Rules & Setup:
Each turn you will either take 2 of the available 6 tiles to place into your forest as part of your trail, or one of them to become a new quest tile to be a possible scoring path on this or a future turn.
You can also claim as many quests / paths each turn as you are able to complete, and each time you do you remove the quest tile you started on and it scores later, and the last tile of the chain is flipped and becomes the starting tile for a new quest that can be completed either straight away if you have the correct tiles in a new path, or on a later turn.
Theme and Mechanics:
In the game you build trails for your spirit animals and then complete missions which will give you victory points.
The game mechanics are basic, i.e. take tiles and place them into your own personal forest, but don’t let this fool you, as you need to take tiles and place them into your area correctly, either for immediate conversion as a scoring path or building up your trail for future scoring.
Gameplay:
Turns are quick as once you take and replenish the 6 tile area, the current player can if they are able complete their task or tasks and readjust their forest section at the end of this action, and whilst they are doing this the next player can begin their own turn by taking one or two tiles and then doing any tasks they too can complete. The game ends when a player completes a certain number of tasks, i.e.
- 2 players: 10 completed tasks
- 3 players: 9 completed tasks
- 4 players: 8 completed tasks
There is also a 6 level solo mode which has been well thought out and is certainly a good challenge, where once you have completed a level you move on to the next one until you have successfully completed all 6.
You can get bonus cards by completing multiple tasks in a single turn, and these bonus cards give you extra victory points at the end of the game.
Artwork and Components:
The artwork is nicely done on the tiles, whilst at the same time not being overly done it fits perfectly in with the game and the theme.
The tiles themselves are made from extremely thick card, and really do look and feel nice when being used. The animal meeples are again well made from thick wood and in four player colours.
The rulebook is well laid out with nice examples of gameplay
The Good:
Whispering Woods is a nice little game that you can play with both non gamers and experienced ones alike, and can be used as an evenings game in it’s own right, playing it several times in a row, or as a filler at either the start or end of a game session where a more in depth game is being played
The Other:
There isn’t anything wrong with Whispering Woods, for the price you pay it has been produced exceptionally well and is great value for money.
Final Thoughts:
I thoroughly enjoyed my plays of Whispering Woods, and will definitely be keeping it in my collection.
