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Autumn is coming to an end in the Savernake Forest… Help the animals gather and store food for the winter! Savernake forest is a game where 2-4 players build their own section of the forest with paths where animals and food will appear. To get the highest score, players must ensure that on each path the animals can collect their favorite food.
Foxes, hedgehogs, beavers, owls, rabbits, woodpeckers, wild cats... Up to 23 different types of animals live together in the Savernake Forest. At the end of autumn, they all prepare to spend the cold winter with enough provisions and here you are to give them a hand… Or a paw! To play Savernake Forest you have two decks of square cards, one showing the animals and the other with forest paths full of succulent food. Each player is randomly given an animal card, showing how many foods they can store and their preferences. For example, the fox loves eggs, but not berries or nuts. To get the best score, you must try to get each animal to collect its favorite foods.
During setup, three road cards and one animal card are laid out for all players to see. Each player, on his turn, will choose one of them and add it to his forest, always respecting three rules: there can never be two animals on the same path; cards must be adjacent and no cards can be placed outside of a 4x4 grid. The game ends when all participants have completed their forest, with a total of 16 cards.
Throughout the game, players will have the help of some animals, depending on the card they choose from the central market. The rooster will help you get up early, so you can be the first to choose a card in the next turn. The armadillo teaches you how to dig better shelters to store more food, so you can take a burrow token and add it to one of your animal cards to increase that animal's storage capacity by 1. The goat teaches you to hydrate yourself better, offering a water drop token that can be associated with a food and increase its value by 1. Finally, the rabbit helps you attract new animals to your forest.
For players looking for more advanced challenges, the rulebook includes a two-player variant with some modifications that increase the difficulty. Quite a boost if you already master the basic rules!
With a dreamy art, Savernake Forest offers a perfect balance between fun and strategy that makes it perfect for any type of playgroup. Family and friends will have a great time helping the animals of the forest, while trying to make the most of their paths to reach the highest score. Stroll through Savernake in the fall and be swept away by the enchantment of its wildlife!
—description from the publisher
Another GIANT HAUL | No Regrets!!
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I think I can already say I would really like to try at some point just from the table presence alone.
- Honestly Cooperative games are far from my favorite type of game but I love Carcassonne so that is enough to have me quite intrigued if I have an opportunity to try this one.
References (from this video)
- great fall themed game
- light puzzly nature
- quick playing (30 minutes or under)
- tough choices in drafting
- fall
- forest
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card Drafting — and you're also drafting the cards from a market that you are going to place in your grid
- Pattern Building — you are playing cards in front of you in a grid to create pathways through the forest
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- This is the closest to a card game on this list
- There are these really cool little magazine tiles and the magazine tiles are getting you points at the end of the game in different ways
- I think that's just a really cool way to do an auction to have to arrange your hand in a specific way before we even start drafting at all before we start bidding at all
- This was also my top two-player Only Game of the Year
- Every card that can be purchased by one side or the other can also be destroyed by the opposing side before that person can buy them and add them to their deck
- I constantly have to agonize over whether I want to spend my resources to hurt you or to buy a card that helps me
- There is a board a little board element to this game where there is a force and the force is sort of going back and forth between either side
- I had a bet with my brother that I could hit 10,000 subscribers by the end of the year and it looks like I am going to lose that bet
References (from this video)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Don't sleep on this game folks.
- It's a lunchtime game now.
- It's a strictly card based game.
- This is a really unique racing card game you're like doing a bike race with these fun creatures.
- It's a freaking hoot.
- I am so excited to try it.
References (from this video)
- Adorable animal game
- Fall/autumn theme
- Pattern building mechanic
- Set collection elements
- Canadian game
- Beautiful artwork
- Up to 23 different animal types
- Cute animal designs
- Only 23 different animals (Jamie wanted more)
- animals, nature
- forest
- nature simulation
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Pattern Building — Create patterns for animals to collect food
- Set Collection — Get animals to collect their favorite foods
- Tile Placement — Build forest sections with paths
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it was one of the coolest experiences I had at Pax
- anything that involves tile placement I am here for
- it is just a freaking blast
- the mechanics are just so good that none of the other stuff really kind of like matters to me
- I've fallen so much in love with undaunted
- if you put a cute cover on a game I will buy it I will play it and there's a very good chance that I will love it
- it looks incredible
- final girl is definitely one of my favorite games of all time
- the cover art drew me in it reminded me of like old war propaganda posters
- if anyone out there wild has red red ball or seen the red wall artwork this game is that