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Description
For over 300 million years, trees have traded nutrients with fungi in a vast underground network. Scientists continue to make new discoveries about this hidden world.
In Undergrove, you are a towering evergreen with an ancient symbiotic connection to the fungi in your forest. As new mushrooms appear, your options expand for converting nutrients and helping your seedlings. Using cube conversion, tile placement, area control, and a tiny bit of engine building, you’ll need to claim the most advantageous locations and optimize your actions to leave the best legacy in the forest. The player with the greatest number of successful seedlings, wins!
● Build a shared forest containing mushrooms with diverse abilities.
● Trade with the mushrooms to get resources based on the partnerships you’ve made.
● Place your seedings in the most advantageous positions to score the most points.
Inspired by real mycorrhizal trading networks. Shape the destiny of your forest with every decision!
-description from publisher
Year Published
2024
Featured Videos
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 4
This page: 4
Sentiment:
pos 3 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 1
Showing 1–4 of 4
Video -fU_IK_MKug
CA Couple playthrough at 0:14 sentiment: positive
video_pk 60416 · mention_pk 152813
Click to watch at 0:14 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Engine-building feel and table presence
- Well-paced, carbon track anchors pacing
- Starter pack aids onboarding and plays well with four players
- Mushroom network concept is thematically cohesive
Cons
- Prototype components may change in final production
- End-game scoring can be nuanced and requires careful tracking
Thematic elements
- Ecology, tree growth, and resource networks via roots and mushrooms
- Forest ecosystem focusing on trees, mycelium, and seedling growth
- engine-building with spatial planting and resource management
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- carbon_track_progression — Carbon acts as action points; progress on the track drives scoring and end-game.
- end_game_scoring_goals — Odd mushrooms, most roots, most trees as scoring categories.
- engine building — Grow a network of trees and mushrooms to generate actions and scoring potential.
- engine-building — Grow a network of trees and mushrooms to generate actions and scoring potential.
- mushroom_activation_and_flipping — Flip mushroom tokens to activate actions and refresh tokens.
- Resource management — Manage carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium as costs/benefits for actions.
- resource_management — Manage carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium as costs/benefits for actions.
- root_placement_and_reproduction — Place sprouts and roots to expand presence and activate actions.
- Track advancement — Carbon acts as action points; progress on the track drives scoring and end-game.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- engine buildy feels to it
- the forest of mushrooms
- prototype copy so some of this stuff might be changing
- this game is coming to Kickstarter
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video OYclnQU-oKI
Board Game Sanctuary general_discussion at 5:42 sentiment: positive
video_pk 33570 · mention_pk 99814
Click to watch at 5:42 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- scientific flavor with a tactile feel
- coherent mechanistic design
Cons
- niche theme may not appeal to everyone
Thematic elements
- mycology and decay
- forest mushroom ecology
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- engine building — players explore mushrooms and decay to build an engine of actions.
- engine building / resource management — players explore mushrooms and decay to build an engine of actions.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- there's a wealth of replayability in this game box alone.
- Euro point salad puzzle
- I love Wingspan so much. I just love positive effects that you get when you trigger your tableau.
- The Gallerist... probably the one I've gravitated towards the most if I were to try aLacerda game.
- King Domino... that simple little mechanic of going, 'Oh, do I take a lesser powerful tile at the top or in order to pick first on the subsequent turn?'
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video dc1ZAul3C_w
John Backus top_10_list at 1:09 sentiment: positive
video_pk 13122 · mention_pk 93674
Click to watch at 1:09 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- dense, satisfying puzzle of route-building and blocking rivals
- strong London theme with recognizable elements
- scales from 2 to 5 players with solid pacing
Cons
- some players may feel the game drags at higher player counts
- requires strategic planning that may be less accessible to casual players
Thematic elements
- urban transit planning and optimization
- London map; subway network
- puzzle-driven, logistics-focused
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — control central board areas to maximize coverage while preventing opponents from extending their networks.
- network optimization — careful planning to maximize point yield from routes given limited building space.
- Network/route building — players draw and place lines to connect passengers from origin to destination, scoring for efficient, widely used routes.
- route/line construction — players draw and place lines to connect passengers from origin to destination, scoring for efficient, widely used routes.
- Spatial control and blocking — control central board areas to maximize coverage while preventing opponents from extending their networks.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the best lines are the ones that people actually use
- arghhhh is a simple bluffing game that gets straight to the point of can you lie to your friends
- the puzzle of role player is addictive with so many moving parts to consider
- paperback is a word game that has you creating words with letter cards
- Santorini is an abstract game which puts it in the same vein as chess
- cartographers is a really satisfying puzzle to get lost in
- the game is brilliant at making players look suspicious
- railroading is the perfect puzzle game you can play in just 30 minutes
- the temptation of pushing on risking death to reach the peak is what makes this game so fun
- stockpile is all about trying to get a bargain and riding the wave of the market
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video TQ7PjIvfqOo
Cardboard Herald game_review at 0:24 sentiment: negative
video_pk 7382 · mention_pk 87387
Click to watch at 0:24 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
negative
Pros
- Strong ecological theming and thoughtful representation supported by research and a coherent ecological narrative.
- Solid solo mode implementation that provides a meaningful, repeatable experience for solo players.
- High-quality packaging, components, and material choices that align with the game's ecological motif and sustain environmental sensibilities.
- Clear conceptual foundation: fungus networks, root expansion, and a carbon economy offer an elegant, design-forward basis for the system.
Cons
- Gameplay can feel bland and overly procedural, with a sense that many actions are neutral or interchangeable rather than dynamic or surprising.
- Resource tokens lack distinctive identity beyond color, which dampens thematic anchoring and memorable decision points.
- Mushroom action icons frequently resemble each other, producing a sense of repetition rather than variety across different mushroom types.
- The rule deck is text-dense and can be a barrier to entry, making the initial play feel more like a rules explanation than an organic discovery.
- Endgame sequencing and scoring can feel overly optimized rather than creatively engaging, reducing the sense of invention or nefarious strategic tension.
Thematic elements
- Ecology, symbiosis, and resource management within a forest community. The game foregrounds carbon dynamics and fungal networks as central mechanics, tying thematic narrative to concrete in-game actions.
- A lush forest ecosystem where mushrooms, trees, and saplings form a dynamic network of nutrient exchange and carbon awareness. The environment is presented as a living system where players influence the balance between growth, resource flow, and ecological health.
- System-first, with an emphasis on ecological processes and environmental science motifs conveyed through abstract tokens and spatial placement. The storytelling emerges from how players sculpt the forest rather than from overt character-driven plots.
Comparison games
- Wingspan
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Abstract resource tokens (potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon) — The game uses cube-shaped tokens to represent essential nutrients and carbon. These tokens are exchanged and spent to activate disc actions, grow saplings, and unlock special abilities. Carbon, in particular, anchors the endgame progression, creating a clear economic thread that players must manage as the forest develops.
- Bonus scoring cards (randomized) — A deck of bonus scoring cards is flipped and managed throughout the game. These cards introduce varied end-game scoring conditions, encouraging players to tailor their strategies toward the specific bonuses that are live in a given session. The randomized aspect adds strategic diversity across plays.
- Carbon track and endgame trigger — Advancement on the carbon track serves as the primary endgame trigger. Reaching the end of the track closes the game in a controlled fashion, prompting players to maximize points through growth, strategy, and efficient sequencing, while also opening opportunities for last-minute scoring gambits.
- Mushroom abilities and root interactions — Mushrooms provide special abilities that affect resource generation, placement efficiency, or scoring opportunities. Roots connect saplings and mushrooms to enhance point potential, with end-game bonuses tied to network completeness and forest maturity. This creates a layered system where local decisions ripple outward through the forest.
- Mushroom activation discs — Four colored mushroom discs sit at the core of the action economy. Each disc, when flipped, reveals an action type and triggers a chain of effects tied to resource generation, sapling placement, or token management. The mechanic creates a cadence of choices every round, where players time their disc activations to optimize placement and resource flow while anticipating opponents' moves.
- Resource management — The game uses cube-shaped tokens to represent essential nutrients and carbon. These tokens are exchanged and spent to activate disc actions, grow saplings, and unlock special abilities. Carbon, in particular, anchors the endgame progression, creating a clear economic thread that players must manage as the forest develops.
- Solo mode with AI deck — In solo play, an adjustable AI deck drives two competing factions. The AI affects resource availability, placement opportunities, and objective pressure, effectively simulating a multiplayer experience while delivering predictable, repeatable challenge for solo players.
- Tile intersections and sapling growth — Saplings are placed at the intersections of mushroom tiles, forming a network of roots and potential pathways for future growth. Expanding roots can unlock additional synergies with mushrooms, creating a spatial puzzle where placement decisions influence resource generation, scoring opportunities, and the reach of each player's forest.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I went in really wanting to like this game.
- it's got a cool theme and an interesting designer
- the game just feels bland strategically
- the solo system is a thoughtful implementation of the game
- packaging is very commendable
- I don't think that it's going to be finding a spot on the shelf for me
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–4 of 4