Eila and Something Shiny is a captivating solo/cooperative campaign game that delves into the journey of a mythical creature called Eila. Initially funded through a successful Kickstarter campaign, this once elusive game is finally making its way to retail this month, thanks to North Star Games.
This game offers a fascinating experience on various fronts. Its mechanics are both simple and enjoyable. Each chapter of the story has multiple decks of cards but starts with a small starter deck. You draw cards one by one and perform actions such as acquiring resources, adding story cards to the future deck, engaging in battles, and more.
Throughout the campaign, your character grows stronger as you acquire items and allies. Victory in each chapter happens by either finding an ending or fulfilling the requirements. But you are defeated if you take too much damage or fail to win within a predefined number of turns.

Review
Eila and Something Shiny revolves around storytelling and decision-making. Every decision you make along the way carries substantial consequences, influencing subsequent rounds, chapter outcomes, and even the overarching story’s conclusion. The card mechanics are simple and brilliant, with the outcome depending on your choice out of the options available on each card. An active card may either be removed from the deck or go to the future deck to reappear later. Sometimes, an upgraded version of a card is introduced, which can yield both positive and negative results. When enemies appear, you usually have the option to either defeat them and remove them from the deck or take damage and place them in the future deck to face them again later. The storyline also progresses similarly, with specific card additions dictated by your choices.
The game has five main chapters and one tutorial chapter. The tutorial is quick and teaches the basics well. As you play, each chapter adds more rules. All chapters have their own mini-games, making things interesting. This system is expandable, and more chapters as an expansion in the future would be great.
The artwork in Eila and Something Shiny is endearing and charming, hiding the game’s potential for challenge. It’s easy to be caught off guard by the game’s difficulty at times and the storyline can take unexpected and occasionally dark turns.

Components and Graphic Design
The quality of the game’s components and its graphic design deserve praise. The cards are big with clear text, and the game board, as an optional piece for a card game, keeps things organized on the table. Plus, the cards have numbers and colors that show which deck they belong to, making it easy to sort them. However, the provided cardholder hides this information to avoid spoiling the upcoming cards during play. The insert has separate sections for each chapter and comes with a removable tray for saving the game mid-campaign.
This might be a nitpick, but there’s room for one particular design improvement when it comes to item cards. Items often provide special abilities, and you can stack similar ones to save table space. However, sometimes, story cards list certain items as requirements for some actions. If you have lots of items, you might not remember what you have. When cards are stacked you’ll have to look through them all because the icons would be covered. Placing the item icon near the power description at the card’s bottom, rather than in the top left corner, would have easily solved this issue.

The Story
The game’s story is a topic that can stir debate. Despite the game’s artwork potentially misrepresenting it as a children’s game, the story is deep and sometimes gets sad and heavy. The depth of the story shows itself in one of the three possible endings. People see this ending in different ways, and some think the game isn’t suitable for children based on their interpretation. I strongly disagree with that, but it’s important to know that if you’re very careful about what children see or if you want to shield them from darker stories, this game might not be the best choice. It’s also worth noting that North Star Games recommends it for ages 12 and up. If you want some insight into whether the story is okay for your family, there are discussions on BoardGameGeek, but they will spoil parts or most of the story.

Replayability
Story-driven games often face limitations in terms of replayability, and Eila and Something Shiny is no exception. However, each chapter has multiple endings, and the campaign itself can end in three different ways, one of which is considered the “true” ending. Moreover, many cards within chapters remain unseen during playthroughs, ensuring variety for at least a few campaign attempts. On top of that, the expert mode offers increased difficulty, making the game more challenging.

Final Thoughts
Eila and Something Shiny proves to be an outstanding solo game, though it can also be enjoyed when played with a group. Its gameplay is superb, complemented by adorable artwork. However, potential players should consider researching the game if they intend to play with children and wish to avoid exposure to a more profound narrative.
Disclosure: We received a review copy of this game. Also, there may be an affiliate link in the links included at the end of this article.
Discover more from BoardGameShots
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.