Mushrooms are continuing to have their moment. Now, mushrooms are the star of the show in one of Ravensburger’s latest tabletop games.
Designed for players ages 9 and up, Mycelia is a deck-building game that transports players to a forest world inhabited by mushroom heroes who are on a mission to deliver dew drops to the Shrine of Life.
The first time you play Mycelia, it does take some assembly to punch out all of the leaf tokens, action cards, and other cardboard pieces. Players also have to assemble the Shrine of Life, the centerpiece of the game. Once the game is set up, players must carefully pay attention to the instructions, as the game setup varies based on how many players are joining in on the fun.
At the beginning of the game, each player gets their own game board which is covered with dew drops. As players take their turns, they must use their deck to clear their board of dew drops by playing cards. When a player clears a dew drop from their board, the dew drop moves to the Shrine of Life. When the Shrine of Life is full of dew drops, players spin the shrine and spill all the dew drops to the table along with a die. The die reveals where players will need to replace fallen dew drops on their boards while any remaining dew drops get removed from the game. The first player to completely run out of dew drops wins!
Source: Ravensburger
Source: Ravensburger
Source: Ravensburger
Source: Ravensburger
Source: Ravensburger
Source: Ravensburger
Some of the cards players can use to clear dew drops from their board feature heroes that are inspired by real-life mushrooms! Each mushroom hero has different abilities that players can use to their advantage. On top of drawing mushroom heroes from their deck, players can also purchase mushroom heroes using leaves. The more powerful the hero, the more expensive they are.
Mycelia is a great game to introduce preteens to the world of deck-building games. Once you get started, the instructions are easy to follow and make gameplay a breeze. The art on the cards and the game boards is also visually stunning. Mushrooms are one of those things that fit the Gen Z aesthetic to a T, making this game the perfect gift for a preteen, teen, or young adult who is into cozy cottagecore or frogs, opossums, and other wild creatures.
One thing I appreciated about Mycelia is how there was a way to play the game with only one player. In single-player mode, players face off against Gwidyon the Ghost Mushroom, a mushroom that has wandered through Mycelia’s forest for ages. Solo play is similar to the two-player version of the game, but with the player also doing Gwidyon’s moves using the solo cards.
I also liked that the packaging came with baggies to keep all of the loose game pieces in. It’s much better to open an organized box than a mess of leaves, dew drops, and other game pieces.
Whether kids are already big on tabletop gaming or are just getting started, Mycelia is the perfect game to bring nature lovers together on family game night.
