Everdell — Rules Manual

Within the charming valley of Everdell,
beneath the boughs of towering trees, among
meandering streams and mossy hollows, a
civilization of forest critters is thriving and
expanding. Ever since famed adventurer Corrin
Evertail discovered the hidden realm long ago,
the citizens have prospered under the shelter
of the enduring Ever Tree.
From Everfrost to Bellsong, many a year have
come and gone, but the time has come for
new territories to be settled and new cities
established. You will be the leader of a group
of critters intent on just such a task. There are
buildings to construct, lively characters to
meet, events to host—it will be a busy year!
Will the sun shine brightest on your city
before the winter moon rises?
Prepare to be enchanted by the wondrous
world of Everdell. Once you are here, you
might never, ever, want to leave.
A NEW YEAR BEGINS...
“Everdell”
Wandering the woods
Gathering the stones
Wearing in the path
That leads to our home
Laying down the floors
Raising up the walls
Working through the days
Winter through to fall
And we’ll play down
Where the grass is thick
From the river drink
See stars come out to meet us
When all I need to do
Is be near to you
In the evening breeze
By the Ever Tree
Farmer in the field
Miner in the mud
King up in his castle
With berry blue blood
Schoolhouse in a tree
Chapel in a stream
We are side by side
Building up our dream
And we’ll lay down
Where the grass is thick
From the river drink
See stars come out to meet us
When all I need to do
Is be here with you
‘Neath the changing leaves
Of the Ever Tree

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CONTENTS
1 Game Board
4 Basic Event Tiles
Point Tokens (10 3-point, 20 1-point)
20 Occupied Tokens
1 8-sided Die (for Solo Game)

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128 Critter & Construction Cards
11 Forest Cards
16 Special Event Cards
30 Berries 30 Twigs 25 Resin 20 Pebbles
1 Evertree
24 Workers (6 per player)
1 Victory Card

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SET UP
1) Place the board on the table. Place the Ever Tree on the stump at the top of the board.
2) Place the twigs, resin, pebbles, and berries in piles along the bank of the river. Place the point tokens and occupied tokens beside the board.
3) Shuffle the Forest cards and place them on the forest clearings. Use 3 cards for two players, or 4 cards for three or four players. Put the remaining cards back in the box.
4) Place the 4 basic Event tiles along the river, then shuffle the special Event cards and place 4 special Events on the lower branches of the Ever Tree. Put the remaining special Events back in the box.

5) Shuffle the main deck and randomly place 8 cards faceup in the Meadow. Place the deck inside the Ever Tree.
6) Each player chooses a color and starts with 2 workers of that color. The first player will draw 5 cards from the deck, the second player 6 cards, the third player 7 cards, and the fourth player 8 cards.
7) Each player places their 4 other workers on the upper branches of the Ever Tree: 1 worker on spring, 1 on summer, and 2 on autumn.
The most humble player goes first.

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1
The facedown discard pile will be formed here.
There is no limit to the amount of resources a player may have during the game. If any of the resources run out, use something else as a substitute.

Player 1: 5 cards
Player 2: 6 cards
Player 3: 7 cards
Player 4: 8 cards

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HOW TO PLAY
Play proceeds clockwise. You will take turns performing one of the following actions. These actions may be performed in any order, but only one action may be taken per turn.
Place a Worker
or Play a Card
or Prepare for Season

PLACE A WORKER
Your workers are necessary for the expansion and success of your city. You will be deploying them to various locations in Everdell in order to gather resources, draw more cards, host events, or perhaps to embark on a journey.

LOCATIONS TO VISIT INCLUDE
Basic Action Spaces
Forest Locations

There are two types of locations: exclusive and shared (portrayed with an open encircling ring). Only 1 worker may visit an exclusive location. Multiple workers, even of the same color, may visit a shared location.
Exclusive Shared

The placement locations are only used in a four-player game. However, you may not place 2 of your own workers on a single Forest location.

Example: Placing a worker on the second basic action space gains the player two twigs, and a card drawn from the deck.

To visit a location, place one of your workers on any available symbol and immediately take the listed resources or perform the action. That worker is then considered deployed to that location until you bring them back with the Prepare for Season action.

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Example: If another
player places their
worker on the Post
Office, the owner
gains 1 point.
Destination Cards
You may place a worker on any
Destination card in your city, or on a
Destination card in another city that
has an symbol, in which case the
owner of the Destination gains 1 point
token from the supply.
Events
Requires your
city to contain
Woodcarver
and Chapel.
Requires your city to
contain 3 Destination
cards.
You may also place 1 of your workers
on any remaining basic Event or
special Event to achieve it. To achieve
the Event, you must meet all the listed
requirements on the Event, and must
pay any resources at the time you place
your worker there. Only one player may
achieve a specific Event. You have to
be able to achieve the Event to place a
worker on the Event.
Achieved Events should be placed beside
your city for scoring at the end of the game.
Haven
The Haven
location is a
shared space.
There is no
limit to the
amount of
workers that may be placed on it, even
of the same color. By going here, you
may discard any number of cards from
your hand, and gain 1 of any resource
for every 2 cards you discard.
Journey
In autumn only, you may send a worker
on a journey. You must discard cards
equal to the listed points of the Journey
location you choose. The 5-point,
4-point, and 3-point locations are
exclusive, and the 2-point location is
shared. The deployed
worker is worth the
listed points at the
end of the game.

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PLAY A CARD
You may play one card. To play a card,
you must pay the listed requirements
into the general supply. Cards may be
played from either the Meadow cards
or from your hand.
You will be playing these cards in front
of you to form your city. There are two
types of cards in the game: Critters
and Constructions. You may have
multiple copies of any Common card in
your city, but you may only have one
specific copy of any Unique card.
You may pay the required cost in
berries to play the Critter card, or if the
Construction listed in the top left of
the Critter card is already in your city,
you may play the Critter card without
paying the cost in berries.
Important: When playing a Critter for
free by using the related Construction,
place an “occupied” token on the
Construction. You may only do this
once per Construction.

Critters
Requirements
Type/Cards in Deck/Name
Card Text
Points

OR

Constructions
Requirements
Type/Cards in Deck/Name
Card Text
Points

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10
City
Your city has a maximum of 15 spaces
to play cards into. Each card takes up one
space. Recommended layout is 3 rows with
5 cards in each. Event cards do not count
against this 15 card limit.

Card Types
Tan Traveler: Activates once
immediately when played. It
never activates again.

Green Production: Activates
once immediately when
played, and once during the
Prepare for Season actions in
spring and autumn.

Red Destination: Activates
when a worker is placed on it.
Cards with the symbol
may be visited by opponents.

Blue Governance: Grants you
bonuses after playing certain
card types, and offers
different ways to play cards
for a discount.

Purple Prosperity: Worth the
base points and the listed bonus
points at the end of the game.

Point
token
Gain: take listed resource or point tokens from the general supply.
Pay: place listed resources from your supply into the general supply.
End of
game points
Card Twig Resin Pebble Berry
Any
resource

Suggested City Layout

Drawing Cards
Always draw cards from the deck, unless
specifically told to draw them from the
Meadow cards.

There is a strict hand limit of eight
cards. You cannot ever have more than
eight cards in your hand. If you get to
draw cards, you can only draw up to eight,
no more. If you are required to give cards
to an opponent and all opponents’ hands
are full, discard the cards instead.

If a Meadow card is played, immediately
replace it with a new card from the draw
pile. If an ability allows players to draw
cards from the Meadow cards, draw all
cards first then replenish.

If the deck ever runs out, shuffle the
discard pile to form a new deck.

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11
PREPARE FOR SEASON
Thematically the game begins in late winter and ends as the next winter approaches. Autumn is the last Prepare for Season action you may perform in the game.
The Prepare for Season action may only be performed after you have placed all of your current worker population.
When you perform the Prepare for Season action, you alone bring back all of your deployed workers.
In spring, you gain 1 new worker and activate all green Production cards in your city.
In summer, you gain 1 new worker. There is no Production in summer, but green cards still activate immediately if played during summer. Also, you may draw up to 2 Meadow cards when you prepare for summer.
In autumn, you gain 2 workers and activate all green Production cards in your city.

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When preparing for the next season, new workers from the Ever Tree join your growing city. Gain your matching worker and activate the next season’s listed bonus.

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END GAME
When you cannot perform any more actions (or do not wish to), you have finished the game and must pass. If a player has passed, they cannot be given any cards or resources. If cards or resources have to be given to a player and all other players have passed, discard instead.
Any unfinished players continue playing until all players have passed. Then add up all points to determine the winner.
You may find it easiest to add up the base value of each card, then come back and add up point tokens, purple Prosperity card bonuses, Journey points, and Events.
If there is a tie, the player who achieved the most Events wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the most leftover resources is the winner.

SCORING EXAMPLE (PAGE 14)
Base points for cards: 22
Point tokens: 14
Prosperity card bonus points: 10 (3 for Wife, 2 for Architect, 5 for King)
Journey points: 4
Events: 12 (6 for Performer in Residence, 3 for Ministering to Miscreants, 3 for Grand Tour)
Total: 62

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SOLO RULES

When playing Everdell solo, you will be competing against a cantankerous old rodent known as Rugwort, and his pack of rowdy, rambunctious, rat ruffians. He will be returning to Everdell for three years in a row, each time bearing a new title of nastiness. You must find a way to overcome his dastardly tricks and rid Everdell of his filth once and for all!

Year One: “Rugwort the Rascal”

Select a player color for Rugwort (he prefers black) and setup the game according to the two-player setup. You have a starting hand of 5 cards, and Rugwort does not have a hand of cards.

Take one of Rugwort’s workers and place it on the top-left Forest card, blocking it. Place his other worker on the 3 twig action space, blocking it.

Play the game as normal with these new rules:

Any time after you play a card, Rugwort gets to play a card. If you played a Meadow card, first replenish the card. To play Rugwort’s card, roll the 8-sided die; the number rolled will determine which of the 8 Meadow cards Rugwort gets to play into his city. The cards are numbered 1-8, with the top-left being 1 and the bottom-right being 8. For Rugwort’s city, place his cards in stacks according to colored types so you can clearly see how many he has of each color. The card’s ability and point value do not matter. Replenish the Meadow card after he has played his card.

After you have performed the Prepare for Season action, Rugwort immediately performs his Prepare for Season action, which consists of these steps:

1) Check to see if he has enough of the colored cards in his city to achieve any of the four basic Events. If so, place that Event(s) in his city.

2) Take his new worker and place it on the #1 Meadow card (#2 for summer, and #3 & #4 for autumn), so by the end of the game he will have a worker on the top 4 Meadow cards. You cannot play these cards anymore, but Rugwort still can.

3) Moving counter-clockwise, move his worker to the next Forest card. During the spring Prepare for Season action, move his worker from the 3 twigs location to the 2 resin location. During summer, move his worker to the 1 pebble location. During autumn, move his worker to the 1 berry and 1 card location.

In autumn, remove his worker from the 3rd Forest tile and place it instead on the 3-point Journey space.

Scoring

Rugwort will score: 2 points per card in his city (3 points for each purple Prosperity card), 3 points for each basic Event he achieved, 3 points for each special Event that you did not achieve, 3 points for his worker on Journey, and any point tokens that you gave him.

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Year Two: “Rugwort the Rotten”
Same rules as Year One with these additional rules:
Place his worker on the 4-point Journey space instead of the 3.

Rugwort gains 6 points for every special Event that you did not achieve, instead of 3.

Year Three: “Rugwort the Rapscallion”
Same rules as Year Two with these additional rules:
Place his worker on the 5-point Journey space instead of the 4.
During Rugwort’s autumn Prepare for Season action, he kidnaps one of your workers! Do not move his worker to the 1 berry and 1 card space—instead remove his worker and one of your workers from the game. Now you will only have 5 workers to use for the last season of the game.
Beat him in year three and the bards of Everdell sing of your triumph! The historian records your victory to be preserved and remembered for all time! The old rat Rugwort skulks away, leaving Everdell in peace... for now.

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INDEX
Innkeeper: When you play a Critter, you may discard this Innkeeper from your city to decrease the cost of the played Critter by 3 berries. You do not gain the 3 berries. This card cannot be combined with any other card-playing abilities—including the Inn, any forest tiles that allow you to play a card, or cards like the Dungeon.
Judge: When playing a Critter or Construction, you may replace 1 of any resource in the cost with 1 of any other resource you have. Example: If a card costs 2 berries, you may pay 1 berry and 1 twig instead.
King: At game end, worth 1 point for each basic Event, and 2 points for each special Event you have achieved.
Miner Mole: When played and during Production, you may copy any 1 green Production card in any opponent’s city. Basically the Miner Mole becomes that card for a moment—so if copying a General Store, you would receive 2 berries if that opponent also had a Farm in their city. Solo Game: You may copy any green Production card in Rugwort’s city with the Miner Mole.
Monk: When played and during Production, you may give up to 2 berries to an opponent to gain 2 point tokens for each berry you give. Also unlocks the 2nd Monastery room.
Peddler: When played and during Production, you may trade up to 2 of your resources for 2 of any other resource. Trade with the general supply, not other players.
Postal Pigeon: When played, reveal 2 cards from the deck. You may immediately play 1 of these worth up to 3 points, for free. Discard the other. Solo Game: If you play a Postal Pigeon and activate its ability to play another card, that counts as you playing 2 cards, so on Rugwort’s turn he will play 2 cards.

Critters
Architect: At game end, worth 1 point for each of your leftover resin and pebbles, up to 6 points total.
Bard: Discard up to 5 cards from your hand, to gain 1 point token for each card.
Barge Toad: When played and during Production, gain 2 twigs for each Farm in your city.
Chip Sweep: When played and during Production, activate any 1 green Production card in your city. We know what you are thinking, and we do not recommend it. By the time the poor thing caught his tail, he’d burned a hole straight through our table. Do not ask him to do that.
Doctor: When played and during Production, you may pay up to 3 berries to gain 1 point token for each berry.
Fool: The Fool is played into an empty spot in an opponent’s city. Stinks, don’t it? Solo Game: Rugwort can play the Fool into your city. If you play the Fool, discard the Fool and remove any 1 card from his city.
Historian: Draw 1 card after you play a Critter or Construction—basically every time you play a card after you have this Historian, you get to draw a card.
Husband: Shares a space with a Wife, so combined they only take up 1 space in your city. If you have a Farm in your City and this Husband is paired with a Wife, then this card gives you 1 of any resource when played and during Production. May only share a space with 1 Wife.

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Queen: When you place a worker here, you may play any card from your hand or the Meadow cards worth up to 3 points for free. This refers to the base points of the card, not bonus points.
Ranger: When played, move any 1 of your deployed workers to a new location, following the normal worker placement rules. Also unlocks the 2nd Dungeon cell.
Shepherd: When played, gain 3 berries. Also gain 1 point token for each point token on your Chapel.
Shopkeeper: Gain 1 berry after you play a Critter into your city. Do not gain a berry for playing this Shopkeeper.
Teacher: When played and during Production, draw 2 cards. Keep 1 of them and give the other to any opponent.
Undertaker: When played, discard 3 of the Meadow cards, replenish those 3 cards, then draw 1 card from the Meadow cards into your hand. Also unlocks the 2nd Cemetery plot.
Wanderer: When played, draw 3 cards. Does not take up 1 of the 15 spots in your city.
Wife: Shares a space with a Husband, so combined they only take up 1 space in your city. At game end, worth 3 points if paired with a Husband. May only share space with 1 Husband.
Woodcarver: When played and during Production, you may pay up to 3 twigs to gain 1 point token for each.

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19
Constructions
Castle: At game end, worth 1 point for each Common Construction in your city.
Cemetery: When you place a worker here, reveal 4 cards from the draw pile or discard pile and play 1 of them for free. Discard the others. Your worker must stay here permanently. Cemetery may only have up to 2 workers on it, but the second spot must be unlocked by having an Undertaker in your city.
Chapel: When you place a worker here, place 1 point token on the Chapel. Draw 2 cards for every 1 point token on the Chapel.
Clock Tower: When you play the Clock Tower, place 3 point tokens on it. Before you bring back your workers during a Prepare for Season action, remove 1 point token from the Clock Tower and activate one of the basic or Forest locations where you have a worker deployed. Any points left on the Clock Tower at game’s end will count towards your point total.
Courthouse: Gain 1 twig, 1 resin, or 1 pebble every time you play a Construction into your city. You do not gain resources for playing this Courthouse.
Crane: When you play a Construction, you may discard this Crane from your city to decrease the cost of the played Construction by 3 of any resource. You do not gain the 3 resources. This card cannot be combined with any other card-playing abilities—including the Inn, any forest tiles that allow you to play a card, or cards like the Dungeon.
Dungeon: When you are playing a Construction or a Critter, you may place a Critter from your city beneath this Dungeon to decrease the cost of the played card by 3 of any resource. You do not gain the 3 resources. The Critter in your Dungeon is no longer considered part of your city and is not worth any points. This card cannot be combined with any other card-playing abilities—including the Inn, any forest tiles that allow you to play a card, or cards like the Crane or Innkeeper. Dungeon can only have up to 2 prisoners, but the second cell must be unlocked by having a Ranger in your city.
Ever Tree: At game end, worth 1 point for each purple Prosperity card in your city, including this Ever Tree. Ever Tree can grant 1 of any Critter for free.
Fair Grounds: When played and during Production, draw 2 cards.
Farm: When played and during Production, gain 1 berry.
General Store: When played and during Production, gain 1 berry or gain 2 berries if you have a Farm in your city (not 2 berries per Farm).
Inn: When you place a worker here, play a Critter or Construction from the Meadow cards for 3 less resources of your choice. You do not gain the 3 resources. You gain 1 point token if an opponent visits your Inn. Solo Game: you may visit the Inn in Rugwort’s City and Rugwort gains 1 point token.
Lookout: When you place a worker here, copy any 1 basic or Forest location, even if it is occupied by 1 of your workers.
Mine: When played and during Production, gain 1 pebble.
Monastery: When you place a worker here, give 2 of any resources to an opponent and then gain 4 points. Worker stays here permanently. Monastery can only have up to 2 workers on it, but the second spot must be unlocked by having a Monk in your city.

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Palace: At game end, worth 1 point for each Unique Construction in your city, including this Palace.
Post Office: When you place a worker here, give an opponent 2 cards from your hand and then discard any amount of cards from your hand that you want. Then draw cards from the draw pile up to your hand limit. You gain 1 point token if an opponent visits your Post Office. Solo Game: you may visit the Post Office in Rugwort’s City and Rugwort gains 1 point token.
Resin Refinery: When played and during Production, gain 1 resin.
Ruins: When played, discard a Construction from your city and place this card in that spot, then receive back that Construction’s listed cost in resources. Also draw 2 cards.
School: At game end, worth 1 point for each Common Critter in your city.
Storehouse: When played and during Production, take from the supply and place either 3 twigs, 2 resin, 1 pebble, or 2 berries on this card. Also works as a location to place a worker and take all of the resources on the card.
Theater: At game end is worth 1 point for each Unique Critter in your city.
Twig Barge: When played and during Production, gain 2 twigs.
University: When you place a worker here, discard 1 Construction or Critter from your city and receive back the listed cost of resources of the discarded card, plus gain 1 of any resource and gain 1 point. If you discard a card with a permanent worker on it, place that worker on the University permanently instead (you do not get the worker back).

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Tale of the Standing Stones
As told by Poe the Legendary Storyteller

Long ago and far away in the land of Gildin, a young mouse gazed at distant mountains and wondered what lay beyond. His was a life of hardship and turmoil, as was true for many a critter during those darker times. There was nary a drop of honey or nibble of blueberry to be found, as any and every available provision had been used in the Serpent War, when brave critters gathered together to fend off the serpents of the Northern Wilds.

There among the poverty and desolation sat a mouse driven by dreams of hope. Corrin Evertail was his name. His father, a brave warrior, had lost his life to the war. With the news of his father’s death, Corrin’s mother passed away soon after, leaving Corrin an orphan on the dark streets of the port city of Stormwillow.

Many were his adventures and narrow escapes during those formidable years of his youth, but quick thinking and iron will—and not a small amount of providence—saw him through. He remembered dreams of better lands beyond distant mountains. He knew that such a journey could very well be the death of him, but there was no future for him in Stormwillow.

The time had come.

Of his few friends, he could convince three to travel with him. Together they set out on a cold Greensprout morning, wanderers seeking a land they were not even sure existed.

Many a story has been told of that long journey through Dunewaste desert and over the Spirecrest mountains. It was a harrowing

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22
CREDITS
Game Design
James A. Wilson
Illustration
Andrew Bosley
Game and Creative Development
Dann May
Brenna Noonan
James A. Wilson
Art Direction & Graphic Design
Dann May
Additional Graphics & Layout
Cody Jones

Marketing
Brenna Noonan
Production Management
Cody Jones
Executive Production
Dan Yarrington
Playtesters
Clarissa Wilson, Jacob Parker,
Nathan Wilson, Andrew &
Jordana Osborne, Justin Schaffer,
Michael Mindes, Seth Jaffee, Joel
Eddy, Allen Chang, Cody Jones,
Chris McMullen, Michael Fox, and
Andrew Bosley
Published by
Starling Games
Visit us online at Starling.Games

adventure that lasted for nine months and ultimately
claimed the life of Corrin’s dearest friend. But when
the thread of hope that had pulled them through
was at its thinnest, on the 19th day of Hopewatch,
the adventurers crested a final peak and beheld the
wonder that they had been seeking.
The sun was delighted that day as it broke apart the
dark clouds that had frowned for so long, and shone
its light upon the glorious emerald valley below.
It was a land unspoiled by the stains of war and
untouched by the devastation of greed.
After exploring the valley for many weeks, Corrin
and his companions finally settled among the roots
of what would one day be the monument of hope we
know as the Ever Tree. He declared the valley to be
Everdell, and spoke a blessing upon it.
Almost immediately after establishing a place to rest
his head, Corrin set about erecting a monument to
commemorate, and to never forget, the journey that
was made to discover this sacred place.
They raised up nine white stones, each representing
a month of their journey. Into these stones they
carved memories, they carved hopes and dreams,
and finally a challenge for all of us who now enjoy
such peace and comfort in our beloved realm.
These are the words of Corrin Evertail, etched into
that stone and spoken now for us to never forget:
There is no sorrow too black for hope.
Even midnight gives way to the morning.
Seize the day and make it sing.
Let your bell ring forever loud and true.
Now go, go into the world, and let your life be a
standing stone that will encourage and inspire
others for many seasons to come.

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