A Poem Fu Sort of Summer and a Cheer For Northwood!
Continue a campaign to talk with the animal leaders of the surrounding fiefs in the charming solo game of For Northwood!
With the first scenario checked off, it was about time to take on the next challenge in For Northwood! A Solo Trick-Taking Game! Actually, I started trying days ago… Animals can take a little extra finessing to convince with serious topics ranging from flowers to leaves. Ha ha! It would be quite difficult, but my special visitors were sure to help out!
Game Overview
Game Name: For Northwood! A Solo Trick-Taking Game
Publication Year: 2021
Designer: Wilhelm Su
Artist: Wilhelm Su
Publisher: Side Room Games
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
Although they look adorable, the animal leaders must be convinced with a series of quick, trick-based card rounds. Allies with special abilities offer unique opportunities to travel through the forest and choose the right order. With a random setup or scenario, each play is always lots of fun!
First Play
April 28, 2023
Complexity
2
Latest Play
September 21, 2024
Expansions
0
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
34
Play Time
20 Minutes
High Score
20
Game Area
24" x 18"
Low Score
3
Panda and Tiger Allies
Well, maybe I stretched the definition of a tiger with my obvious cat, but the Calico Critters were out in full force!
I loved the idea of poem fu and the way it tied into these verbal battles. This scenario was actually a lot trickier for me, but it may have been due to the selection of leaders.
For around a week, I battled away! I seemed to talk about claws at just the right moment, but I was losing it with laughter as I imagined my poems being totally terrible!
At least I had some interesting moves with these allies, though. This was a very fun scenario to puzzle through!
All the Animals!
As I closed in on victory, the sound of stampeding tiny feet caught my attention. Everyone was quite impressed! And yes, that is clearly a parrot on the right and not a penguin.
What a great time! I actually scored the worst ever multiple times, barely convincing a couple of leaders.
But this play felt different. I had everyone on my side, and my poems were apparently all the talk of the woods.
There was just a single leader left, and she was rumored to be the toughest one out there… All about those leaves. So I steeled myself with one last look at this cute scene!
The Final Countdown
I needed to achieve a total of 7 tricks during this conversation. Fortunately, my starting hand and allies made a lot of sense and helped me almost get there!
Then, I had a hand that guaranteed me a victory in the claws department. My only trouble was that I had to hope for the best… And might win 0-2 tricks, when I needed 1.
This is one of the wonderful parts of the game: A lot of planning helps, but some hands come down to the odds.
As I saw it, there was a more than 50% chance that a claw would show up and I would impress the Lady of Leaves!
Tell Me About this Leaf
Oh, no! In an embarrassing ending, no claws came out, and this little lamb was clearly only looking to talk about the leaves in her domain. So close to victory here!
I kept trying a few more times, yet it seemed like I had offended someone with my terrible poem fu skills. Ha!
The nice thing is that although I technically failed this challenge, it doesn’t stop the campaign. I’ll just always look back at the summer and my bad conversations!
If it isn’t clear, this is an absolutely charming solo game with a lovely theme and very interesting mechanics.
Playing Little by Little, but Consistently
I’ve given up on having any sort of schedule with playing through my solo games. Now that my husband and I put together another room, we have a total of… 100 Kallax cubes, plus some overflow. That is a lot of games! So I play as I want to, picking up challenges every now and then to give me specific options, but otherwise going with the flow.
There is an excellent Community Play that stretches out the scenarios to align with real world dates. This breaks things up nicely, and also ties into a seasonal approach. I’m excited to keep on playing! This is keeping the game fresh in my mind, and although I wouldn’t apply this to every game, it’s nice to have a consistent pattern of play. Fun!
Session Overview
Play Number: 15-24
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
Play Details: Summer 2 Challenge
Outcome: 16, 10, 5, 9, 7, 9, 16, 8, 6, 16 (10 Losses)
Maybe I could have made better choices, although so many of these losses came down to the last couple of cards! It just wasn’t my day, yet I had a wonderful time, which is the sign of a good game. Although I might have felt frustrated every now and then, every loss ended in laughter or the desire to try just once more… Better plan for a better meeting with the Lady of Leaves. Ha ha!
%
30 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
10
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
10
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
8
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
7
+ Pros (Positives)
- Each animal leader is unique in appearance and ability, opening up lots of neat gameplay choices and possibilities.
- The theme and artwork are adorable and relaxing with conflict simply being peaceful conversations together.
- Trick-taking is not a mechanic that works easily in a solo game, yet it’s implemented extremely well in a fun way.
- Every component serves a purpose, including the helpful card to point at the current fief and gauge success.
- Gameplay moves quickly but doesn’t fly by, allowing for thoughtful turns and exciting moments.
- Although the perfect score is desirable, even the losses offer learning opportunities and plenty of fun aspects.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Bad luck can spoil even the best plans, which means that some losses come down to the order of the cards.
- It can be easy to forget about the ability to temporarily replace allies, as this creates a lot of additional possibilities.
- Random leader combinations can result in a less balanced array of possible abilities, although this is minimal.
- Some scenarios mix leaders into the deck, yet having the same card backs makes for incorrect shuffling early on.
Victory Conditions
Score 20 Points
- Overall Goal Progress 57%
Goals and Milestones
Score 20 points with the introductory game.
Score 20 points with the full game.
Score 20 points in the Summer 1 Challenge.
Score 20 points in the Summer 4 Challenge.
Score 20 points in the Summer 2 Challenge.
Score 20 points in the Summer 3 Challenge.
Score 20 points in the Fall 1 Challenge.
Continue the Conversation
What is your favorite thing about For Northwood! A Solo Trick-Taking Game? Have you tried the set of scenarios, or do you prefer to play with random leaders? I can’t believe I lost so many times in a row, but I also had the best time! It’s nice to be on a general schedule to play through the campaign, and I’m excited to find out what’s next in the forest!
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