Stardew Valley: The Board Game

February 24, 2021 | ≈ 988 words | Stardew Valley The Board Game

FOMO in your endo.
game

Thoughts on the Stardew Valley board game

ok so yes I pre-ordered the game sight unseen let’s get that out of the way. i have some thoughts on this game because 99% percent of the time I do not buy games sight unseen. I think a lot of people are fine purchasing the game because of the theme. that’s pretty much the only reason I’m buying the game (more on that later); but also this is like the strangest merchandising of a board game I’ve seen in a while and honestly raised a bunch of red flags, but also there’s a few things that got my attention enough to actually want to own it so lets get into it

The Flags:

  1. “First” time designer
    This is usually just the thing that keeps me from buying a game outright. I can only think of 2 games I own that were first time designs and I only bought them after I actually played them/read the rules. Interestingly there is a co-designer and they have games attributed to them that are relatively unknown/unowned. This is usually a pretty big flag, but for specific reasons this doesn’t really matter. Also, having designed a video game doesn’t mean they can also design a board game, but also ends up not being the case here.

  2. First time publisher
    Obviously they are self publishing. Since there’s no record of games they’ve made and sold and shipped my sentiment is similar to being a first time designer; however, the publisher in this case is knowledgable of board game production. They’re producing the game through Delano Games and logistics through Quartermaster Logistics. Quartermaster is pretty much the gold standard in the USA for board game related shipping (which is why it was US only probably) but I have no idea who Delano Games is because they’re a US based company and most people outsource production to China with Panda Games because it’s so much cheaper (and they can get a quote from number of kickstarter backers and this is a very long run on sentence) but apparently Delano Games has the approval of Andrew Looney, which doesn’t mean anything but I think that’s neat.

  3. Hype and FOMO
    This is not really a flag as much as it is something that just makes me skeptical since people usually aren’t as mentally acoustic about board games as I am. With so many people talking about it and legitimately buying it, it makes me wonder whether it’s actually a good game or more likely it’s only getting buzz from the IP and people have no idea what the game plays like.

FOMO Addendum:
picture of stardew valley sold out

If this image strikes fear into your heart, reconsider your reasons for buying the game and instead consider what is written just below this paragraph…

Luckily, none of these reasons really matter because:

  1. They Actually Have A Real Rulebook
    This is the only reason. I don’t know if I can state how important it is for any game in preproduction or post production in kickstarter in preorder or announced on twitter. If you don’t post a rulebook, there is a 0% chance I will buy the game. That’s just me personally and it also just sounds kind of rude, but no amount of describing the game or showing pictures and videos of a game will replace how vital a rulebook is for just knowing the playability and enjoyability of the game. But, boy, does this game have a rulebook. If a publisher cares enough to provide a digital copy of the rulebook because “it’s really important to [them] that as a buyer [we] understand Stardew Valley: The Board Game…” they have a good understanding of the market and the audience.

  2. Also, it’s actually a good rulebook.

  3. We just like the “Theme” (more specifically, the evocation of Farming)
    I have never played Stardew Valley. I don’t know what a Stardew is. I don’t know what Joja is and why that makes you lose the game. However, board games have forced me to internalize that farming is fun and gathering resources is fun, and I can see that this game is clearly about farming. More importantly, this game is not so clearly about time management by using limitations of mechanics and forced progression. I am a Big Fan of cards sliding down each round and I am a Big Fan of worker movement at the cost of action efficiency/tempo for this reason yes those are things in the game it looks neat.

In summary, I have not ever played stardew valley because I do not play video games. the rulebook is good, and the game seems interesting enough. my personal take is that this game is super prone to quarterbacking since it’s both a co-op game and fairly easy to know what to do. it seems like a good sandbox board game but trying to win or whatever could ruin the experience potentially if someone is more focused on the end result than the running gameplay experience. if I were playing the game I would make any attempt to play turns simultaneously if possible since the game is co-op, and give prio to whoever is earlier in turn order for things where turn order matters (it matters not a lot. again, it’s co-op and you can trade things), otherwise be prepared for this game to take 3-4.5 hours for a 3-4 player game and watching people take their turns for the majority of your time. if you like watching people roll dice and reveal cards that could be fun.

also marrying someone is the coolest thing i’ve seen in a board game in a long time and i’m pretty much only buying the game for that reason