Mycelia is a new, accessible deckbuilder from Ravensburger designed for 1 to 4 players. In this game, players work on improving their decks, play cards to move or remove dewdrop tokens from their boards, and race to clear their boards to claim victory.

During setup, a single setup card determines how all players place dewdrop tokens on their boards. Player boards are double-sided, with one side being the same across all boards and the other side introducing unique variations to add a twist to the game.

The rules are straightforward: players take turns playing all three cards in their hand, which aid in moving or removing dewdrop tokens, and may choose to purchase additional cards to add to their decks. After that, they draw three cards to end their turn. The game continues until a player successfully clears their board of dewdrop tokens. All players take an equal number of turns in this game, making it possible for multiple players to clear their boards before the end. In such cases, the winner is determined by leaf tokens, the game’s currency.

While the rules are straightforward, the iconography might be somewhat confusing during the first couple of plays. If you’re the rules reader in your group, be prepared to clarify the meaning of certain icons multiple times until they click for everyone. However, once the icons are understood, the game flows seamlessly with quick turns as players are limited to three cards in hand each round and must play all of them. This results in minimal downtime or analysis paralysis, keeping the game fast and engaging.

There is a basic version of the game suitable for teaching, but the advanced version is much better. It doubles the size of the cards deck, introduces new mechanics, and allows players to improve their decks by removing weak cards, which is a must in any decent deck-building game. So, unless there are new players at the table, it’s best to go for the advanced game.

In every play, we found ourselves either very close to clearing the board or successfully achieving it, and it often came down to the number of leaf tokens to determine the winner. This makes the last few turns of the game intense and exciting with all players trying to be the first to remove the last few dewdrop tokens from their board.

Leaf tokens serve as the currency in the game. Players earn them by playing cards and can spend them to buy new cards. Also, each player has access to extra actions which can be used once per round and come at a cost paid with leaf tokens. At the beginning of the game, players receive two action tokens—one for refreshing the card display and the other for moving dewdrop tokens. Some cards in the advanced game allow players to acquire extra action tokens, which can be crucial for winning. Refreshing the card display is the cheapest extra action and allows players to discard and refill the cards when none on display match their strategy. These extra actions are an excellent addition to the game and provide players with more options when the cards in their hands are not enough.

The component quality is excellent, especially for a gateway game. The game looks beautiful on the table, and the card illustrations are charming. Also, there’s a 3D shrine included, which serves as both a tracker for removed dewdrop tokens and a dice tower for a die that triggers adding more dewdrops to player boards. As players remove dewdrop tokens, they place them on the shrine. When the token count reaches a limit, the top component of the shrine is turned, clearing all dewdrop tokens and rolling the die. Players then add dewdrop tokens to their boards based on the face of the die. While this component isn’t essential and a simple board could serve the same purpose, it enhances the overall experience and adds visual appeal.

Overall, Mycelia is a fantastic family game, featuring straightforward rules and enjoyable mechanics. If you’re in search of a fun and laidback option for quick game nights, it’s definitely worth considering.

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.