Mycelia Board Game Review

Mycelia is a family board game about cute mushroom characters, which is easy to learn and great fun to play. The basic game serves as an entry point for new players with straightforward rules, making it accessible and enjoyable. In it, you’ll be trying to bring dewdrops from your personal forest to the shrine of life, using the cards you have and will buy throughout the game. It’s a beautiful and underrated game, that’s wonderful for all different kinds of gaming groups. Our Mycelia board game review looks at how you play the game, and why you should.

What is Mycelia?

Mycelia is a deckbuilding game, which just means it relies on playing the cards you draw, and the cards you buy along the way. It’s aimed at any gamer aged 9+, (we recommended it as one of the best games for 11-year-olds) including adult gaming groups, as a fun, cozy competitive game with some very well-made components. We’d go so far to say that this works fantastically as a first game, but especially as a first deck-building game, as it’s so engaging and so easy to learn. Split Stone Games, the producer of Mycelia, has done an excellent job in the game’s development.

The Mycelia game offers a lot of components for the price, with gorgeous bright artwork showing off both the forest and the mushroom characters, but it also has a standout piece in the Shrine component, which is a physical entity on the table. It has real presence, and whilst it may not be strictly necessary in the game, it is immensely satisfying when it is filled and spun, releasing the lovely tactile dewdrops onto the table.

The playing cards in Mycelia are central to the game’s mechanics, requiring players to engage in strategic moves and actions. Each card includes unique abilities and actions that must be played in a specific order to achieve game objectives, emphasizing the tactical nature and variety of the playing cards involved.

The game is created by Ravensburger, who are industry titans in creating captivating board games that you can play with the whole family. They’ve pioneered the way with Horrified, a cooperative family monster game, and though this is a much cuter theme, it offers a little more competition between players. Nicely, that means that although it’s great for younger family members to join in on, adults looking for a lighter game can get just as much joy from it too.

How to Play Mycelia

Mycelia is a straightforward deck building game, which means you’ll be using the cards you have, and those you buy, to take actions that will gain you points. In the case of Mycelia, you’ll need to remove a few dewdrops from your personal player board, or perhaps even move them to a space where you can remove them later. The first to clear all the dewdrops from their board is the winner.

The game is set up simply – everyone has a player’s board of different colored squares representing different areas of their forest, which is filled with dewdrops (tiny blue components) in a prescribed pattern. Players start with certain cards in their deck, and additional cards are laid out in the center as a marketplace to purchase from as the game goes on. Lastly, the shrine is placed in reach of everyone, and a dice is placed on a spot on the shrine, which is dictated by how many people are playing. Then, the game begins!

Players draw their hand, and must play all the cards, but can do so in any order. They each contain symbols that show what playing the card will do – for example, if it shows a leaf, when you play that card you can pick up the number of leaves it says, or if it shows a dewdrop on a certain colored tile being moved, you could move your dewdrop (in the hope of these moves clearing it from the board).

As you go on, you may have cards that offer you more actions, where you can do two things, or even a choice between two actions. Nicely, there are several cards that even benefit your fellow players too, so everyone benefits when you play down that card.

If you’ve collected leaves, which are the game’s currency, you can use them to buy cards from the central marketplace. These go into your discard pile, along with the cards you’ve just played. When you’ve run out of cards, you shuffle your discard pile and start again with it, meaning all your newly purchased cards become available to you. As you carry on playing, you’ll begin trying to pick up cards that complement the ones you have, and you’ll begin to make satisfying combinations to remove more dewdrops.

You’ll also have an extra bonus option available to you, which is denoted in a board token that slots pleasingly under the board itself, that you can play once per turn by paying the cost of it.

When removed, dewdrops go to the Shrine, which is filled with recessed holes for them to sit in. When the dewdrops reach the space the dice occupies – placed depending on the player count at the very beginning – a player spins the dial, causing the dewdrops to fall through the gap and onto the table, also rolling the die. The result of the die may give you something to do – like add dewdrops back onto your board for instance – but the whole action of causing the dewdrops to fall is fun to complete.

The first player to remove all their dewdrops is the winner – and if the winner is a draw, then the player with the most leaves wins!

Gameplay Mechanics

In Mycelia, players embark on a journey to manage and clear dewdrops from their player boards using a deck of mushroom cards. Each player starts with a basic deck, and as the game progresses, they can acquire new cards to enhance their deck’s capabilities. The primary goal is to strategically use these cards to move and remove dewdrops from the board. The game’s unique scoring system rewards players who can balance clearing their board with collecting leaves, the game’s currency. The player with the most leaves and a clear board at the end of the final round emerges victorious.

Mycelia Game Review

Mycelia is an easy game to recommend, because it’s entirely inoffensive and works incredibly well with such a wide range of audiences. Compared to other deck builders, Mycelia stands out for its accessibility, making it an excellent choice for new players and families. We’ll detail the main reasons by this game is so well reviewed:

Introduction to Mycelia

Mycelia is a delightful deck building game designed for 1-4 players, where the main objective is to collect and clear dewdrops from your player board. This game is perfect for families and casual gamers, offering a gentle introduction to the deck building genre. The game’s unique forest floor board and advanced cards provide a fun and challenging experience for players of all ages. Whether you’re new to deck building games or a seasoned player, Mycelia’s engaging mechanics and charming theme are sure to captivate you.

Mycelia is a family deck building game

Mycelia relies on images and icons rather than text descriptions, which means no matter how old your players are, as long as they can understand the concepts, they’ll be able to play. Admittedly, it may take a few rounds to remember which icon requires which action, but once you begin to remember your own cards, you’ll understand the patterns with which you play. That offers younger players a lot more independence to make their own decisions in the game and builds confidence – as well as strategy skills.

As it’s easy to learn quickly, there are no awkward moments of rules descriptions that cause players to disengage, and it requires very little additional rulebook checking once in play. Perfect for an evening of family gaming together

For more family board games, don’t miss our list on the very best!

Mycelia is a beautiful game with great table presence

With cute fantasy style mushroom characters, from the youngest player to the oldest they’ll find the adorable within the cards. But it doesn’t stop there, because the dewdrops are tactile and nice to hold, the player boards are vibrant and interesting, and the shrine is a physical component that brings the game away from a flat tabletop.

Mycelia is great for new gamers and solo mode

Whether you’re a brand-new gamer, or a young gamer, Mycelia is almost a my-first-deckbuilding game. The basic game serves as an easy entry point with straightforward rules, making it accessible for new players. This is for a number of reasons, including the fact that when players draw their cards for their turn, they must play all of them. This prevents players from over analyzing their decisions or taking “wrong” actions.

As you carry on playing, you start understanding from the initial cards what you need more of, and you begin to pick these up from the central marketplace, and with the first shuffle, the concept of deck building is completely understood. In addition, whilst the shrine is beautiful, it is arguably unnecessary – this could easily have been a player score marker instead, with a dice roll at the end – but in taking the role of being appealing to new and young gamers, it has a perfect role… it catches attention.

Not least in people seeing the game and wanting to play it themselves, but also because nobody forgets about it, and everyone wants to spin it. It keeps you focused on your goal (removing dewdrops to go into the shrine) and engaged in its progression. It can be easy to miss an end of turn mechanic in games when you’re not familiar with them – but everyone is watching the shrine.

Mycelia is Competitive

A competitive board game isn’t always what a family or group prefer, as not every player is able to lose well. However, Mycelia is as friendly as a competitive game can get. There’s nothing directly vicious or meddling that can cause conflict between players, and more often players will play cards that everyone will benefit from.

Although games with individual player boards means that sometimes players will become too absorbed in their own game play to socialize with fellow players, Mycelia gives a great balance of independence in decisions (i.e., this is my board and this is how I’m going to play), with reasons to look up at your fellow players (with their cards impacting you, the shrine, and the marketplace). With such a gentle theme, these combine to make it a much cozier competition than you may have expected.

Strategy and Depth in Deck Building Games

Deck building games like Mycelia require a keen sense of strategy and resource management. Players must carefully consider how to build their deck and utilize their cards to maximize their efficiency. The challenge lies in balancing the need to clear dewdrops from the board with the necessity of collecting leaves and acquiring new cards. Mycelia’s advanced cards add an extra layer of depth and complexity, allowing players to develop innovative strategies and tactics. This strategic element ensures that each game is a unique and engaging experience.

Components and Art

One of Mycelia’s standout features is its beautiful and thoughtfully designed components. The game includes a unique forest floor board where players manage their dewdrops, adding a visually appealing element to the gameplay. The mushroom cards, adorned with Latin names and charming illustrations, bring the game’s theme to life. Additionally, the tactile dewdrops and leaves, which serve as the game’s currency, enhance the overall experience. The vibrant player boards and the central shrine contribute to the game’s impressive table presence, making it a joy to play and display.

Comparison to Other Board Games

Mycelia is a fantastic introduction to the deck building genre, standing alongside popular games like Dominion and Ascension. However, Mycelia sets itself apart with its unique forest floor board and the inclusion of advanced cards that add depth to the gameplay. The game’s solo mode and individual player boards make it a versatile option for both solo play and group sessions. Overall, Mycelia offers a fun and challenging experience that is sure to appeal to fans of deck building games, whether they are new to the genre or seasoned veterans.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a light, cozy game that you can play with many different audiences, or a cheerful family game, Mycelia is a fantastic board game to choose. From the bright colors to the pretty art, the easy to learn game play and sheer fun it offers, Mycelia is one you should have on your radar.

Where to buy Mycelia and its player count?

Mycelia is available at local game shops, online and at Amazon. 

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