Beginnings and Bridges in a Meadow: Adventure Book

Nov 16, 2024 | Sessions | 0 comments

Head out along hiking paths to take in the natural sights and focus on special goals with adventure scenarios for Meadow.

In a rare moment, I went out of my way to pick up a new arrival as soon as it was available at my friendly local game store! Meadow has been a delightful and relaxing experience for me, so I was quite excited to discover the latest expansion was available. The Meadow: Adventure Book was quickly opened and prepared for new hiking scenarios!

Game Overview

Game Name: Meadow
Publication Year:
 2021
Designer:
 Klemens Kalicki
Artists: 
Karolina Kijak & Katarzyna Fiebiger
Publisher: Rebel Studio
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game

The overall atmosphere is one of calm and peace, captured in a slow-paced walk through nature. All sorts of scenery can be spotted along the way, while the mechanics center around overlapping cards and collecting icons. With new scenarios to explore, there are fun challenges ahead!

Looking Out at the Lovely Cards to Choose from in Meadow
R

First Play

March 12, 2022

Complexity

2

Latest Play

November 16, 2024

Expansions

2

Setup Time

10 Minutes

Lifetime Plays

14

Play Time

1 Hour

:

High Score

75

1

Game Area

46" x 22"

;

Low Score

40

The Adventure Book

Very neat! This expansion requires some assembly with the individual expansion boxes, yet I had a nice time making these on my own. But I did find a printing error…

There are some player tokens that are printed in opposite colors on their fronts and backs. Not really a problem, yet a surprising sort of mistake that I didn’t expect.

I liked the spiral-bound book that replaced the campfire board. Definitely saved a fair amount of table space!

Keep in mind that these expansions are only compatible with the base game… No river to float down here, sadly.

Taking on the First Scenario in the New Adventure Book Expansion for Meadow

Upside Down Mentality

There was a lot of hesitation as I started to read through the rules. I had to reference the base game rules, base game solo rules, scenario rules, and new solo rules.

Lots of flipping around just to get started! It wasn’t too bad until I looked at this diagram and example.

The diagram is upside down to the usual orientation of the board with the card holders. I looked at this and knew I would get it wrong every single time with the reversal.

So I flipped my main board around. Honestly, this made it much easier in a lot of ways. An accidental improvement!

A Flipped Diagram and Pause for Concern with Setup in Meadow

Lots to Track

I should note that this is not a campaign, nor something with secret content to unlock, so there are no spoilers.

The first scenario is all about incorporating weather. There are sunny and rainy tracks to move along, which typically result in picking up new cards to utilize.

That wasn’t too bad, but all of these new icon pairs added a lot of thought. In the base game solo mode, there are 3 pairs that are all interconnected. Very minimal overhead.

Such pretty artwork, though! I was hesitant and prepared for disappointment, yet this hike needed to commence.

Tracking Lots More with Weather and Icon Pairs in Meadow

Pleasant Choices

In a matter of minutes, my concerns vanished. There was a lot more to think about in terms of the icons, yet I loved the new sunny and rainy cards. They added character!

I ended up with a beautiful little area and my best score yet. Scenarios award up to 4 stars, and I earned them all!

However, I will note that the solo opponent now has a score and requires a little management. At the same time, this felt like I won without needing to focus too much.

I could almost feel like I visited these beautiful scenes, but gameplay felt somewhat minimal. Still, I had a lot of fun!

A Most Memorable Sort of Hike with Weather Events in Meadow

What is The Adventure Book Expansion About?

Honestly, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of this expansion when I learned about it. I didn’t expect a legacy-style campaign, but I thought it would be more about connecting hikes together in an overarching campaign. The scenarios all seem to be interesting in their own ways… I’m just unsure about how this will feel as a long-term addition.

For instance, this post features 2 of 6 scenarios. Only one of those is of interest for me to return to, and that’s only because its elements can’t be integrated into the base game. The other one has new cards that can be shuffled into the base game decks, which is enough for me to want to get out of it. There are some more details on that one further on…

I don’t mean to sound negative or gloomy, though! This just feels like a bit of a conundrum in terms of what it is and how it will fit into my collection. This game and its expansions are well-designed and beautiful, so if this all seems like the perfect solution for you, have a wonderful time on your tabletop nature hikes! The scenarios can be very enjoyable.

Into the Bright Skies

These weather cards offered up bonuses, which required a lot of referencing in the large table in the rulebook. I loved adding them to my tableau, though. So pretty!

Both sunny and rainy weather provided me with helpful ways to move ahead. I even picked up some cards I couldn’t use to advance along the corresponding track.

It’s only a shame that these scenarios aren’t modules: The weather cards can’t just be added into a game to play with.

There are still several scenarios ahead before I figure out how I feel about the whole adventure book system.

Stunning Beauty Found in the Skies Above Meadow

Wonderful Artwork

Even if the challenge isn’t always present, the cards are something special. I don’t see these as things to collect, but memorable scenes that tell tiny stories.

The fuzzy moth lounging on the daisy? I imagined myself pausing to look at the flowers, then discovering a surprise nestled amidst a sea of white petals. So pretty!

One of my favorite spots resulted in a house along the coast. A little further along, winter had taken hold.

There are no cards in the deck I dislike: Even the insects are adorable and help tell more stories of nature.

Keeping Track of the Little Stories from Along the Journey in Meadow

Dominant Scoring

Thinking through these icon pairs took a lot more brain power, yet it worked out nicely! The solo opponent could place a token at the end of each round quite easily…

Yet the last card of the round always resulted in an icon that didn’t match anything here. Very, very lucky for me!

The round track was a clever selection of umbrellas to add to the thematic feel of the changing weather.

I enjoyed this challenge more than I expected to, but I wonder whether I’ll return to it… Likely only to see the new weather card artwork. No improving on this score!

The Luckiest Sort of Play with No Solo Opponent Scoring Tokens in Meadow

Across the Bridge

I moved onto the next scenario that features bridges. Setup calls for the tableau to be split apart with a random selection of these little tiles, which provide icon pairs.

The goal is to get the icons on the depicted sides of the play space. Ah, but this has more considerations!

Final scoring requires calculating the victory points on each side. Only the lowest value will score, so it’s vital to build these up fairly equally with the same card maximum.

This definitely made for some more complex thinking as I planned ahead for where to place my cards on the hike.

A New Scenario and a Split Play Area in Meadow

Special Bridge Pairs

As for the scenario scoring tokens, these showed a couple of different ways to complete each one. Again, it was all about having icons on specific sides of the bridge.

Very clever! A selection of 5 cards could also be picked up as I completed the small tiles on my bridge. In this way, I had a chance to add 4 high-value cards to my tableau.

Unfortunately, only 2 of the 3 required pair icons are offered. Big encounters are left entirely up to chance…

Which was about to ruin my chances of earning all of the stars, despite my strategic approach to this hike.

Planning Bridges and Splitting Up the Play Area of Meadow

The Western Expanse

Splitting up my play area was, perhaps, not as much of a challenge as I thought it would be. I simply had to keep track of the total scores on either side to balance them.

My western area of the bridge featured some of the cutest animals! Lots of autumn-colored cards showed up, too, which made it a delightful spot to collect memories.

I waited for ages to see a single big encounter card and had my entire area planned out to place it to the east or west.

This constraint was a little frustrating, as I kept using special abilities to mill through the deck to no avail.

Half of the Final Play Area with Some Adorable Animals from Meadow

Eastern Pathways

Maybe I was biased, but the east side of my bridge seemed to appeal to me a lot more. There were more open areas here and sweeping vistas to admire. So beautiful!

I realized that I had a few cards I recognized from the first scenario, yet these weren’t tied together with gameplay.

This expansion felt like a set of variants with different ways to play. I was having fun, just with some hesitation.

This is also why I’m planning to explore everything quickly, as part of me immediately missed the content from the first expansion. No fish or otters?! Come on. Ha!

Pleasant Natural Sights and Vistas to the East of the Bridge in Meadow

Missing Out from Luck

My perfectly laid plans were dashed when I never saw a single big encounter card: They were all sprinkled throughout the very bottom of the north cards deck.

I only earned 3 of 4 stars for this scenario, but that felt quite unfair. It was fun to think of them as being extra elusive this time, but now I have an incomplete scenario.

This was a small detail and didn’t detract from my fun too much, yet I felt a bit disappointed in this scenario design.

Had there been another special card that guaranteed the icon would show up, it wouldn’t have felt so bad.

The Entirely Stealthy Big Encounters and a Failed Objective in Meadow

Session Overview

Play Number: 9 & 10
Expansion: Meadow: Adventure Book
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Scenarios 1 & 2
Outcome: 75-50, 40-24 (2 Wins)

So many beautiful cards, and none that I wanted! I still ended up winning quite easily in both scenarios. Managing the solo opponent helped block some opportunities, yet I felt like I had extra overhead when I was pretty much guaranteed to win. Hopefully, the rest of the scenarios will offer challenges with a fair chance to earn every star!

Making the Most of Finding the Most Useful Cards to Expand a Hike in Meadow

%

10 Plays

Affordability

Price & Value

10

Functionality

Challenges & Mechanics

9

Originality

Design & Theme

7

Quality

Components & Rules

8

Reusability

Achievement & Enjoyment

8

Variability

Distinctness & Randomness

7

+ Pros (Positives)

  • Each piece of artwork feels like a small scene to remember from a hike, creating a beautiful and cozy play space.
  • The different scenarios offer clever puzzles that require a different way of thinking and planning.
  • Play time moves along pretty quickly, even with extra features to keep track of, and never feels like it drags on.
  • Even when the cards aren’t all useful, there are special abilities to use that can help focus on other victory points.
  • At the end, it’s nice to sit back and take a minute to admire the tableau and create a little story about the journey.
  • Lots of animals may be spotted along the way, but it’s quite pleasant to admire artwork of all sorts of scenery.

– Cons (Negatives)

  • There are some unusual decisions with the scenario designs that put a lot of emphasis on luck to earn every star.
  • Scenarios provide neat twists on the base game rules, but are not modular and can not be combined together.
  • Managing the solo opponent isn’t too bad, yet the overall difficulty factor is low with losses almost taking effort.
  • Gameplay can feel too easy and relaxing, which can be pleasant, but the experience may not stand out over time.

More Meadow

Explore related posts about Meadow!

Victory Conditions

Score the Most Points

  • Overall Goal Progress 100% 100%

Goals and Milestones

R

Score at least 55 points.

R

Score at least 60 points.

R

Score at least 65 points.

R

Score at least 70 points.

Continue the Conversation

What is your favorite part of Meadow? Have you had a chance to play any of the scenarios in the Meadow: Adventure Book? I’ll be back with my thoughts about the rest! There is a wonderful sort of feeling about the artwork and what it’s like to get this to the table. I may have some trepidation about some aspects, yet this is still a solo game I love a lot!

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