Everstone: Discovering Ignis and a Caravan Journey
Set out to discover and repair relics to upgrade a traveling caravan in the world of Everstone: Discovering Ignis.
I had a thought the other day about wanting a game about driving an old-fashioned wagon and managing it… So it seemed most fitting to bring Everstone: Discovering Ignis to my solo table! With a basic caravan to travel with and find ways to upgrade, I was ready to head out on a journey to this realm filled with all sorts of relics. Steady going ahead!
Game Overview
Game Name: Everstone: Discovering Ignis
Publication Year: 2024
Designer: Sam McDavitt
Artist: TJ Jacob
Publisher: McDavitt Publishing
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
With a choice of 4 actions, the goal is to acquire reputation through influence tracks and bonuses. The workshop inside the caravan slowly gets better and better as the solo opponent takes away some choices and acts as a timer. To earn enough reputation for a victory requires lots of work!
First Play
October 16, 2024
Complexity
3
Latest Play
October 16, 2024
Expansions
1
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
2
Play Time
40 Minutes
High Score
7
Game Area
38" x 26"
Low Score
6
A Charming Area
This play space has a nice appearance, with lots of bright colors on the map and some of the best caravan tokens!
However, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was doing. Multiple times, I asked myself this question out loud. From the rules, it seemed like I was looking for the town of Ignis…
Then found it, determined it wasn’t all that big, and needed to build up my reputation to be remembered.
I struggled with the rulebook, as it was riddled with typos and incorrect descriptions. And I still think I didn’t get everything correct after consulting many forum topics.
Caravan Tokens
How great are these caravans? So adorable and huge! There are a total of 4 different actions, and one involves exploring by moving the caravan to a new location.
I liked how these actions could be improved in different ways, often tied to repairing found relics with resources.
But it felt very mathematical. I enjoy abstract solo games, yet I never felt comfortable about making optimal choices.
This is likely a game that rewards experience over time. Yet I didn’t feel drawn to it beyond maximizing my score, and the solo mode didn’t exactly feel like an opponent.
The Very Bumpy Bus Ride
I nearly retired from my pairing of games with childhood books, yet I found another pretty accurate connection!
The Very Bumpy Bus Ride is a silly tale about rumbling around town, and I imagined this bus probably was about as close to a wooden caravan or wagon as I could get. Ha!
Note in the background how influence tokens found their way to different locations, activating bonuses when a caravan moved into that area. Yet it felt unintuitive.
I got lost in the iconography and small rules a few times, as a lot of edge cases felt like they weren’t explained.
An Upgraded Caravan
Gameplay was quite challenging, though. I didn’t come close to a victory in either play. Definitely requires a lot of experience to reach that point, which is a positive!
It was neat to see these actions get upgraded so that I could chain a lot of abilities together during a turn.
Yet the personal quests, which provided ways to earn more reputation, drove me to make some sub-optimal moves.
My second play resulted in 4 conflicting personal quests I drew in the last few rounds, and there was no way I could complete them with the way I upgraded my caravan.
Is Theme All That Important to the Experience?
I tend to move through various cycles and phases with the solo games I play… Yet I often lean towards games that transport me to the game world in some way. Abstract themes can still work: I’ve recently enjoyed games about aligning feathers, laying out cards based on numbers, and connecting lines together. None of those themes are strong.
But it also comes down to the size and time commitment of a game. I’m far less interested in coming up with a story for a game that takes me around 5-10 minutes. Anything over that is fair game for even a hint of a theme!
As I play more and more, it’s dawned on me that a lot of my favorite games come down to the moments. I don’t necessarily remember the scores or my winning percentages… Which are usually low, anyway. Ha ha! No: It’s those cool stories when I feel like I’m in that world, for just a moment, or have something absolutely delightful happen.
This game didn’t do any of that for me, nor did I see myself connecting with it over multiple plays. It can be hard to gauge a game early on when the rules aren’t clear yet. But I also have very limited time, and first impressions tell me a lot about what might bring me joy down the line. Hopefully, though, this one works for some players out there!
Gaining Influence
Another big part of gameplay surrounded the influence tracks. Maybe I missed it, but these were simply tied to blue, yellow, and red without any thematic element.
It was neat to move up and down these tracks to trigger bonuses, but again, I didn’t really know why I was doing it.
There were some interesting moments, especially with the harvest action and getting a specific combination of dice or choosing to collect a bunch of resources at once.
I could see some neat ideas in the design. Unfortunately, this was not a game that worked for me at all.
At the Very End
In this book, the ending is all chaotic and silly with the bus inhabitants reaching a fair and winning awards for all of the wrong reasons. Still, a pleasant sort of conclusion!
During both of my plays, I could see the timer and how I was never close to the required 10 reputation points.
So the last couple of turns were entirely wasted, rather than making me feel like I had a chance. I know more experience will help with this, but it wasn’t a good feeling.
There is a way to adjust the difficulty level, yet I don’t expect to return… My caravan has had its last journey.
Session Overview
Play Number: 1 & 2
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Standard Difficulty Level
Outcome: 7, 6 (2 Losses)
Some interesting features popped up here and there, but I never felt invested in what I was doing. I thought the solo opponent would offer a more direct challenge, especially since there are uniquely named boards to use. Alas, this didn’t have anything to hold my interest, and the rulebook lacked clarification on all of the gameplay elements. Still, I got to drive my caravan around and improve it for a bit!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
3
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
7
Originality
Design & Theme
4
Quality
Components & Rules
8
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
5
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
4
+ Pros (Positives)
- Caravan tokens provide a lovely visual element that helps keep track of which locations are occupied at all times.
- Deciding which action to take is interesting, particularly when there are different upgrades and relics to activate.
- Some sequences can be very satisfying with the way many elements can be affected all at once.
- Rolling the dice during the harvest action is often fun, as the dice can be manipulated or used in different ways.
- A lot of elements are randomized during setup to provide a fair amount of variety in the available bonuses.
- Relics seem to all be unique, providing lots of options and decisions in what to buy and which repair bonus to take.
– Cons (Negatives)
- The rulebook has a fair number of typos, along with a few errors, and lacks information about a lot of edge cases.
- Personal quests can be excellent sources of reputation, yet these are very random and situational sorts of rewards.
- Not all of the iconography is clear or explained in full detail, so a lot of time can be spent referencing the rules.
- Although the board looks lovely, it can be hard to see some elements and there doesn’t seem to be a strong theme.
Victory Conditions
Score 10+ Points
- Overall Goal Progress 0%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 game at the standard difficulty level.
Continue the Conversation
Have you had a chance to play Everstone: Discovering Ignis? Is there an awesome combination you came across with your upgraded caravan? Although this one definitely didn’t align with my tastes, it certainly has potential! I liked the moments when I could trigger a bunch of abilities, and still enjoyed my caravan journey. Onto something else, though!
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