Game moment
Mischwald Smoky Mountains
Expected too much?
🇩🇪 Original in German
For now, I have to say that we really play Mixed Forest often and already own all the games/expansions so far. So yeah, we’re pretty big fans…
Naturally, I was excited when the new Smoky Mountains arrived. After our first game, though, my feelings are mixed. Personally, I feel the new river mechanics bring more downsides than upsides to the game. Besides the rivers, there are also terrains, similar to those in Dartmoor. Unfortunately, there are tons of cards that let you reveal other cards, which ends the game relatively quickly. That’s a bit of a shame. There are also many cards that allow for an extra turn if paid correctly. This means you end up waiting longer for your turn while others take theirs.
My overall personal impression:
- Beautifully illustrated as always
- Rivers add a nice novelty factor
- Felt stressed by how fast the deck runs out, and the gameplay flow felt a bit slower
My husband, on the other hand, liked it even better than Dartmoor thanks to the rivers.
Have you played it yet? What’s your take?
🇩🇪 Original in German
I find the color scheme of this refreshingly pleasant. I really love the blue tones. What I didn’t like so much: some animals give you 10 or 30 points depending on how often you meet the requirement. However, I found it extremely easy to jump from 10 to 30 points for certain species (and there are sometimes multiple cards like that), while for others it felt significantly harder. Also, I’m still getting used to the fact that abilities previously exclusive to mushrooms (like “draw a card whenever…”) have now shifted to some birds. Without having visited the national park myself, I’d argue there are mushrooms there too. I miss them here. I connect more with the local flora and fauna, but you can still learn a bit about biodiversity from the illustrations, and the cards look beautiful anyway!
🇩🇪 Original in German
And by the way, I tried to avoid drawing too many cards from the deck just to find Animal/Plant XY. I only played those animals once I had already placed the prey in the clearing to pay for them. Maybe this helps take some of the stress off, even if it makes hand management a bit trickier.
🇩🇪 Original in German
Thanks for the impression! Helps me decide not to buy it.