In the Valley of a Thousand Dewdrops, in the world of Mycelia, mushroom folk gather magical dewdrops from their forests and bring them to the Shrine of Life to get help from the Goddess of the Forest. In the new tabletop game Mycelia, you must gain the support of the mysterious and heroic forest dwellers to help you clear your forest of dewdrops.
What Is Mycelia?
Mycelia is a deck-building card game for 1-4 players, ages 9 and up, and takes about 45 minutes to play. Players use cards representing mushroom characters to help clear their game boards of dewdrops and send them to the shrine. Mycelia is currently available from your FLGS or the Ravensburger store on Amazon and has a suggested retail price of $39.99 for a copy of the game. Mycelia was designed by Daniel Greiner and published by Ravensburger, with illustrations by Justin Chan and Matt Paquette Co.
Mycelia Components
Here is what comes in the box:
- 100 Cards
- 4 Game Boards
- 1 Shrine of Life
- 72 Leaves
- 80 Dewdrops
- 1 Starting Player Marker
- 4 Supply Cards
- 2 Shrine Fields
- 4 Setup Card
- 14 Action Cards
- 1 Die
- Game Instructions
Mycelia comes with four double-sided forest game boards. One side is the same on all four boards while the other is unique. The identical side is best for new players. After a few games, you can switch so that everyone has a different board. The game boards are divided into 20 squares. Each has one shrine field and then four different types of terrain, each in their own color. These colored terrains are used by the cards.
When you remove dewdrops from your game board, they are sent to the Shrine of Life. When the Shrine is full, based on the number of players, you spin it around and all of the dewdrops fall into the supply. More dewdrops can then be placed on the Shrine.
Each player begins with a deck of the same six start cards. Two of them provide one leaf while a third provides 2 leaves to the current player and 1 leaf to the other players. The remaining three let the player move a single dewdrop on either red, blue or green squares.
There are 20 different pairs of basic hero cards for a total of 40 which you can add to your deck. The number in the leaf at the top right is the cost in leaves to purchase that card. Below the image is some flavor text and then the bottom half of the card shows an image of what you can do with that card. These cars are used in every game.
Once you are familiar with the game, you can then add the extension hero cards to the supply pile so you can then hire the heroes to add to your deck. These often provide the players more optiosn during the game and may also provide a action when they are purchased as shown in the box in the upper left corner.
Action cards are placed along the bottom of your game board. Everyone starts with the A and B action cards. C, D, and E action cards can be gained by hiring specific extension hero cards. A player may take these actions during their turn by paying the price in leaves. .
There are four double-sided setup cards. At the start of a game, the players select one of these setup cards and then each player places their 20 dewdrops on the squares shown on the setup card. As a result, there are eight different possible setups.
The game comes with four double-sided supply boards. These look similar to the setup cards, but have symbols on the squares rather than dewdrops. When the Shrine of Life is full and spun to move all of the dewdrops to a supply, players then roll the supply die and look at the symbol on it. They they then look at the supply card for the current game and place a dewdrop on each space with the symbol rolled on the die. As a result, each player will add one or two dewdrops to their board.
Leaves are the currency in the game. Leaf tokens some in three different sizes and colors with a number on them to represent their value. Leaves are used to hire new hero cards as well as to take actions from the action cards at the bottom of the game boards.
Every player begins with 20 dewdrops on their game board at the start of the game. These dewdrops are the manipulatives of the game and the goal is to remove all of the dewdrops from your game board in order to win.
The mushroom is the first player token. This designates the first player since when someone clears all of the dewdrops from their game board, play continues until the last player has taken their turn so all players have the same number of turns for the game. The supply die contains symbols that correspond with the supply cards. When the Shrine of Life is cleared once it is full, this die is rolled to let players know where to add dewdrops to their game boards.
The game includes some reference cards which are quite useful while learning the icons on the cards and what they allow you to do as an action.
How to Play Mycelia
The Goal
The goal of the game is to remove all of the dewdrops from your game board.
Setup
Start off by placing the shrine in the center of the table. Place the supply die in one of the three larger openings on the shrine depending on the number of players. Select one of the supply cards at random and place it near the shrine, returning the remainder to the box. Now shuffle the 40 basic playing cards and form a supply pile. Place the top five cards face up in a row to the right of the supply pile to from the showcase from which players can hire new heroes for their decks. Position all of the leaves as a supply in reach of all the players. Next, shuffle the 4 setup cards and select one side of one of the cards. Return the rest to the box.
Each player now takes one of the game boards. If this is the first time playing, everyone should use the identical side. Below the game board, each player should place the A and B action cards. Then players each place 20 dewdrops onto their game board as shown on the setup card. Players then take a deck of six start cards. Make sure each card in these starter decks have the same rune in the upper right corner. Players shuffle their starter decks and then draw three cards to hold in their hand. Place the remaining three cards in a supply pile to the left of their game board. Finally, the first player mushroom marker is given to the player who likes mushrooms the most. You are now ready to begin playing.
Gameplay
Mycelia is played in rounds with each player taking their turn and the the next playing taking a turn and so forth. During their turn, a player must play all three cards in their hand. To play a card, the play it face up to their discard pile which is located to the right side of the game board. The player must perform the action on the played card before playing another card. All three cards must be played and none can be held for a later turn. The actions on the card can allow players to move dewdrops to an adjacent space, remove dewdrops from the board, or collect leaves. Dewdrops can be removed either by a direct action on a card or by moving dewdrops to the shrine field on the game board. When a dewdrop is removed, it is placed in one of the open spaced on the Shrine of Life, starting at the left most space and filling in towards the right.
During a turn, a player can also spend leaves to hire heroes from the showcase. When a hero is hired, that card is immediately placed facedown on the top of their supply pile, so they can use it during their next turn. Players can hire as many hero cards as they can afford. The showcase is not refilled until the end of the turn. Players can also choose to perform the actions on the action cards at the bottom of their game board. These cost leaves to perform and can only be done once each per turn.
When a player has played all three cards, hired any heroes they want, and performed any actions they choose, their turn comes to an end. Ensure that all played cards are faceup in the discard pile and then fill up the showcase so there are 5 cards once again. Now check to see if the shrine is full. This depends on the number of players. For 1-2 player games, the shrine is full with 10 dewdrops. It is full with 15 and 20 dewdrops for 3 and 4 player games respectively. If the shrine is full, spin it completely until all of the dewdrops and die have dropped down to the side of the shrine. Look at the symbol on the top of the die and compare it to the symbols on the supply card. Each player then places one dewdrop from those that dropped onto the corresponding squares on their game board. Now flip the supply card over so that the other side will be used the next time the shrine is spun. Finally, the currently player draws the top three cards into their hand and the next player to the left takes their turn.
Game End
The game ends when one player has removed the last dewdrop from their game board during a turn. The turn is then completed and the round completed to that every player gets to play the same number of turns. If the shrine is filled after a player has cleared their game board, the shrine will no longer be turned and no more dewdrops will come into the game. The winner is the player who cleared their board. If two or more players cleared their game board on the final turn, then the player with the highest value of leaves still in their supply is the winner.
Mycelia is GeekDad Approved!
Why You Should Play Mycelia
First off, I am a big fan of deck-building games. Thunderstone Quest is one of my favorite games. However, it is not an easy game to just pick up and play, especially with people who have never played it before or are unfamiliar with deck-building. There are also some games where building a deck is the sole mechanic of the game or the objective is abstract. Mycelia offers a good balance between building a deck and then using that deck to complete an objective–in this case, removing dewdrops from your game board. The tactile actions of moving dewdrops, placing them on the shrine, and spinning the shrine when it is full of dewdrops, before adding dewdrops back to the game boards, all add a satisfying physical element to the game.
Mycelia is also very approachable for new players. The six starter cards are all quite simple. They either provide leaves for you to hire new heroes or let you move a single dewdrop. The basic cards also fairly simple, though they do add additional types of actions such as removing dewdrops as well as actions involving more than one dewdrop. These are perfect for the first few games. However, by just adding the extension heroes, Mycelia jumps up to a higher level of complexity which makes it entertaining and engaging for more experienced gamers. For example, some heroes provide a powerful action, but also give a reduced version of it to the other players at the same time. Other heroes have some actions that require very specific arrangements of dewdrops in order to be most effective. Furthermore, by adding more action cards to the bottom of your game board, adding a second shrine field to the game board, or even allowing you to remove cards from your deck all increase the strategic feel of the game.
Mycelia also offers a solo way to play. The player sets up like for a two player game. However, instead of a second game board and starter deck, the player will play against Gwidyon, the Ghost Mushroom. This solo opponent uses the pile of leaves game board with 20 dewdrops placed on it. Then when it is Gwidyon’s turn, you use one of the six solo cards to determine the Ghost Mushroom’s actions. Most just remove dewdrops directly to the shrine. After five solo cards have been played, the cards are shuffled and the pile reformed, so not every card gets played each time through the pile. The solo player plays as normal and can hire new heroes and so forth. You can increase or decrease the challenge of the solo game by either reducing or increasing the number of dewdrops with which Gwidyon begins. After playing the solo game a couple times, I really appreciate the simplicity of taking actions for the opponent. I can spend most of my time focusing on building my own deck and clearing dewdrops from my game board rather than determining what actions the Ghost Mushroom will take.
When I first heard about Mycelia, I was interested in trying it out. I am always looking for a new deck-building game. After reading through the rulebook, I thought that this game might be fun. I played through a game with just the basic cards and felt like this would be a good game for those new to deck-building. It was not until after I added the extension cards that I really enjoyed the game. The shrine also adds a lot to the game. Not only does it provide a place to put the dewdrops, when it gets full, it is fun to spin it and watch the dewdrops fall through a hole and come tumbling out the bottom along with the die. Then some of those dewdrops get added back to your game boards, adding a new challenge as you now have more dewdrops to remove from random locations.
While I have written mostly about gameplay, Mycelia also looks great. The art on the cards is fun and colorful as is the art on the other components. I like the fact that the designed opted for plastic dewdrops rather than just using cardboard tokens. That along with the three-dimensional shrine with its turning feature really add to the look and feel of the game. Going back to the cards, each hero card has the genus and species of the mushroom written at the bottom. I learned that the designed actually consulted a mycologist for the fungi represented in the game. Of course I had to look up some of these Latin terms to see what the real mushrooms looked like and found that the art on the card was really based on the actual fungi. Little details like that just demonstrate the thought that went into the design or this game.
Mycelia is a great introduction to deck-building games. The age suggestion of 9 and up seems spot on, though children a bit younger but with more gaming experience might also enjoy it. Though it may at first appear to be a game for children, and it does fit that role, Mycelia also provides challenging gameplay for adults and experienced gamers as well. Instead of creating decks to score lots of points, players are building decks to clear dewdrops, all the while watching their opponents clear away their own dewdrops. This turns the game into a race which adds just enough amount of tension to keep players engaged, looking at the cards in their hand and planning for their own turn during the turn of other players. I like the look and table presence of Mycelia as well as the combination of a deck-building card game with the tactile feel of a board game. Plus, I have fun while playing this game either solo (when I can also try out using different cards) or with other people. For these many reasons I have decided that Mycelia has earned the GeekDad Approved title.
For more information, visit the Mycelia webpage!
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Disclosure: GeekDad received a copy of this game for review purposes.
