Gaming Diary #1
Creature Caravan and Canopy Evergreen
Today I got to play two relatively new titles - Creature Caravan and Canopy Evergreen.
Creature Caravan is set in a magical realm. You are leading a journey across the land, gathering different travelers into your caravan along the way. But it is not an easy journey - ember zombies roam the plains and can attack when you least expect it (okay, that's not true, they are clearly marked on the board and can be avoided if you want to).
That's the flavor text - the core mechanics of Creature Caravan are dice placement and tableau building! Turns are simultaneous so it is mostly a competition for points at the end as there is very little player interaction. The only time your actions have consequences for others at the table are if you visit the market. Once a market space has been activated, two turns later it will be locked down and no one else can trade at that level. Same for the zombies - once you fight a zombie with a certain amount of power, after 2 turns, that zombie is permanently defeated. These all are tied to victory points, of course.
The game plays over 12 turns, and you can track it easier as you camp at the end of each turn, placing a little tent token on the spot your caravan stopped in. After that, you score points based on the distance you traveled, camps you built, and then travelers that joined your caravan.
After about turn 3, I realized two things - I really liked this game and also you needed to be a relatively seasoned board gamer to play this game comfortably. I'm not saying this wouldn't be a good entry level game, but since the turns are designed to be simultaneous, the game works best when everyone is comfortable deciphering the iconography on each card and understanding the scoring lingo. Someone new to the hobby could easily be overwhelmed and then feel awkward as they wait for others to complete their turn to ask them about a bit of text.
It could be a great intro game at 2 player so one person and coach the other without slowing down the whole table. The fact that it's low player interaction and you have so many ways to get points would be great to show to someone who has only been exposed to war games or monopoly. It could be a game that gets an adult into the hobby.
After that, we cracked open a brand new copy of Canopy Evergreen.
I have not played the original Canopy so I'm not sure how the two compare. I would say it took one round for us to full wrap our heads around the game as the drafting mechanic was unique, but after that it pretty much clicked.
Canopy Evergreen has card drafting that you use to create your forest. Instead of just passing around a hand of cards, they are on the table in piles - 3 piles for each player with each player able to access the center tile and then 2 other ones. One pile will always be out of bounds for you (unless you get a card). You check the first pile - if you want it, you immediately take the cards and play them into your forest or for their instant power. If not, you put them back, add a card to the stack from the deck, and check the next pile. Keep or pass? Next pile - keep or pass? Pass - top deck a card. Once the cards are gone, you score what is in your forest and any animals you lured to your forest.
Then ALL the forest cards you collected go back. You keep your animals for their powers and combos, but every season (round) you start with nothing in your forest tableau.
The cute thing about the game are the little cardboard trees you are "growing" on your map. You can draft cards that let you grow your tree or top it off. Finished trees allow you to collect tokens off your forest floor which give you bonuses, plus you score for tallest tree at the end of each round. It makes for a very cool visual.
There are also so threat cards and if too many of them appear, a wildfire can break out, causing a player or players to discard cards from their forest. Strategically played, this can help slow down another player.
There are 3 rounds (why 3 and not 4 if we are calling them season? We guessed winter doesn't count?). The box says 20 minutes per player and that felt about right once we knew what we were doing.
Two solid games! Really enjoyed both and hoping I get to play them again before I forget how they work.
Have you played Creature Caravan or Canopy Evergreen? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!
They both look really good and interesting!