How to Play Everdell: Mistwood

Game Objective

In Everdell: Mistwood, players explore the mysterious Mistwood, facing the Nightweave and her army of spiders. The goal is to build the most prosperous village by collecting resources, playing cards, and completing events. In the Nightweave's Lair mode, one or two players compete against the autonomous villain, aiming to surpass her score by the end of the game.

Setup

To play in Nightweave's Lair mode:

1. Set up the main Everdell board for 2 players (solo) or 3 players (co-op).
2. Place the Nightweave's boards next to the main board.
3. Choose a difficulty level (0 to 4) and place the corresponding Score card.
4. Separate the Activity cards by season and form a deck with 8 cards (including 1 hidden winter card).
5. Position Nightweave and 2 spider workers in her lair, with the remaining 6 in reserve.
6. Human players start with 5 cards in hand.

Refer to the manual for details on this section.

Game Flow

The game alternates turns between human players and the autonomous Nightweave:

• Nightweave always goes first.
• She follows actions determined by her Activity deck, which changes with the seasons (winter, spring, summer, autumn).
• After placing all workers, she performs the Prepare for Season action, advancing to the next season and resetting her deck.

Actions and How to Play

Nightweave performs actions based on her current Activity card:

• Place workers: On basic, forest, or her village locations (ignoring card text).
• Play cards: From her hand or the Meadow (using a die to choose).
• Events: Completes basic or special events if she meets the requirements.
• Default actions: Collects point tokens if unable to perform other actions.

Human players follow standard Everdell rules but must contend with the villain's interference.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends when:

• All human players have passed, and Nightweave completes her Prepare for Season action in autumn.
• Scoring:
  • Add points from village cards, point tokens, events, and achievements.
  • Nightweave scores based on her difficulty level, including bonuses for specific cards.

Victory: The player with more points than Nightweave wins. In case of a tie, she wins.

Tips to Win

• Prioritize events: Nightweave always tries to complete them; blocking her can reduce her score.
• Manage the Meadow: Avoid leaving valuable cards near the villain, as she may steal them with the die.
• Use modules cautiously: Personalities and Plots increase the challenge; choose them based on your experience.