Evenfall

I liked its odd marriage of ideas: witches, spells, worker placement, set collection, and a small dose of engine building to tie it all together. It plays nicely on the table and, with three players—which is also the recommended setup—I found it gave us enough to think about without losing its pace. With four, I worry the downtime may become a little too much.

Its core is worker placement and set collection, with the spells and the choices you build giving it that light engine-building feel. It is not a game where you simply go through the motions: there are decisions to make, and you need to keep track of how your available options develop.

Interaction seems to come mainly through the council members and through whether the table can respond to someone who begins with a strong advantage. That is where I got stuck: the council members are powerful, but they do not feel equivalent, and a good initial draw can push one player quite far ahead. You can argue that the table will regulate itself, but the game did not strike me as one where counterplay—or the “karate”—is obvious enough for it to rely on that comfortably.

In the end, I would not call it a failure. It is an enjoyable game with ideas and meaningful thought behind it, but it did not blow me away, and I expected it to be more balanced. If I am looking for this theme, I think there are better options out there, such as Septima.