Wouter & Ymke 
Mycelia takes players on a tactical journey, simulating the vibrant world of fungi. It’s not just about growth; it’s about creation, expansion, eventual decay, and the possibility of rebirth. All while competing for territory and striving to construct an expansive mushroom kingdom.
👥 1-4 players, ages 10+
⌛ Playing time: 40-90 minutes
📝 Designer: J.J. Neville
🎨 Artwork: J.J. Neville
🏢 Publisher: Split Stone Games (prototype copy provided)
https://splitstonegames.com/
In Mycelia, players have a singular mission: to garner the most points. This is achieved by growing or “fruiting” mushrooms, spreading spores to expand their fungal domain, harnessing the benefits of decayed mushrooms, and optimizing every action taken. The victor is determined once the game concludes and points are totaled.
🍄 Each player, during their turn, can take two distinct actions out of a possible six: move, spore, explore, fruit, discover, and decay. It’s a sequential flow, where once one player finishes their turn, the next player takes theirs. To assist players, there’s a player aid available, detailing each action’s implications.
🚶♀️ Your primary piece in the game is the Mother mushroom. She’s central to your strategy, helping access diverse tile colors and block opponents. She can traverse up to two triangle tiles, ensuring she never shares a tile with another player’s Mother mushroom. Insects, crucial for various actions, can only be collected by the Mother mushroom.
🔍 Exploration introduces new tiles to the board. Each tile can shift the game dynamics, given that five types represent a different environment. The unpredictability ensures that every game feels fresh and distinct. Meanwhile, the act of ‘sporing’ lets players spread their influence across the board, akin to seeding a garden.
🌱 The fruiting process is where mushrooms come to life. Players use spores on specific tiles, letting them grow mushrooms based on their cards. However, as nature mandates, after a mushroom has spread its spores sufficiently, it can decay, offering players special bonuses in return.
🃏 With discovery, players get an opportunity to acquire new mushroom cards, increasing their options. It’s a chance to strategize better or even rethink your overall game plan to maximize points.
🕰️ Mycelia’s end is signaled once a player has decayed mushrooms in all five slots on their player mat. The game promptly concludes, with players adding up their scores from mushrooms, both fruited and decayed, and any lingering insect tokens. The one with the highest tally becomes the ruler of the fungal world.
🐞 The Role of Insect Tokens: Insects in Mycelia aren’t just for ambiance. They’re instrumental tokens introduced when certain tiles are played. Only the Mother mushroom can gather them, but once acquired, they can be spent to influence the game in various ways, from refreshing the market to moving an opponent’s piece. They can even contribute to a player’s final score at the game’s close.
Mycelia, crafted by J.J. Neville who serves as both designer and artist, is a game that plunges players deep into fungi’s lifecycle. Released by the UK-based board game publisher Split Stone Games, its gameplay stretches between 40 to 90 minutes. It caters to an audience ranging from solo gamers to groups of up to 4, suitable for anyone aged ten and above.
📖 The game’s intuitively structured rulebook ensures that picking up the mechanics is a breeze. Players are offered two actions from a pool of six each turn. While some of the action mechanics might seem a tad complex initially, a few rounds of play combined with the game’s supportive player aids make the learning curve accessible. The actions and overall mechanics are deeply intertwined with the fungi theme, offering a genuine dive into the world of mycology.
🔄 With its unique randomized tile placements, no two sessions of Mycelia will be identical. The board’s potential to expand in any direction assures players of a fresh strategic landscape in every game and demands both adaptability and forward-thinking.
🍂 Central to the game’s challenge is fruiting mushrooms. It’s not just about having the requisite spores; they must be on the corresponding colored tiles and crucially interconnected within the same network. Choosing the right mushroom from the offer is essential while discovering. Each mushroom has distinct abilities, ranging from potent instant actions triggered upon decay to valuable upgrades that can help shape a player’s entire game strategy.
🌬️ Introducing an unpredictable element to the strategy is the wind die, determining the dispersal direction of mushroom spores. While it infuses an element of surprise, strategic purists might find it a tad disruptive, as spores may become integrated into an opponent’s network.
🐜 Mycelia comes with a solid amount of player interaction. Insect tokens can be employed to move an opponent’s Mother mushroom, making them rethink their upcoming moves. When opponents position their mushrooms effectively, they can overtake spores on the board, potentially fragmenting carefully established networks.
🍄 The game’s climax is a race-to-the-finish affair. The endgame scenario is triggered when a player fills all decay slots. Players can anticipate this moment as it’s visible and approaching, yet this sudden conclusion can still catch some off-guard, particularly for those who feel their strategies are just starting to pay off.
🎨 From an aesthetic perspective, even as a prototype, Mycelia already shines with its visuals and thematic cohesion. Whether it’s the custom mushroom tokens or the detailed mushroom illustrations on cards, it’s evident that a lot of care and craftsmanship has gone into the game’s visual design.
💭 Mycelia presents a harmonious blend of thematic immersion and tactical gameplay. While there’s room for a touch of mischief against your opponents, it remains delightfully engaging. And if, on top of that, the mycological theme appeals to you, Mycelia could very well become a cherished addition to your collection.
📆 Mark your calendars: Mycelia will be initiating its Kickstarter campaign on September 7th.
📝 Disclaimer: Our gameplay insights are based on a prototype of Mycelia. Aspects discussed and visible in the photos might change in the final iteration—a big thank you to Split Stone Games for this opportunity.
