Assist the Forest Creatures in Savernake Forest, a Tile-Placement Game

Help the animals gather and store their favorite food in the maze-like Savernake Forest. Autumn has come to an end, and it is time for the forest wildlife to prepare for winter. But animals can be fussy about their favorite treats and reward your helping hand based on their tastes and preferences. Shape the forest, welcome rekindled creatures, and create paths that lead them to their cherished treats. You will also help them build their lairs for greater storage and influence their tastes. Savernake Forest is a tile-placement game where you create a forest, populate it with animals, create paths, and assist the forest creatures. Build a forest thriving with life and an abundance of food to be the king of Savernake Forest.

Savernake Forest is a family game for 2-4 players, suitable for ages ten or above. A game can take around ten minutes per player.

Casual, Relaxing, and Lighthearted Gameplay

In Savernake Forest, players build a 4-by-4 forest by adding tiles with animals or paths. The game's objective is to create paths for each animal so they can collect their favorite food without crossing paths with other animals. Animal tiles have point values associated with them, and there are also values related to the types of food the animals can gather. Additionally, they have storage capacity, which is the maximum amount of food they can store.

During setup, players place the Rooster first player token above the rooster, Lair tokens above the armadillo, Water Drop tokens above the goat, and the deck of Animal tiles above the rabbit. The first player is chosen randomly, and each player selects a marker of their favorite color.

In each round, starting from the player with the Rooster token and playing clockwise, each player chooses one of the four tiles and adds it to their forest. Rules such as not placing two animals on the same path and keeping tiles adjacent and within the 4-by-4 grid must always be followed.

During the game, players can score points with the help of the rooster, the armadillo, and the goat. When you collect a tile from the rooster, you receive the Rooster first player token. When you choose the tile from the goat, you receive a Lair token and can increase the storage capacity of an animal by one. And, when you grab the tile from the Water Drop, you receive a Water Drop token and can increase the value of one food associated with that animal by one.

The game ends when all players have completed their forests with 16 tiles. Flip the board over to reveal the Score Track. Score each animal individually, counting your points. The player who finishes with the Rooster token receives an extra point. When all players finish counting their points, the player with the highest score wins.

Advanced rules for two players add a welcome challenge to the game once you've learned the basics and are looking for a change of pace.

Savernake Forest Review: A Peaceful Journey Through the Woods

Savernake Forest is a light abstract strategy game. Its core mechanics are tile placement, pattern building, tile drafting, set collection, and tableau. Despite its twist on tile drafting, it primarily follows established gameplay fundamentals. There are several ways to score points, which add some depth to the game.

The combination of tile drafting and tile placement on a player's tableau, where points are computed based on the final arrangement of tiles and set collection mechanics, has become commonplace and derivative in recent years. Cascadia, Akropolis, Barenpark, Village Rails, and Skulls of Sedlec are well-known examples that fit the description to a reasonable extent. Each game has twists and distinctive mechanics to make them stand out in this crowded genre.

Savernake Forest attempts to distinguish itself with casual, quick, and lighthearted gameplay, some moderate depth, and minor tweaks to the core mechanics. Gameplay is stripped down to the essentials to deliver an approachable and enjoyable game. Indeed, Savernake Forest is a family game, a filler game, and a gateway game. It is noteworthy for being light and charming, using simply laid-out rules to provide a soothing experience. The game plays like multiplayer solitaire, encouraging players to peacefully and thoughtfully build their own forest as a relaxing puzzle rather than fostering cutthroat competition. It is gratifying that winning or losing feels like an afterthought in light of the joyous journey that truly matters.

The level of uncertainty in the game is well-balanced and associated with the random generation of the shared pool of drafting tiles. The advantage of drafting and its associated agency decreases from the first player to the last. However, the first player token may change hands during each round. Player interaction is relatively minimal, and competition manifests itself through takeover mechanics, which are not encouraged by gameplay. Players' wits and performance are rewarded, even though each player works on their own tableau with minimal interaction with others. The highest-performing player has a higher chance of winning the game.

Savernake Forest components are premium, with stylish wooden tokens that come in a nice bag, a thick double-sided board, and high-quality tiles. Its excellent component design and clean and neat artwork add to the game's material involvement. As far as the game's theme is concerned, everything is coherent and consistent. Even though this is an abstract strategy game, the theme is well-portrayed and resonates with the game mechanics.

Complexity, setup, teardown, and downtime are all minimal, while the game has some amount of depth. It may not appeal to expert gamers but it excels as a family game and appeals to young audiences and newcomers to tile placement games. The calm and delightful experience and the option to adopt advanced two-player rules add to the game's replayability. However, ultimately it comes down to how engaging players find the game in the long run.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, Savernake Forest is a charming, lighthearted tile-placement game suitable for families and young audiences. Players assist forest creatures in gathering and storing their favorite food for winter, creating paths, and building lairs. While the gameplay mechanics are not entirely original, the game's simple rules and excellent component design provide a relaxing and enjoyable experience. While it has minimal complexity, the game offers depth and replayability, and the optional advanced rules add a welcome challenge. Overall, Savernake Forest is a worthwhile addition to the tile-placement genre, offering a casual, peaceful, and rewarding journey through the forest.

Pros:

• Family-friendly game suitable for players aged ten and up, making it accessible to a broad audience.
• Quick gameplay with a game lasting around ten minutes per player, perfect for a filler game.
• A casual and lighthearted game with simple rules that create a soothing experience.

Cons:

• Limited player interaction: Players work on their own tableau with minimal interaction with others, which may not appeal to those seeking a more social gaming experience.
• Lack of challenge: The game is designed to be a casual, lighthearted experience, which may not satisfy players seeking a more strategic or competitive match.
• Limited replayability: While the game may have some replayability, it may only hold the attention of more experienced gamers for a short time.

Note: This article is provided by Roll & Mind.