The Druids of Edora

The Druids of Edora was Mr. Stefanos’s latest creation, sitting on my shelf for quite a while because other shrink-wrapped boxes kept cutting in line. When it finally reached the table, I expected something like a silly variation on the familiar grumpy one. Looking at the board, though, I was utterly unprepared for the wonderfully fried point-salad that followed: a proper optimization puzzle.

At its core, the game has me weighing my moves very carefully. They are limited, demand thought, and feed into scoring satisfying enough that I cannot simply settle into one winning recipe. There are different victory paths to pursue, which makes each choice feel like a small optimization riddle rather than an automatic step toward victory.

The flow is built around all those counters, stones, tokens, and other bits I need to keep track of while playing. In a first game, their sheer volume is a little overwhelming, but the system is far smoother than it initially appears and moves along nicely. The interaction, as I experienced it, mostly comes from everyone trying to get the most from the available choices and scoring routes, rather than from any aggressive intent.

I would definitely have liked a player aid for the potions—after that much token mania, a little more help on paper would not have hurt. Even so, I had a great time. It is a very good game, and if you enjoy optimization games with plenty to chew on and meaningful choices, do not overlook it.