Top 26 · #20 of 40 in Strategy
Everdell
A celebrated strategy game where you send workers out beneath the towering tree of the storybook valley of Everdell to build a city and welcome adorable animal residents. As four seasons pass, you'll enjoy gathering resources and stacking card combos to complete your own little village.
Rules
Beneath the sheltering Ever Tree, you send workers out to gather resources and play cards to build your own city in this worker-placement tableau builder. Across four seasons — winter through autumn — your worker pool keeps growing, and how you combine buildings and critters inside a strict 15-space city decides the score.
Components
| Component | Count | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Game board | 1 | Riverbank resource supply and the basic locations |
| Ever Tree | 1 | Grants a new worker and a bonus each time a season advances |
| Critter & Construction cards | 128 | The main deck used to build your city |
| Forest cards | 11 (use 3 for 2 players, 4 for 3–4) | Extra locations laid out beside the Meadow |
| Basic Event tiles | 4 | Common goals present in every game |
| Special Event cards | 16 (use 4) | Randomly placed on the lower branches of the Ever Tree each game |
| Victory card | 1 | A decorative card with no effect on the rules |
| Point tokens | 30 (ten 3-point, twenty 1-point) | Track score |
| Occupied tokens | 20 | Mark that a construction's free-play combo was used once |
| 8-sided die | 1 | For the solo game only |
| Berries · Twigs · Resin · Pebbles | 30 · 30 · 25 · 20 | Spent to play cards. Use substitutes if the supply runs out |
| Workers | 24 (6 per player) | Four colors — hedgehog, mouse, squirrel, and turtle |
No resource limit
There is no limit to how many resources a player may hold. If a resource runs out, substitute something else.
Setup
- 1Place the board on the table and set the Ever Tree on the stump at the top.
- 2Stack twigs, resin, pebbles, and berries along the riverbank, and set the point tokens and occupied tokens beside the board.
- 3Shuffle the Forest cards and reveal 3 for two players or 4 for three or four players onto the Forest clearings. Return the rest to the box.
- 4Place the 4 basic Event tiles along the river, then shuffle the special Event cards and place 4 at random face up on the lower branches of the Ever Tree.
- 5Shuffle the main deck and deal 8 cards face up into the Meadow. Place the remaining deck inside the Ever Tree.
- 6Each player picks a color and takes 2 workers of that color. The first player draws 5 cards, the second 6, the third 7, and the fourth 8.
- 7Each player places their other 4 workers on the upper branches of the Ever Tree — 1 on spring, 1 on summer, and 2 on autumn.
- 8The most humble player goes first.
Turn structure
- 1Play proceeds clockwise. On your turn, perform exactly one of: Place a Worker, Play a Card, or Prepare for Season.
- 2Placing a worker means putting one of your workers on an available location with a paw-print icon and immediately gaining the listed resources or effect.
- 3A placed worker stays on that location until you bring it back with your own Prepare for Season action.
Forest locations differ by player count
With 2 or 3 players, each Forest location holds only 1 worker. Forest locations with 2 paw-print icons are used only in four-player games, and even then you may not place 2 of your own workers on the same Forest location.
Playing cards and the 15-space city
The Play a Card action lets you choose a Meadow card or a card in hand, pay its listed cost, and place it in your city. Cards are either Critters or Constructions, and their color determines when the effect triggers. Playing a Meadow card immediately replenishes that spot from the deck, so the Meadow always holds 8 cards.
| Color | Type | When the effect triggers |
|---|---|---|
| Tan | Traveler | Activates once immediately when played, and never again |
| Green | Production | Activates once immediately, then again during every spring and autumn Prepare for Season action |
| Red | Destination | Activates when a worker is placed on it. A card marked OPEN may be visited by opponents too |
| Blue | Governance | Grants a bonus or a discount after playing certain cards |
| Purple | Prosperity | Worth base points plus its listed bonus points at game end |
Only one copy of a Unique card
Common cards may appear in your city multiple times, but a Unique card may only have one copy in a single city.
Playing a Critter for free
A Critter card lists a related Construction in its top-left corner. If that Construction is already in your city, you may play the Critter without paying its berry cost.
Only once per Construction
Once an occupied token sits on a Construction, that free-play combo cannot be used again on it. If the Critter later leaves your city, the token stays on the Construction.
Season progress — Prepare for Season
- 1The Prepare for Season action may only be taken after placing all of your current workers, or when you choose not to place any more.
- 2Performing it brings back all of your deployed workers and grants the bonus of the next season, as shown at the top of the Ever Tree.
- 3Spring: gain 1 new worker, then activate all green Production cards in your city in any order.
- 4Summer: gain 1 new worker, and you may draw up to 2 Meadow cards. Production cards do not activate again during this step (though a green card played during summer still activates immediately when played).
- 5Autumn: gain 2 new workers, then activate all green Production cards in your city again.
- 6There is no Prepare for Season action after autumn. Once you have no further actions, you pass and finish the game.
Players advance at different paces
The Prepare for Season action does not need to happen at the same time for everyone. One player may already be in autumn while another is still in spring.
Scoring
- 1Add the base points of every card in your city.
- 2Add your point tokens.
- 3Add the base points of your purple Prosperity cards, plus each card's listed bonus points.
- 4Add the points shown for any worker placed on Journey.
- 5Add the points listed on every Event (basic or special) you achieved.
| Item | Example score (from the rulebook) |
|---|---|
| Base card points | 22 |
| Point tokens | 14 |
| Prosperity card bonuses | 10 |
| Journey points | 4 |
| Event points | 12 |
| Total | 62 |
Breaking ties
A tie is broken by whoever achieved more Events. If still tied, the player holding the most leftover resources wins.
End of game
- 1In autumn, once you cannot or do not wish to take another action, declare that you pass.
- 2A player who has passed may no longer receive cards or resources; if required to receive any, discard them instead.
- 3Players who haven't finished keep taking turns until everyone has passed.
- 4Once every player has passed, score immediately to determine the winner.
Strategy tips
- Popular exclusive locations go to whoever gets there first, so time your own Prepare for Season action earlier or later than your opponents to claim the spot you want.
- Securing green Production cards early keeps resources flowing automatically every spring and autumn, making later turns easier.
- Plan combos where a Construction goes down first so its matching Critter can follow for free — this saves berries and uses your 15 city spaces more efficiently.
- Your hand limit is 8 cards, so use the Haven to convert extra cards into resources before you're forced to discard. The Haven gives 1 resource of your choice for every 2 cards discarded, which is also a good way to turn a dead card into something useful.
- Events require specific card types and counts before a worker can be placed, so plan which Events you can realistically achieve as you build your city.
Player count and solo play
Everdell plays 1 to 4 players, and the solo game includes dedicated rules for competing against a virtual opponent, Rugwort. Rugwort returns across three increasingly nasty years, blocking your preferred locations and auto-playing Meadow cards chosen by a die roll.
Expansions are outside this guide
Expansions such as Pearlbrook, Bellfaire, Spirecrest, Newleaf, and Mistwood, along with the standalone follow-ups Farshore and Silverfrost, change the rules and are not covered here. Lotus Frog Games publishes the official Korean edition, including a collector's edition.
Frequently confused rules
Q. Can I place a worker and play a card in the same turn?
No. Each turn you perform exactly one of Place a Worker, Play a Card, or Prepare for Season.
Q. Can I put 2 of my workers on the same Forest location?
No. Even a two-paw Forest location (four-player only) cannot hold 2 of your own workers at once.
Q. Does a Critter played for free through a Construction still score points?
Yes. Only the cost was waived — its points and text still apply. The Construction simply gains an occupied token to mark that the combo was used.
Q. What happens if I'd have more than 8 cards in hand?
You cannot draw past 8 cards. If you must give cards to an opponent and every opponent's hand is full, discard the cards that can't be given instead.
Q. Does playing a green Production card in summer do nothing?
It still does something. Summer's Prepare for Season step simply doesn't re-activate Production cards; a green card played during summer still triggers immediately when played.
Q. If I remove a card that satisfied an Event's requirement, do I lose that Event?
No. An achieved Event is placed beside your city and keeps its score at game end even if the qualifying cards later leave your city.
Q. Can I still receive cards or resources after passing?
No. If another player must give you cards or resources after you've passed, that amount is discarded instead.
History and editions
Everdell was designed by James A. Wilson with illustrations by Andrew Bosley, first published by Starling Games in 2018. English Wikipedia records a nomination for the Golden Geek Best Artwork and Presentation award (a nomination, not a win). BGG ranks it 46th overall, 52nd among strategy games, and 8th among family games, with an average weight of 2.83 out of 5 — close to the catalog's listed 2.84.
It was followed by the Pearlbrook (2019), Spirecrest (2020), and Bellfaire (2020) expansions, then Newleaf (2022) and Mistwood (2022), plus the simplified My Lil' Everdell (2022) for younger players. Standalone games sharing the setting, Farshore (2023) and Silverfrost (2025), followed. This guide covers only the base game.
Namuwiki's Everdell article records that Lotus Frog Games publishes the Korean edition, including a collector's edition. This research could not confirm the exact year the Korean edition first released, so it is not stated.
Sources
Starling Games — Everdell official Rules of PlayLotus Frog Games — official Korean rulebook PDFLotus Frog Games — official Everdell product pageBoardGameGeek: Everdell (199792)Wiki cross-check — English Wikipedia: EverdellWiki cross-check — Namuwiki: Everdell (Korean)Rule summaries are reference content written by us, not quotations from the official rulebook. Always check the official rulebook for exact rules. Diagrams are original schematics, not rulebook illustrations.
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Last updated 2026-10-10
💡 Master tip
Secure Production cards (cards that automatically generate resources) early to get your engine running, and manage your timing to make full use of your workers before each season ends. Planning ahead for combos that let you install cards for free will let you unfold explosively in the late game.
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