Stepping Back Into the Folklore and Forest of Skoventyr
Stay ahead of Gamle Erik in the beautiful forest as mythical allies come to the aid of Vogter in the tales of Skoventyr.
Around and around… I’m both exploring more of my game collection these days and literally rotating, as my solo table is now in a slightly different spot! So it seemed fitting to play Skoventyr again, both for its ties to my current situation and its delightful puzzle. The only thing I don’t have is a Calico Critters badger… The company needs to get on that. Ha!
Game Overview
Game Name: Skoventyr
Publication Year: 2023
Designer: Morten Monrad Pedersen
Artist: Vincent Dutrait
Publisher: inPatience
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Fantastic artwork brings this world to life, which is based on Danish folklore. Vogter, a badger, must stay ahead of Gamle Erik in the forest and enlist the help of allies. Yet danger always lurks not far behind, and figuring out how to survive to defeat the minions is no easy task for Vogter!
First Play
November 24, 2023
Complexity
2
Latest Play
July 25, 2024
Expansions
0
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
6
Play Time
10 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
32" x 22"
Low Score
N/A
A Badger’s Life
Vogter is quite the character, brought to life even more through the card illustrations! These stay out as action choice reminders, which are very helpful during play.
I still haven’t wrapped my head around the strategies, because this is quite the challenge. And I moved myself up to the easy difficulty level with an extra tree. Ha ha!
Perhaps the only thing that slows me down is using the pronunciation guide to be sure I have the names right.
Quite a lesson! I enjoy that aspect, though, and can now say I confidently know about 2 words in Danish. Ha!
Circle the Trees
The number of trees determines the difficulty level, and I’m still just shy of the standard starting amount. With my luck, I need to slowly move up in order to achieve victory!
It’s a neat puzzle where the trees aren’t necessarily locations, but represent how far away Vogter and Gamle Erik are. That badger does not want to be caught!
The different allies also present even more choices. Choosing who to place out in the forest is quite important.
Discarding cards for effects is also crucial, as is taking a risk with the deck and hoping Gamle Erik stays put!
Interesting Allies
A selection of 3 cards is always available to represent the future, which is sort of like a market to choose cards from.
Gamle Erik cards are notoriously terrible, often clogging up the deck in the late game to allow him to move closer to Vogter without much effort. Very, very tricky!
I haven’t found a bad sort of ally, but it’s not a simple task of choosing the most common ones who come out early.
Some are better suited to certain situations, or work better towards the end of the game. Shuffling them back into the deck can be worth it, but Gamle Erik is always lurking…
Vogter, No!
Alas, my first play ended in defeat when Gamle Erik caught up to Vogter right near the end. Many trees had withered and died, leaving little room to hide.
I was down to the final minion, yet there was no way for Vogter to keep staying ahead of the danger. So close!
There were definitely many things I could have adjusted around the middle of play, as I made some silly mistakes with skipping over allies who would have been beneficial.
Luckily, a quick reset was all everyone needed, and Vogter sailed to victory with the help of his trusted allies!
Seeing the Trees Through the Forest
On the surface, I’ve often pinned this down as a pretty simple sort of puzzle with relatively repetitive actions. Yet it’s more about looking at each individual play and finding ways to win. Sometimes, that results in the wrong ally being put out in the forest too early… So many times I’ve had 3 out and expect the next card to be kind. But it’s Gamle Erik! Ha ha!
I think the only thing that may detract from this for me in the end is the idea that it’s not as cozy as I like my shorter games to be. Still, I love the setting and theme, and sometimes, darker works. When I do win, it’s because of a badger! It was nice to return to playing this one again to step back a little bit, or more accurately, look a little closer at its virtues.
Session Overview
Play Number: 5 & 6
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Easy Difficulty Level
Outcome: 1 Win & 1 Loss
Such pretty artwork! The Ellefolk were actually rather important at multiple times, allowing me to save up other types of allies for later on or check the upcoming cards. I still can see how I’m far from figuring out the best way to approach each situation, which is promising! I have many difficulty levels to try out, along with the included expansion modules. Vogter will be running forever! Ha!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
10
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
10
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
4
+ Pros (Positives)
- Every piece of artwork is beautiful and sets the stage in a sort of storybook, mythical world of folklore.
- The amount of play time is very quick, typically taking around 10-15 minutes including setup and cleanup.
- Figuring out the puzzle is a challenging task, as a lot of allies are best used situationally or at different points.
- Minions look like simple 2, 3, or 4 level enemies, but the order in which they’re defeated offers nuanced strategies.
- Vogter’s actions are all very different and take some time to understand how to set up some awesome turns.
- Adjusting the number of trees is all that’s needed to change the difficulty level to customize the experience.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Although the rulebook is excellent, a few aspects require a couple of reads and plays to full understand them.
- Luck plays less of a role than it might appear at first, but there are still moments when the card order spoils plans.
- The iconography is excellent, yet it isn’t as intuitive and requires the back of the reference for help quite a lot.
- Gameplay creates different puzzles at times, but plays pretty similarly with a limited amount of variety.
Victory Conditions
Defeat All of the Minions
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 game at the very easy difficulty level.
Win at least 1 game at the easy difficulty level.
Continue the Conversation
What are some of your favorite elements about Skoventyr? Do you have any memorable plays? I thought it might feel a little too repetitive after a handful of plays, but I keep finding new things to try out! The game does a lot with a small number of cards, and I’m thrilled I finally brought it back to my table. Here’s to hoping Vogter keeps on winning!
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