Everdell Silverfrost is the newest standalone game in the popular Everdell series. It takes players to a snowy land beyond the mountains. The game was designed by James Wilson and Clarissa Wilson and published by Tabletop Tycoon. It is for 1 to 4 players, ages 10 and up, and takes between 30 to 120 minutes to play. I played with a copy provided by the publisher for this review.

Silverfrost is the next game in the “edge of the map” series. It is set in the bold country of Silverfrost, which lies south of the Everdell Valley. Your goal is to build and keep a city going in this tough, snowy land. You have to clear the snow that piles up. You must burn fires to keep your people warm and happy. You also need to finish important quests for the Ranger’s Guild.

There is a special relationship here with the Big Critters that live in these parts. When you light a Beacon on top of a mountain, a legendary giant will come to help you. This is how the critters survive hard times and succeed where others might fail. It is your job to build a city in this difficult place. You must clear the snow, keep the fires burning, and finish quests. Light your torch and put on your cloak. Winter is coming. It is time to light the Beacons, call the Big Critters, and find a way to thrive in Silverfrost.

To start, put the board on the table. Then, place the fancy 3D mountain along the top edge. The Big Critter cards stand up on that mountain. Shuffle the Highland Quest cards and place them next to the board. These are public quests that any player can try to finish. The main market is made up of 8 cards from the deck. The Snowstorm deck is shuffled and placed near the top of the board. You also choose one side of the Snow Reward tile to use for this game.

Each player picks a type of worker. You take two workers to start, marking one of them as your Ranger by putting Ranger boots on it. The rest of the workers go up by the mountain. Players get a starting hand of cards and a starting Lowland Quest. This is a quest that only you can finish.

On your turn, you take one of three actions. You can place a worker, play a card, or prepare for the next season. In Silverfrost, you send your critter workers to different places on the board, on cards, or on the mountain. You do this to get resources and to use special effects. You use these resources to play cards face up in front of you to build your city.

You may place one of your workers on any Basic Location. You can also place them on Red Destination cards in your own city or in your opponents’ cities. You can go to the Forge, the Hot Springs, or a mountaintop Beacon, as long as the spot is not blocked by snow or another worker. Some locations have individual spaces that are free. Others have a group area that costs a fire to use. You then take the resources shown or do the action. You can also finish quests that give you points when you meet the conditions on the Quest card.

If there is snow at the location, you must first spend a Fire re

To play a card, you must pay the listed cost in resources. You can play cards from your hand or from the Valley area on the board. If it is a Critter card, you can play it for free. To do this, you use one of your two Chimneys, as long as you have the Fire to light it. You can only have 8 cards in your hand. You can only have 15 card spaces in your city for built cards. There are five different colors of cards, and each has a different focus:

• Green – production cards
• Blue – cards that give bonuses when you play them or do certain things
• Red – cards that have action spaces you can use
• Tan – instant one-time use actions
• Purple – cards that give you points or bonuses at the end of the game

If all of your workers are out and you have no other cards to play, you can prepare for the next season. To do this, bring back all of your workers. You will gain a new worker. Then, perform the action for the next season. This introduces new snowfall to the board and to your city, usually on your highest valued card. It also brings other challenges. A snow-covered location cannot be used unless you use Fire to clear it right when you are using it. A snow-covered card in the Valley cannot be used until the snow is cleared, which must also be done right when you use it.

A snow-covered card in your area cannot be activated. It cannot be used to complete a quest. It is not worth any points until the snow is removed. Once a turn, you can spend Fire to clear the snow from one card in your city.

A player is finished when they have played through the last season, which is Spring, and cannot take any more actions. During the game, it is likely that players will be in different seasons. You do not have to wait for other players to finish their season before you take a turn in your next season.

After all players have finished, the player with the most points wins. Points are scored for:

• VPs for cards in your city
• Bonuses from purple cards
• VPs for finished Quests
• VPs for snow removal (this depends on which side of the snow reward tile is showing)
• VP tokens gained during play
• VPs from placing workers on the special Journey space on the board

If there is a tie, the tie is broken in favor of the player who cleared the most snow.

Everdell is one of the most lasting game series in the hobby. Most of the gamers I know have played at least one version of it. There always seems to be a new version, expansion, or extension coming out. If you are new to the series, I suggest checking out a review of the base game.

Silverfrost is a new take on the original game, now set in a snowy world. Instead of a huge tree, we get this 3D mountain. We played with it for one round, but our group found it to be hard to use. We stopped using the big mountain after the first season and went back to the flat 2D board. This way, everyone could see everything at all times.

The mountain is very tall. It blocks your view of the other side of the board. It makes it hard to reach cards on the back side of the mountain. It also makes it hard to see the Big Critters standing on top. We found it got in the way more than it helped the game look good. If you have limited table space, this might be a problem for you. You can play the game without the 3D mountain, but it is a big part of the Collector’s Edition.

The main new thing in this game is the snow. Snow piles up on locations and on your cards. This makes the game harder. You have to spend resources to clear the snow so you can use the spaces. This adds a new layer of planning. You have to decide if it is worth it to clear the snow or if you should just work around it. The snow can also help you score points, depending on which side of the reward tile you are using.

The Big Critters are also a big part of this game. They stand on the mountain and give you help when you light the Beacons. They offer powerful abilities that can help you catch up or get ahead. Finding the right time to call them is important. They add a nice feeling of power to the game.

The game keeps the same basic play style as the original Everdell. You place workers to get resources. You use resources to play cards to build your city. The card colors work the same way. If you have played Everdell before, you will know how to play this one very quickly. The rules are mostly the same, with the snow and Big Critters being the new parts.

The art is beautiful, as expected for this series. The winter theme is done very well. The cards look great, and the little wooden pieces are nice. The game feels high quality, as it should for a Collector’s Edition. The box is big and holds everything well.

Playing with the snow can slow the game down a bit. You have to check for snow on every spot you want to use. You have to spend actions to clear it. This can make the game take longer than the 30 minutes listed on the box. With a full group of four players, it can easily take closer to two hours, especially if everyone is new to it. The play time really depends on how much time people take to plan their turns.

The setup for this game is a little more complex than the base game. You have to set up the mountain, the Big Critters, the snow deck, and the quest cards. It takes a few more minutes to get everything ready. The rulebook does a good job of explaining it, but it is more to manage than the original game.

Overall, Everdell Silverfrost is a solid addition to the series. It offers a new challenge for fans who already know the base game well. The snow mechanic changes how you have to think about placing your workers and building your city. The Big Critters are a fun and powerful addition. If you love Everdell and want a new version to explore, this is a good choice.

However, if you are not a fan of the original Everdell, this game will not change your mind. It is still the same core game at heart. The 3D mountain is impressive to look at, but it can get in the way of playing the game smoothly. You might find it better to play without it. The game is good, but the big mountain might not be for everyone.