On opening day of Essen Spiel, board game fans queued around corners to get a glimpse of Greenwood. The rebellious fantasy strategy title has been hyped to high heaven online, and boy, did gamers show up to see what the fuss was about. I sat down for one of the new game’s first demos to see if the hype was deserved.
What first grabbed me was the theme. Greenwood is, on the surface, a quaint fantasy game where you ramble the titular forests, taking in nature and cavorting with cutesy creatures. In reality, it’s a guerilla act of sabotage. The adorable inhabitants of Greenwood are held there against their will, and you’re here to rescue them.
Like all great strategy games, Greenwood is a cluster of interconnected engines. They seem imposing at first glance, but you fall into rhythm very quickly.
Each round begins at Dusk, when you choose three of four possible perks: play a companion card onto your board, place a protection token on a threat card, discard a card to move up the Aurora track, and/or increase your Strength.
Already, I’ve thrown a lot of concepts at you. Let’s break them down.
Your hand of cards represents many things. When played onto your board, they are allies who can aid you with unique abilities. To activate said powers, you’ll place an Energy token on the card during the Night phase. You also have Spy tokens that copy the power of opponents’ companions, but generally, it’s one token per card. The same goes for Hiking tokens, which are placed on your cards to take a Move/Map action rather than activate their ability.
Now, onto Protection tokens. The Druids who rule Greenwood become increasingly suspicious of your sabotage as the nights go on. This is represented by a Threat track, which gains more cards with each round. Threat cards offer penalties when placing your Spy token, but Protection tokens negate this – and get you a nice extra bonus to boot.
Next, let’s talk about the tracks. Strength represents your physical might. It grants various bonuses as you ascend, and it opens additional slots for Knowledge tokens. You collect these via a Study action and by discarding cards to gather your desired tokens. More on these tokens later.
Similar to Strength, the main board has a Wayfinder track that offers bonuses for investing in it. This might be anything from points to cards to Energy tokens. Basically, these are your two ‘engine-building’ tracks, designed to unlock additional, more powerful turns. You can up your Wayfinder track in all sorts of ways, from visiting specific places on the map to improving your other tracks.
The last track to track (somebody stop me) is your Aurora. After a simultaneous Dusk phase, everyone takes Departure actions equal to their Aurora value. That might mean removing Hiking tokens from cards or using specific powers called Spells. There’s some base Spells available to everyone, but companions often offer more.
After that, Night falls, and the rescue mission begins. You’ll take turns placing a Hiking token, Energy, or Spy on companions until you choose or have to pass.
So far, Greenwood sounds like a game of pushing tracks as high as they go. It sort of is, but there’s a point to it that makes this more than just a spreadsheet.
The ultimate goal is to rescue those aforementioned cuddly critters. You’ll collect and discard their matching Knowledge tokens, move to their space on the map, and sweep them to the safety of your personal submarine. Suddenly, your refugees are transformed into tetrominoes. These must be carefully slotted into your cramped sub, with placement rewards for filling columns and slots. It’s very Feast for Odin, though Greenwood is nowhere near as complex.
Perhaps that easy comparison is, for me, the difference between ‘liking’ and ‘loving’ Greenwood. It’s impressive how seamless everything feels, don’t get me wrong. Greenwood is a well-oiled strategic machine that glides as smooth as a stealthy submarine. It manages to be challenging without off-putting. For all it’s decision points, turns move quickly, with very little to trip you up and gum its gears.
But it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. Perhaps a full game – or several – would reveal to me Greenwood’s idiosyncrasies. I can only give my first impression: a strategy game whose tried-and-tested mechanics work flawlessly, but feel rather too safe.
I have my issues too with the theme, the very thing that drew me to Greenwood in the first place. It’s unique and well-realized by the game’s lovely art and production. However, I don’t fully understand why a covert rescue mission is a competitive endeavor.
Surely, as vigilantes with a shared goal, we’d want to work together? Why are we spying on each other and quibbling over who gets to be the ‘best’ rescuer? Greenwood presents a thrilling story about a fight for freedom, but it never really commits to telling that story with its mechanics.
I’d love to play Greenwood again. There’s an engaging engine here worth exploring. But, for me, it wasn’t an instant buy.
Want to learn more about Essen’s best games? Check out our coverage from the show floor, posted in the Wargamer Discord. Or, check out our best board games guide for this year’s top titles.
Source: Wargamer
