everdell, I knew that I would want to pick up a copy of the game for my collection to introduce my daughter to the world of Everdell and get her excited about worker placement games. Being able to introduce the "big version" of the game in a way that my daughter could understand the game and grow up playing it was something that really excited because she's already shown interest in playing the "big" games that we have sitting on our shelves.

Having played My Lil' Everdell a few times now, I think it's a bit more than she's able to handle right now at 4, but I think that if we were able to get her to sit down at the table, we might be able to explain the rules to her long enough for her to understand when she gets a bit older. The only problem we have right now is that she doesn't really sit still long enough for us to really play anything as long as My Lil' Everdell, so we'll have to wait for her to be a little less squirrelly before we have her play the game.

Still, I'm super excited about the prospect of being able to have my daughter play with us, and this will be a great introduction to worker-placement games.

So without further ado, here's a review of My Lil' Everdell and my thoughts on it, while comparing it to it's older, more strategically deep, predecessor.

First Lil' Impressions

The game might be for the littles, but they didn't skimp on making it look great. The UV Spot looks fantastic on the box too.

I try not to rely too much on first impressions of how a game box looks, but I can't help but admiring a really nice looking box. My Lil' Everdell doesn't disappoint in this category and the box itself looks incredible. The artwork of Andrew Bosley is on display prominently with the game box and it looks just as good as it does on Everdell. There's an added "cuteness" factor due to the game being focused on the younger audience and all the animals on the cards are younger versions of the cards found in the base game.

The box itself is also significantly smaller in size due to the internal components of the game being much more minimal than the base game, which is greatly appreciated. The box width and length are about the same size as the base game, but the height is significantly reduced as it houses fewer components than the base game and thus doesn't need more space. As my collection grows more and more, I appreciate games that don't overfill their boxes with empty space and My Lil' Everdell will fit nicely in some awkward niches that have been created by (sometimes) bigger boxes.

Additional promo cards for the base game included too.

What I also find really neat is that there are several promo cards for the base game included in the box as well (along with several cards for My Lil' Everdell too) for players to add to their main game when playing the "big version. While that was not the reason that I wanted to get a copy of My Lil' Everdell for my collection, it is a nice little bonus that's added into the game and allows me to add the promo cards to my big box game.

Components feel like a smaller, simplified version of Everdell.

The components themselves feel like a stripped down version of Everdell which is appropriate for the game since it's designed to teach a younger audience how to play worker placement games. There are not only the versions of the components contained within the base game of Everdell, but also cardboard chits that reduce the potential for eating any of the berries (they look so tasty!) with younger kids. It's a simple inclusion that I really appreciate and helps make the game fit all the ages it's trying to reach. Younger kids can play with the chits, while older kids can play with the components found in the original game to help them prepare for the step up.

Iconography on the cards is easy to read and understand. Player boards feature a great little fresco that appears when you put them all together.

The rest of the components are also well crafted with younger players in mind. The main board features four simple slots to place the dice after being rolled each round, with the same iconography used for the original game to show where players place their workers (or "friends" as they are called in My Lil' Everdell). Cards are beautifully illustrated on the front and back, just like the original game, but feature simpler iconography and less words to help younger players understand what they do. There is even a "Captain" and "Fort" rule that can be implemented with younger players to help give them a leg up at the beginning of the game when they play to add a few more resources.

One of my favorite parts of the game is the little resource crates that come with the game that you build with the included punchboards. They're simple cardboard boxes, but they really give the game a fun feel and it's really easy to pull out resources from the boxes. While it's not necessary, I do appreciate the thought and attention to detail to ensure that resources don't have to be piled on the board.

I do also want to note that the cards themselves are absolutely adorable and extremely cute versions of some of the cards contained in the original game. Many of the critters and constructions that are contained in the original are replicated in My Lil' Everdell, but with a cute twist on them that adds small, child versions of the different cards. My favorite card has to be the "Old One" card, which features a small turtle wearing a very obviously fake beard and a huge grin plastered on its face. There are a few cards that are replicated from the original game, but those are few and far between, and most of the cards in the game are new.

Placing My Lil' Friends

Significantly less table space required than the original game, but with kids, that's really nice to see.

The rules for Everdell have been nicely distilled down to accommodate the younger audience that the game seeks to connect with and it's obvious that James and Clarissa really took their time to ensure that the essence of Everdell was present in this younger version. While My Lil' Everdell itself is not going to satisfy the strategy itch that the original game helps to scratch, it is an excellent reimagining of the original game for a younger audience.

The start player is whomever is the shortest of the group and they take the start player token (the big sun). The first player rolls the dice (one for each player) and then places them on the board in their respective locations. Players then take turns placing their "friends" (workers) on one of the locations on the board and take the respective resources. Locations with a dice are only available to one player, but the other basic locations can fit any number of friends, making it easy to get the necessary resources.

Players then can play one card from the "Meadow" if they have the resources for it, into their personal area and it's abilities get added to the player engine. Play proceeds around the table with each player placing one friend per turn and the round ends once all players have placed all three of their friends. Once that has happened, players retrieve all their friends, the first player marker moves to the next person, and the dice are re-rolled. All players activate their green cards and play continues through the four rounds until all players have taken 12 turns total. Once finished, the points are totaled and the winner is whomever has the highest score.

As players proceed through the game, rather than events that they achieve, players are building towards parades. The first player to complete a parade gets six points, while the second player five points, and so on until all four have been achieved. These are the only "awards" available in the game and they help simplify the game for younger player and reduce the overall strategy needed to win.

There is also a solo version included in My Lil' Everdell that players can use, with two different variations that can be used. The bot for Prince Pumpernickel can also be used in multiplayer games up to 3 players, acting as a third or fourth player to help with card throughput and to provide additional challenge. The solo mode is similar to the Rugwort mode in Everdell, but doesn't feature such a tough opponent for younger children looking to try the game out alone.

Lil' Differences

Punchboards from the game and the rulebook (which is much smaller than the original game).

When comparing to the game to the original Everdell there are quite a few similarities and differences between the games. Obviously, much of the original game will feel close to My Lil' Everdell, but there are quite a few that I'll list here.

Some similarities are:

- The games feature the same iconography for items
- Several of the resources are the same between games
- The same five card colors are present between the two games
- The card types are both critters and constructions - in both games

Differences in the games are:

- There are only three resources in My Lil' Everdell, berries, sticks, and resin, as compared to the four that are in Everdell (berries, sticks, resin, and pebbles)
- Players can place workers and then build a card immediately after, which lends itself to much quicker gameplay than the original game
- The game is limited to 12 turns total, which makes it end much quicker than the original game
- Due to the nature of the game being geared towards a younger audience, the inherent strategic depth is significantly less than the original game
- Players work towards Parades, rather than Events, and these Parades can be achieved by all players, albeit with a lower point value for each successive Parade achieved
- Basic resource locations are shared by all with the special resource locations for each round being determined by dice versus remaining static through the entire game
- Each of the four rounds begins with an activation of the green cards in players tableaus versus only being activated in the spring and fall seasons

Obviously there are further changes that come between the games, but overall, these are the major changes between the two games. Those that are familiar with the original game should have no issues with learning how to play My Lil' Everdell and it's a great introduction for new players to get used to the style of Everdell, and for younger kiddos to learn how to play worker placement games.

My Lil' Thoughts

The game looks just as good as the original on the table.

Overall, I'm extremely impressed with the game and while it might not be the be all, end all for those that are looking for an impressively deep strategic games, My Lil' Everdell does succeed in providing a simple entry point for younger players to learn how to play the game. I felt like the game did a great job of introducing worker-placement mechanics to younger kids and I don't foresee my daughter having too much trouble learning how to play the game as she gets older.

Still, with this being a part of the Everdell series, I do want to approach this final portion of the review from an objective standpoint in both the view of an adult gamer who is looking to play the game sans littles, and as a father who will be playing with some kiddos later down the line. I'll be providing two separate scores for the game, one for those looking to play this as an entry point with kids and one for those looking at the game as a whole as an adult gamer along with thoughts for both, to ensure that I'm really giving a good grasp of the game and what it's possibilities are.

From a Parent's Perspective: As someone who is looking to get my girls into board games as early as possible (start 'em young!), this represents the next step up from something like Unicorn Glitterluck: Cloud Crystals or Rhino Hero. There's a bit more going on in My Lil' Everdell that might be difficult for the youngest of kids to understand, but I think that my daughter will be able to grasp the idea of the game and be able to play it when she gets just a bit older. There are several ideas baked into the game that make it a nice stepping stone to playing Everdell and better yet, the game itself is actually fairly fun to play as an adult.

Obviously, there's significantly less strategy that goes into the game than the original Everdell, but that's the point of My Lil' Everdell, especially when looking to use it as a stepping stone for younger gamers to learn mechanics of "bigger" games. I appreciate that there are several options for the resources to use cardboard chits rather than the resources themselves and the artwork and iconography is simple and easy to parse, even for younger kiddos. I also appreciate that there are alternate rules for giving kiddos a jumpstart at the beginning of the game with the Captain and Fort cards, and the included solo mode is a great addition to the game to introduce kiddos to solo modes as well.

From a standpoint of a dad who will probably play this game with his kids quite often, I'm actually quite impressed with how good the game feels. I would recommend keeping it to kids aged 5 or above (the box says "6+" but I think 5 should be able to handle it) with help from parents, but if you have a younger child with whom you could play the game, this is a very fun one to introduce. When keeping kids in mind with the game, I would give this an 85/100 as there are a few hiccups that could come with the game with younger kids. It could be a bit longer for some kids to sit at the table and play, and there is a slight bit of strategy to the game, so it might work better with older, more mature kids to play.

From a Gamer's Perspective: I really want to award My Lil' Everdell a high score because I love the original game a ton, but I do have to be honest with this review. The cards themselves are the standout of the game, and Andrew Bosley has really outdone himself with the cute factor on the cards. I'm absolutely enamored with the cards, especially having played the original game multiple times over so I know what is being referenced with the cards. Seeing the original cards mimicked by little kids of the same animal type is absolutely fantastic and I love the crossover.

Mechanically, this isn't terribly deep, but it does have some of the similar concepts of the original Everdell baked into the game itself. I do like how the gameplay is distilled down into something similar, but I cannot see this game being played over and over again without wanting to play the original game instead. It's a nice introductory game for those that are getting into the genre, but that's really the meat of why I couldn't recommend this as a long-term solution. Everdell has depth and mechanics that allow it to feel different every time I play it, but with My Lil' Everdell, there's only so many combinations that you can make without coming to the same conclusion.

I do appreciate that everyone works towards the same goals with the parades and how each subsequent parade is one point less than the one before it. It allows for everyone to accomplish them if they play well and it also helps to reduce the overall point spread from player to player. It's a nicer solution to the sometimes absolutely bonkers score disparities between players with the base game if someone has a runaway success.

Overall, I would rate My Lil' Everdell a 70/100 when looking at it from a more adult perspective. There are some fantastic mechanics here and I wouldn't discount it just because it's called "Lil'". While it is geared towards a younger audience, it's actually a nice little game that feels similar enough to Everedell without dragging out too long as some games can. However, I will say that if I had to choose between the original game and My Lil' Everdell, unless I didn't want to play a long game, I'd choose the former over the latter almost every single time.

Final Thoughts

I do want to say a huge "Thank you" to Tabletop Tycoon for providing a review copy of this game. It was one that I was really excited to review and being able to do so was a fantastic opportunity. The game itself was everything that I was hoping for in a younger themed Everdell game and it was a really great chance to try something new.

I'm really impressed with how good this game feels and I know that I'm also excited about trying it out with my daughter as she grows a bit older. There's so much that I cannot wait to show her with the world of board games and this will be a nice stepping stone into that world. Plus the artwork of the little kids dressed up as their older counterparts is far too cute (especially the "old one" card). It's something that will be very fun to introduce both kids and adults into the world of Everdell and hopefully open up the door for more games for them.

Give me your thoughts:What are your opinions on "Lil'" versions of games that step the game mechanics down for a younger audience? What games have done a great job of reimplementing the mechanics for a younger audience? What games would you like to see get the "Lil'" treatment and have a younger version, either jokingly or seriously?

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*Originally posted on BoardGameGeek on 26/7/2024*