Everdell has been delighting board game enthusiasts for 7 years now. After 5 ExtensionsFollowing a duel variant, a junior variant, and the first "Edge of the Map" title, Farshore, Silverfrost now takes us to another area on the edge of the world of Everdell. We no longer find ourselves by the sunny sea, but in the icy heights of the mountains. The snowy world of Silverfrost lies south of the Spirecrest area.
As Farshore Although announced in the summer of 2023, it didn't really appeal to me as a big Everdell fan. For one thing, there was the almost absurdly high MSRP of €100, and mechanically it doesn't offer anything exciting new that wasn't already included in the expansions of the regular model. everdell would have contributed. Combined with the fact that the seaside setting and the new art style also failed to generate enthusiasm, I have Farshore Completely ignored except for a few games with copies from friends.
Silverfrost It's also "more expensive" than the regular Everdell, since the otherwise lovely resources are only made of cardboard here, despite the same price. As a winter enthusiast, the snowy setting definitely appealed to me more. I also much prefer the art style of Lukas Siegmon, who did the illustrations here, to the look of... Farshore.
Changes compared to Everdell
The basic principle of everdell, The game, which consists of worker placement and tableau building around the buildings and beings, is of course also available in... Silverfrost. I will not go into detail about these core mechanisms at this point, but will only describe the differences to the predecessors.
The biggest innovation, and the one that perfectly fits the winter setting, is the snow. During the game, it falls on the workers' action spaces, the maps in the valley, and the players' cities. Snow blocks all the effects and interactions that the snowed-in elements would otherwise have. To make the maps/locations usable again, you need fire. Initially, it costs one fire to remove snow, but this cost doubles halfway through the game.
You can only clear snow from locations (or cards with worker spaces) if you also place one of your own workers there in the same turn. Cards in valleys that are covered in snow can only be cleared if you subsequently play them back into your own city. Additionally, you may remove snow once per turn from a card in your own city (provided you also place a worker in your city, meaning a maximum of 2 snows per turn can be removed from your city). At the end of the game, you score points for the snow you remove.
Everyone starts the game with a regular worker and a Silver Guard, who has more options thanks to their snowshoes. They can be deployed to an already occupied location, provided it isn't already occupied by one of your own workers or an enemy Silver Guard, or they can immediately create a fire by deploying them to an unoccupied location.
There's also a central cardboard structure with the mountain (which, as always, is rather impractical). This serves two purposes: firstly, it stores the snow supply, but more importantly, it houses the beacons and the giant creatures. The beacons are locations that require a fire to activate and allow you to use the powerful effects of the giant creatures.
Creatures can no longer be played for free if you have a suitable building. When preparing for the second or third round, you receive a chimney each time, which must be lit with a fire to play a creature (almost) for free.
There are a variety of new effects on all the new structures and creatures. One new feature is that the person to the left of the active character can now also receive items, or that you must compare your progress with this person when completing tasks.
All players now possess secret mission cards that they can complete at the guild. There are also shared missions for each player plus one. However, as in the expansions, these are significantly more open-ended than in the base game. everdell was the case.
Otherwise, the game proceeds according to the familiar pattern and ends as soon as everyone has completed the last season (spring).
Information about Silverfrost
| Number of people: 1 to 4 people Age: from 10 years Playing time: 30 to 120 minutes Difficulty: expert game Long-term motivation: very good Mechanics: Worker placement, resource management Game idea: James A. Wilson, Clarissa A. Wilson Illustrations: Enggar Adirasa, Lukas Siegmon Publisher: Starling Games; German edition: Pegasus Spiele Official Website: Silverfrost Year of publication: 2025 Language: German Cost: 60 Euro |
Conclusion
Silverfrost is unmistakably a everdell-Game. Anyone who hasn't been able to grasp the basic concept of games so far won't find anything here to convince them otherwise. All those who everdell Those who like it can find a slightly more complex gaming experience here, offering a greater challenge than standard.everdell.
I like many of the changes very much, although some detract from the overall impression. Silverfrost This makes everything a bit tighter. In fact, so tight that the first round, due to the lack of chimneys, is heavily dependent on the available cards. If the green production cards are also missing, the start becomes very slow. However, over time, it's still possible to build a full city – it simply requires more precise planning and adaptability to deal with the constantly falling snow and the limited resources.
The first round is the only real drawback in terms of gameplay, as it's still possible to build a successful city with good planning. The only potential issue is the change of seasons from autumn to winter, which can be disruptive if one player progresses through the seasons very quickly, as the cost of snow removal doubles once the first player enters winter.
Price-wise, I find Silverfrost (Like virtually all games in the Everdell universe) it's quite expensive for the content it offers. It costs almost exactly the same as the regular version. everdellHowever, it's not very well equipped. Besides the resources, which only come as cardboard tiles, there's no scoring pad or bags to keep all the resources separate (although experienced players probably have a few lying around). The insert holds the cards and beacons in place, but it's not really suitable for storing the rest of the game components. I also find the color scheme of the resource tiles somewhat unfortunate. All four resources are green/brown, and when they're laid out in front of you, you have to be careful not to confuse the different types.
Unfortunately, the rules are not as clear as they could be. In particular, a glossary that explains all card abilities in detail and prevents any confusion is missing.
The mountain-shaped map holder is extremely impractical for more than two people, as the maps are already very small and can never be read properly by everyone. I still really like it, though. There's also a space-saving 2D version available. Visually, the 3D version is certainly impressive and, together with Lukas Siegmon's truly magnificent artwork, creates a fantastic overall impression.
I like the division of missions between public and private ones; it's the best implementation of this mechanic in the Everdell universe so far. The private missions are somewhat easier to complete, and the public missions can then become a close race to be the first to grab them by the third round.
The biggest and best change, however, is the mechanism involving snow and fire. While in autumn you tend to work around the snow-covered fields and cards on the game board whenever possible, by winter you'll be clearing them away to secure points at the end. However, I would never recommend using the "Blazing Storm" side of the scoring tile for the final scoring. The other option, where you get 1 point for each piece of snow removed and 5 points for removing the most, is far superior.
The Silver Guard, as a slightly stronger worker, also works very well in this context and offers plenty of options. The new card effects, some of which are already familiar in a similar form, are also well-integrated. Silverfrost I like them all without exception, and they can be built up again into great combo effects.
Finally, a good solo mode!
My biggest criticism of everdell The disappointing solo mode was always a major drawback, as it simply failed to generate any enjoyment. Silverfrost Now things are – finally – different. Here you play against Klaue Hammerschlag – a bandit who comes to the city and wants to cause trouble.
His actions are controlled via two decks of cards. The action card (or the current corner) dictates which action (placing an animal, playing a card) is performed. The action card specifies where the action is performed (from). The exact procedures for each action are very elegant and streamlined, so that you are hardly distracted from your own game.
Over the course of a season, Klaue also places several claw tokens on maps in the valley, which he collects while preparing for the next season and for which he receives points starting at the second difficulty level. The scoring system for quests against Klaue is also very cleverly implemented.
At the lowest difficulty level, he is not a really strong opponent (55 points to my 110 in the test), but from the third level onwards, he becomes an equal opponent.
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