Welcome to Dreadful Meadows - a land of tricks and treats, where kooky Confectioners compete to be this season's sweetest supplier!
You play a Confectioner, sowing and growing sinister seeds to create the most bountiful candy crops, through crafty candy patch placement. As rounds progress, cultivating your candy crops allows for exciting expansion and experimentation! Conjure up a crew of magic Sugar Sprites who can lend a hand with their abnormal abilities. As you prosper, summon your horrid Harvesters to intensify turnover, or utilize your Candy to discover new Concoctions.
Each game is unique through your choice of Confectioner and the strategies you utilize. Actions and patch varieties are limited, so your success in the meadow will rely on calculated decisions in the expansion of your meadow, the concoctions you create, and how you utilize your Sugar Sprites and Harvesters.
Will your Dreadful Meadow be an abomination, or this season's sweetest sensation?
—description from the publisher
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Cardboard Spooktacular community list is up and running right now.
- We have 10 days left to vote.
- Final Grill continues to sit at the top of the list.
- Horrified has made a huge run up with positive 13 votes.
- As a reminder, this is an up vote, down vote system.
- Witchcraft as well tied there.
- Arkham Horror card game.
- Dreadful Meadows.
- It being this high on the list had me looking at it yesterday.
- Thulu Death May Die.
- Vagrant Song.
- Arkham Horror.
- Boop.
- I like the cutesy game in there.
- And Mysterium rounds out the top 10.
- As you can see, there are tons of games that you can go vote for right this second.
- If you don't happen to see your game on this list, no worries.
- Scroll to the top, create a list. It's already hashtagged properly and you can nominate games for this list.
- You can go make your voice heard right now at crdbrd.ap.
- I want to hear from you.
- Make sure if you make a list, you can comment on each and every game and your comments will be shown on the list.
- So even if you see games on the list, go make your own favorite spooktacular game list.
- make comments there because I'd love to hear why you think the game should be on the
References (from this video)
- Distinct Halloween theme that fits the season perfectly
- Deep strategic layer beyond initial appearance
- Can be complex for newcomers
- Requires thoughtful planning and resource tracking
- candy economy and farm-like contracts, spooky fall flavor
- Halloween confectioners tending candy fields and harvesting candy
- strategic engine with contracts and patches
- Other candy-themed or autumn-themed engine-building games
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- character abilities — each character has a unique power shaping strategy
- contract fulfillment — complete contracts to gain money and unlock abilities
- contracts — complete contracts to gain money and unlock abilities
- Resource management — harvest and manage candy resources to fulfill goals
- resource management / candy patches — harvest and manage candy resources to fulfill goals
- Unique player powers — each character has a unique power shaping strategy
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- This is a perfect Halloweeny kind of game cuz it's a horror themed game.
- Septima is a cool game that we haven't really played as much as we frankly should have.
- There's zombies and they're coming at you and you're blasting your way out.
- The look particularly is absolutely incredible.
- 10 out of 10 adorable. Amazing.
- Mysterium is a really really interesting game
- it's a hand management card game where to do the various actions you have to spend cards
- it's so Halloweeny
References (from this video)
- Clear, approachable explanation of core rules
- Engaging mix of patch placement, worker mechanics, and economics
- Asymmetric powers add variety between players
- Harvesters create interesting chain-growth scoring
- Deluxe components demonstrated (for the prototype)
- Prototype copy subject to changes; final components may differ
- Deluxe components mentioned may not reflect retail version
- Some rules heavy concepts could be dense for new players
- competitive candy production, patch placement, and order fulfillment
- A whimsical candy meadow world where confectioners grow candy on patchwork plots and fulfill orders
- lightly whimsical, mildly dark fantasy tone with a satirical monster-candy aesthetic
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Asymmetric powers per confectioner — Each player has a unique ability that modifies pricing or setup decisions.
- Candy as currency and victory points — Candy is spent to buy patches and also placed on concoction cards to score points.
- Concoction cards scoring and fulfillment — Use candy from your Meadow to fulfill crafted orders for end-game points.
- end game bonuses — End when Harvester is the last, or bag or deck is depleted; final scoring tallies multiple components.
- End-game triggers and final scoring — End when Harvester is the last, or bag or deck is depleted; final scoring tallies multiple components.
- Harvesters and chain growth — Harvesters amplify candy growth on adjacent patches and score based on the cluster value.
- hidden victory points — Candy is spent to buy patches and also placed on concoction cards to score points.
- Market Pricing/Manipulation — Patches are bought with candy from your Meadow, with a base price and a market position modifier.
- Market-based patch purchasing — Patches are bought with candy from your Meadow, with a base price and a market position modifier.
- Patch placement with adjacency rules — New patches must be placed adjacent to existing patches and cannot be moved once placed.
- Sprites as workers and growth engine — Harvest Sprites populate the Meadow to grow candy on adjacent patches.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- we're going to be competing as different confectioners trying to grow candy in our different patches and also try to score the most amount of points by fulfilling these different orders
- the Dreadful tree is five dollars whereas the gummy Globs are worth one dollar
- each patch must be adjacent to at least one side of another patch
- Nina my ability says I gained the corresponding Sprite bonus of the first patch I placed after purchasing
- Jack I get to ignore all Market costs when purchasing patches
- this game also comes with a solo mode
References (from this video)
- Well-produced game
- Nice artwork
- Fair pricing at 43 pounds for deluxe
- From Zealand with free shipping
- Good value for money
- Fun theme
- Collaborative feel with family game appeal
- Marketed as quick turns but marketing language is clichéd
- Cute/Halloween theme may not appeal to all
- Family weight game not for hardcore gamers
- Spooky candy confection and farming
- Halloween-themed meadow
- Worker placement strategy game
- King Domino
- Splendor
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card fulfillment — Complete concoction cards for victory points
- tile placement — Build meadow by placing patch tiles
- Variable player powers — Different confectioner abilities
- worker placement — Place sugar Sprite workers to take actions
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Kickstarter is here to stay whether you like it or not
- I give my honest opinions regardless of whether someone a hero or not
- Just because the creator of pandemics on it doesn't make it an instant hit
- This is the best fantasy based story driven campaign game I've ever played
- The value you get is obnoxious... it's obscene
- Put the how to play Early in the campaign all right not miles at the end
- Board games just aren't worth this kind of money anymore
- I'm not spending 330 on this thing
- Money is tighter the world economy has gone to pot
- Quick turns and simple actions is such a marketing tool line that I can't place any reliance on
References (from this video)
- Amazing artwork
- Amazing theme
- Very pretty
- Combo city gameplay
- Kickstarter fulfilled recently
- Halloween candy collection
- Meadow
- Tile placement combo
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Activation — Activate tiles to produce candies
- Combo Building — Trigger cascading effects
- tile placement — Build meadow with candy tiles
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's one of our favorite games
- The Minis are scary because they fall apart
- it's really just super chaotic fun
- I love the theme it's beautiful this game
- man did I have a blast play in it
- probably the most creeped out I've ever been playing a game
- I love this game I love vampires though
- my favorite game of all time
- silly nonsensical fun
- super fun
References (from this video)
- adorable artwork
- seasonal and thematic
- rules can be a touch fiddly for newcomers
- Candy-type resource gathering with a Halloween twist
- Halloween season themed field-building
- cute, whimsical
- Cascadia
- Everdell
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Asymmetrical roles — Different characters have unique abilities affecting tile yields.
- tile placement — Place tiles to create fields producing resources.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this is a janky setup
- we are bringing back our Halloween themed board game night
- Zombie Land is a super have you seen Zombie Land
- it's a fun non-scary zombie movie like I'm sure there's going to be a couple moments that are creepy
- I named it ectoplasm
References (from this video)
- Cute and approachable art that still supports deep engine-building decisions
- Low luck and tight decision space
- Varied play styles due to multiple player powers
- Fast-paced with short play time
- Interesting combination of drafting, tile placement, and resource management
- Harvesters are acrylic and feel out of place with the theme
- In games with fewer than four players, tiles must be removed using small reference dots, which is fiddly
- Steampunk aesthetic of harvesters may clash with the whimsical candy theme
- sweet harvests, magical candy sprites, quirky harvesters
- Candy country / confectionery farming
- lighthearted whimsy with strategic depth
- Galilean Moons
- Shelfie Stackers
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- drafting — Players buy patches from a central display using patch values and market modifiers.
- engine building — Player powers and patch interactions create a building engine toward scoring.
- engine_building — Player powers and patch interactions create a building engine toward scoring.
- harvester — Harvesters placed on patches that are fully surrounded to score and activate combos.
- player_powers — Each player has a unique power affecting sprite removal, planting, and scoring dynamics.
- Resource management — Managing candy to complete concoction cards with varying values.
- resource_management — Managing candy to complete concoction cards with varying values.
- sprite_placement — Sugar Sprites placed on patches to generate candy and trigger chained effects.
- tile placement — Patches placed to form contiguous clusters, triggering candy production.
- tile_placement — Patches placed to form contiguous clusters, triggering candy production.
- Unique player powers — Each player has a unique power affecting sprite removal, planting, and scoring dynamics.
- wild_cards — Dreadful trees act as wild cards shaping scoring opportunities.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Dreadful Meadows looks cute and Dinky but underneath the hood is a tight and fast-paced engine building game
- it's not just a cutesy halloween game, it's a game of actual depth
- low luck and a tight decision space