Mycelia from Splitstone games is a resource management, area control game in which you need to grow and decay your Mushrooms, in this game, that’s all about mycology. You’ll need to manage your spores on a central board that bring an element of area control to the game as your spores switch effectively allegiance, but control is probably a better term. On your turn, you’ll have two actions, and it honestly never felt like enough! We did debate whether having three actions would be too strong. Is it a sign of a good game if you’re always left wanting to do more?
Using the spores available, you’ll grow new mushrooms, which means you’ll have more options for spores! Although your mushrooms are limited, you’ll need to manage them carefully. A key decision in the game is when you decay.
It’s a battle for resources and control, as you’ll build the forest floor, which opens up new options. But it is a double-edged sword that means you could find yourself spread out too thinly to be able to grow new mushrooms.
The aim of the game is to be the first to decay a mushroom for each of the five in front of you, it sounds simple enough, but the temptation to double stack decay abilities is often more appealing than pushing towards victory. A mixture of instant and ongoing abilities, are just another mechanism that ties this resource management game together, while also potentially making those territory “battles” a little bit easier. They aren’t really battles, but it can feel like one as your opponent takes control of your spores
I was sent a prototype copy of the game to try before it’s upcoming Kickstarter Launch on 7th September, and honestly, I wish I had more time with it! Two plays didn’t feel like enough to get under the skin of this stunning game. For a prototype, it’s simply stunning, and I can’t wait to see the final finished version. As the artwork wasn’t finished and I think the rules need a few final tweaks as there’s some actions, e.g., spore we really struggled with on the first time of reading.
Are you interested in Mycology?