Stardew Valley The Board Game

We are entering the top 20 now, and for me, the 20th greatest board game ever made began life as a computer game. That game is Stardew Valley: The Board Game.

In Stardew Valley: The Board Game players work cooperatively to work a small farm, make friends in the community, gather resources like ores and gems from the mine or chop wood or pick wild flowers, fish in rivers, lakes, and oceans, find rare artifacts for the museum ... well, just everything!

Everything that the Stardew Valley computer game does, the board game does. It's amazing!

photo by SkyShad0w on Board Game Geek

I love the Stardwew Valley computer game, but familiarity with the game is not required. My wife Julie has never played the computer game and she loves the board game as well.

As in all cooperative games, there is a challenge to be overcome, something that Julie and I have yet to successfully manage. Your grandfather has left you with a series of challenges that you must complete and there is also the community center that needs restoring - just like in the computer game.

But unlike the computer game that goes on indefinitely, the board game only lasts one year. This is represented by various seasonally themed cards that are flipped over at the start of every round. If you get to the end of winter it's game over. If you have completed all your tasks, you win. 

Winning is a difficult challenge, and that means that the board game doesn't have the same leisurely pace and feel as the computer game. But, that's okay. The board game has all the trapping of the computer game so it feels familiar and different all at the same time.

Challenging game play in a warm and welcoming package makes Stardew Valley: The Board Game the 20th greatest board game of all time!

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