Meadow

Description

Meadow is a charming game by Rebel Studios, representing a countryside stroll. It features over two-hundred unique cards from artists Karolina Kijak and Katarzyna Fiebiger. You’ll aim to build a tableau up of these cards over the course of the game. To succeed in scoring the most points, you’ll have to achieve set collection using savvy drafting and hand management. It sounds simple, but there’s a pleasant amount of thinking involved, here…

The heart of Meadow lies in a public board of 16 cards. Your turn is simple – you use one of your markers in one of two ways. Each has a number 1-4 on it. One option is to slot a marker into the main board and pick a card in that row/column, according to the marker’s number. Add the card to your hand, and then play a card from your hand into your tableau. The other way is to use your marker’s base at the Bonfire Board, providing an alternative action.

The player with the most points in their tableau at the end of the game wins. How do you play cards that are worth points, then? You’ve got to have the card’s stated symbols already present in your tableau. Some require one symbol, others require two (or more). After drafting a card, you get to place one card from your hand into your tableau. When you do so, it has to sit on top of another card, meaning it covers that requirement. A large part of Meadow’s puzzle is trying to chain cards over the course of the game, so they keep assisting each other.

There’s a solo mode, as well as accommodating up to four players. Also, there’s five envelopes with extra cards that further alter gameplay. Meadow is the kind of game that after you’ve played, it makes you want to go outside for your own wild walk in the woods.

Mechanics: Set collection