A Decade to Craft a Custom Village in Cozy Stickerville
Experience the growth of a village with choices and stickers that follow many short stories over 10 years in Cozy Stickerville.
Time to finish my campaign in Cozy Stickerville! It’s easy enough to pause and split up gameplay more evenly, yet the desire to keep playing was too great, especially with the rather quick play time for each year. My dislike for stickers still remained, but I found a lot to enjoy within this unique experience. Back to my tiny village to see how it would fare!
Spoiler Alert
Included are spoilers for everything beyond the first year. Not too many thorough details are shown, but there are newer stickers and titles that may be revealed in the photos. My thoughts about the overall experience and ending touch upon some top-level spoilers, too. I highly recommend not reading or even glancing until you’ve gone through a full campaign.
Game Overview
Game Name: Cozy Stickerville
Publication Year: 2026
Designer: Corey Konieczka
Artists: J. Aucomte, O. Fagnère, D. Mammoliti, & T. Morano
Publisher: Unexpected Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
A small village grows from a fairly empty and barren space into a thriving area during a campaign, which spans across 10 years. Simple choices add or change stickers, creating a very custom map with little details and corresponding stories. It’s all very lightweight, and quite engaging!
First Play
February 18, 2026
Complexity
1
Latest Play
February 19, 2026
Expansions
0
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
10
Play Time
25 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
30" x 16"
Low Score
N/A
Exciting Developments
The first few years of my campaign saw a lot of growth, and naturally, the installation of a playground was celebrated! My displaced Calico Critters rabbit family was happy.
Looking back as I write this up, I remember a lot of the stories around these stickers. They weren’t all particularly deep, yet they were still fun for the most part.
Take Wild Bill, for instance! This inhabitant seemed shifty, so I stationed him on the outskirts of town, near a lake.
Revealing new cards during the early years was exciting, and it was hard to not want to keep playing… And so I did!
Bridge to New Lands
One overall goal that showed up was to build a bridge. All stickers must be placed on one side of the river to start with, and then a bridge can be constructed to space things out.
I enjoyed the flow of my river, with a beaver dam upstream, a factory, and then a wooden bridge. It felt like the water was gently moving along, alive with my continuing story.
Many laughs popped up over a business I had and moved to the end of its storyline. But that was an interesting point…
Although I remembered these activities, they often ended at a hard stopping point and nothing else came from them.
Huge Bread and Hats
Look closely, and I managed to present a tiny rabbit with an enormous loaf of baked bread… And an animal hat. Because who wouldn’t want that?! And I had the perfect participant.
Hurray for my Calico Critters! I leaned into the stickers that brought me a lot of joy, although I was dismayed that this entire campaign allowed me to place a single hat.
I had high hopes of tossing a hat on top of every animal in my village, but it wasn’t meant to be. This one was it!
So maybe that made him stand out better. One does wonder how that bread stayed fresh for 6 in-game years. Ha ha!
Expanding the View
After a handful of events that eventually led to my house taking on an upgraded appearance, I started to think about what the view might look like across the river.
Thus began my plans to keep all of the buildings far away. My house had some giant cakes nearby and a swath of open plains. Couldn’t ask for much more than that!
But at around this halfway mark, I felt surrounded by choices. Card actions and stickers had unfinished stories.
I didn’t have the resources I needed, particularly for the lucrative events that offered rare extra actions.
Year Six and… a Happy Birthday to the Blog!
A-ha! Perfect timing with this card, as this just happens to be the day that marks the sixth year of Gameward Bound! It’s been an interesting time and I continue to love writing about my solo board games and solo RPGs. Lots more to come!
Also, take a close look at the card backs of each year’s deck. It’s a lovely progression of a tree growing and growing, which coincides with the growth of the village. I enjoyed it when I noticed this around the third or fourth year. A subtle detail, yet one that I enjoyed discovering. Much as with the rest of the game, taking a moment to look often pays off in some way.
Here’s to hoping there are many more adventures and experiences ahead! I hit a rough patch when I wasn’t all that interested in the hobby for a few weeks, yet that’s happened before. Games are always waiting to be played, and I’m getting back to a place where I’m finding a lot of enjoyment again. Looking forward to sharing my renewed love of the hobby!
Birds and Rabbits
Without going into too much detail, I had a wonderful time with an activity that involved birds. This turned my attention to the sticker details even more. It was fun!
I also added a nature preserve, which I imagined would be the new home of my rabbits. Remember how their original sticker was burned down in a mysterious accident?
They were about to find a new home! Look closely, and you might find one of them quietly relaxing. Very, very cute.
Gameplay continued to be great, yet at this point, I felt a little more pressured to try to finish as much as possible.
Happily at Home
There we go! I set up a new home for these rabbits, where they wouldn’t have to worry about any other strangely burned down trees. Or so I hoped… There were 2 years left!
Just to make it my own in a quirky way, I also added a lion statue nearby. Definitely blended into the scenery. Ha ha!
On one hand, I was excited to see how everything wrapped up. But on the other hand, it felt like I was racing to a conclusion that would make me bid farewell to this village.
It’s an interesting thing to think about with legacy games, although I felt pretty close to done with stickers. Ha ha!
Happiness and Titles
Near the end, I took a step back to look back at all of the titles I accrued from the very start. These were pretty neat, as I could remember where all of them came from.
Happiness was also nice to track, although I had to peel off a sticker every now and then. My slightly inexact spots were annoying, but I strongly disliked peeling off stickers.
Yet it wasn’t all that bad! Just more of a mixed experience than I expected, especially going into the final year.
I had lots of tasks left to complete, and not a lot of actions to do so. But there I was… Ready to complete a campaign!
One Final Look
Ta-da! This is what my map looked like at the very end. It was only unfortunate that the stand of trees across the river from my house burned down… That was quite a sight!
Note, too, the leftover cards across the bottom of the board. Some of these were ongoing actions, but I never had the chance to complete some storylines. And I never would.
As I found out, a fair number of choices made during the first campaign are blocked out for a second playthrough.
It was a bittersweet ending: I loved a lot of the experience, but the finale was very short and then… That was that.
Making Home My Own
Looking closely at the final state of the map and my home, I had to smile because I made it rather realistic… Deer usually show up in my backyard, so this late sticker was great!
Not everything on the map turned into a storyline, and not all of the stories held the same level of importance.
This did feel like something that mirrored the common sentiment: It’s about the journey, not the destination.
Still, I was left with some mixed feelings. This felt more akin to an activity with a sticker book than a full game with strategies… But it still provided a handful of nice moments.
Is That a Rabbit?
Just to illustrate that I had a lot of fun, there was a sticker added late in the game that added a bunch of sculptures.
For all the importance of the rabbits, it seemed pretty clear that there would be one of them. But this discerning art critic stopped by to ponder and judge these animals. Ha!
No rabbit here, but plenty of adorable scenery to admire. I enjoyed the nearby garden, too. Lots to relax with.
I will note that the finale left me a little deflated, especially since the different endings aren’t all that unique. My little village sort of faded away, already just a memory.
Session Overview
Play Number: 2-10
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Years 2-10
Outcome: Complete
Look at all of those titles! I raced to finish up some storylines in the last year, which was where a few of the last ones came from. It’s also clear I didn’t finish up some of the cards… Not enough actions! Overall, this was a great experience and I plan to move into a second playthrough almost immediately. There were a lot of fun moments and things I loved, but not enough to label it a forever favorite.
%
10 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
4
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
7
Originality
Design & Theme
10
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
7
+ Pros (Positives)
- Little stories emerge from the stickers and ways that some feel more important, making it all very personal.
- Silly moments pop up sometimes through the writing, and other times through the creativity that’s encouraged.
- Gameplay is quick with practically no strategizing, which leads to minimal or no stress and a calm atmosphere.
- All of the stickers feature detailed illustrations that may be hiding cute features that are revealed when examined.
- There are a lot of different types of stories, and even some puzzles or mysteries, to encounter throughout a campaign.
- Focusing on the experience encourages slowing down to appreciate the quiet moments that the narrative sets up.
– Cons (Negatives)
- The finale isn’t necessarily satisfying, and the different endings aren’t so entirely unique in how to achieve them.
- Gameplay is wonderful during the first years, yet the arc reaches a point where there is a lot to do with few actions.
- Sticker placement is open-ended and not too stressful with the guides, although peeling off stickers can be tiresome.
- It isn’t clear until after playing, but a second campaign has a lot of options entirely blocked off from the initial choices.
Victory Conditions
Complete the Year
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Complete the campaign.
Continue the Conversation
Have you played through a campaign of Cozy Stickerville? What stood out to you the most in your village’s story? I know I’ve brought up a few critiques, yet I still had a delightful time with the overall experience! With a second campaign coming up, I look forward to getting a sense of just how unique each campaign can be. More stickers coming right up… Ha ha!
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