With eight identical farms in the base game, I am smitten with the decision to diversify the farms so that they now both spark a tough decision and produce an I- knew-that-would-pay-off moment at the turn to Autumn. I suppose they could have been included anywhere, but they were in this box, which only served to secure the ranking.

You also get the rabbit critter (for all of the base game critters and expansion critters) who embarks on a journey on the additional game board, you get a frog critter for the Pearlbrook expansion and a bunch of cards. There is a lovely balance in these two primary mechanisms, but most satisfying is they send all eyes back to the Meadow and the decisions that made Everdell great in the first place. But for those who do in fact enjoy playing Everdell in solitaire and want to add just the right amount of complexity and new mechanisms, then I wholeheartedly recommend taking a closer look at the Spirecrest expansion. Pearlbrook was the first box expansion to see the light of retail day after the base game and Collector’s Edition.Am I conserving too many resources and concentrating too much on the Expedition when I could just be pouring them into playing more cards? As noted in the setup section, there is always one more Map Tile than number of players playing so even the last person to Prepare for Season still gets a choice of tiles.

While I think Spirecrest is the most complex of the expansions, I don’t think it is that much more burdensome than Pearlbrook, and I wouldn’t say the additional complexity is substantial. Yes, it is true that they aid in distinguishing which player “owns” the Big Critter in question as these animals of a grander stature effectively replace one of your woodland animal workers.

I enjoy that the corresponding Pirate matches the spirit of the Scurrble Stadium in presenting a gambling card draw. I’ve not spoken of the Everdell for Everyone pack to this point, but the shift from Husbands/Wives to Harvesters/Gatherers is complete, with every card now bearing the new wording. Earlier, I mentioned the added complexity of Spirecrest, and I don’t think I’m wrong about this as even the 2 nd page of the rulebook recommends that you do not play Spirecrest mixed with another expansion but don’t worry, almost all of the added mechanics take place when you Prepare for Season.