If you are new to deck-building games then you are in for a spore-tactular treat, a fungal foray into cultivating your own network of fungi, spreading spores and growing your mycelium across the board. No, I haven’t been on the mushrooms, Mycelia from Ravensburger is deck building strategy board game that features fungus and mushrooms.
Mycelia is a deck-building family fantasy strategy game for 1-4 players, aged 9+. It has a playing time of between 10 and 30 minutes. The aim of the game is for players to bring magical dewdrops from their forest to the Shrine of Life. Players must assemble a team of wondrous creatures to help them on their mission whilst collecting leaves and befriending mushrooms.
In the box:
- 100 Cards
- 4 Game Boards
- 1 Shrine
- 72 Leaves
- 80 Dewdrops
- 1 Starting Player Marker
- 4 Supply Cards
- 2 Shrine Fields
- 4 Setup Cards
- 14 Action Cards
- Die
- Instructions (in several languages)
First up, Mycelia. What is it? To be honest, I hadn’t heard the word before so had to look it up. It means “the intricate, thread-like structures that form the root-like network of a fungus”.
Secondly, what is a deck-building game? A deck-building game is a game where all players begin the game with a small number of cards (the deck). As you play you can add to your deck (hence deck-building) which can give you more moves or special skills.
“Mycelia in the Valley of a Thousand Dewdrops. A dewtastic deck-building for 1-4 mushroom enthusiasts aged 9 and over.
Enter into the wonderful world of Mycelia.
Bring the magical dewdrops from your forest to the Shrine of Life and get help from the Goddess of the Forest. Who can do it the fastest?
You will need support from the mysterious and heroic forest dwellers who, in the form of cards, can improve your own card deck and help you develop better skills.
The first player to clear their own game board wins the Goddess of the Forest’s blessing and the game.”
On opening the box, there is a lot in this game, with a large instruction manual. At first glance looks quite daunting, and complicated to play. It isn’t, and it is quite a ‘cap’-tivating game to play (sorry, I will try to keep a cap on the mushroom jokes and try to keep them a bit more spore-adic).
Before you can begin playing, the Shrine and first player maker need to be assembled. The first player marker just slots together, no problem. The Shrine, whilst it does just slot together, is a bit more involved but the instructions do make it clear and it only takes a couple of minutes.
Depending on how you are playing, solo or with other players, there are different rules and pieces needed. This review will be based on the 2-4 players rules.
Preparing to play is straightforward, despite the large number of components. Once the Shrine is assembled, this is placed in the centre of the table. Depending on if playing with 2, 3 or 4 players determines where you place the die on the Shrine (clearly illustrated in the instruction book). Put one of the supply cards near the Shrine. Shuffle the basic 40 playing cards and place the deck face down somewhere near the Shrine, place the top 5 cards in a row next to the deck, face up. Place the leaves in a pile where everyone can reach them. Shuffle the double-sided setup cards, and pick one side of a card – this is the starting setup of the dewdrops for all players.
Each player then receives:
- a game board and places it in front of them will the same side showing so that all player boards are identical
- 2 Action Cards (a & b) which they place below their game board
- 20 Dewdrops which they place on their board in the configuration shown on the setup card
- 6 Start Cards of the same type (each with the same rune in the top right-hand corner). They shuffle the card and place them face down next to their game board. They take 3 cards and hold them in their hand
The player who likes mushrooms the most gets to start the game and takes the first player marker.
On a players turn, they must play all 3 cards in their hand in any order. Each time a card is played, the function on the card is performed. The idea is to try and remove all the dewdrops from your game board and put them on the Shrine. As you play you can also collect leaves, which in this game are the currency to let you purchase stronger heroes (new cards) to aid your progress and build your deck.
The first player to remove the last dewdrop from their board is the winner.
Now, whilst my explanation of the game may sound complicated, it is actually quite simple once you start playing and the more detailed instruction book explains everything extremely well (it is good to keep it on hand all the time).
Overall, Mycelia is a simple yet captivating game where fantasy and strategy work very well together. They game is all about managing your deck of mushroom cards, each with its own special abilities, to clear dewdrops from your section of the forest floor.
Despite there being lots of components and quite a lot of instructions (they become much easier after a few plays) it is a game that is very easy to learn but offers plenty of depth, variety and lots of fun.
The artwork on the cards is excellent; the cards are adorned with fantastic illustrations of various fungi, adding a visual treat to the strategic gameplay. With the Latin names of the fungi on the cards, players might even learn something new.
We think that Mycelia is a spore-tacular game, one that is sure to grow on you the more that you play it. An excellent family game. And we love that it has alternative rules for solo play as well as more advanced play. Who would have thought that a game about fungus, mushrooms and dewdrops could be fun and appealing? It will provide hours of strategic fun. You certainly won’t be left feeling spored playing it!
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £27.99
For more information or to buy direct, visit www.ravensburger.co.uk. Also available to buy from Amazon here.
