100 players
Designers: Przemysław Fornal, Michał Łopato
Artist: Roman Kucharski
Publisher: Two Accorn Games
I was drawn to Villagers of the Oak Dell because it seemed like a fairly ambitious euro in just two sheets of paper. But did it live up to the expectations?
Gameplay
On each turn, four dice are rolled and assigned into one of each section or the wheel. All 1s are attacks, all others generate different resources. The resources are people to either go to the castle or defend the village, connections to reach resources in the village, wood to build buildings, and digs.
But for a lot of the usage of the resources generated, you can Chain into other actions. Also, at the end of each turn, the color you selected activates on the Castle, potentially generating more resources. And every so often, there is a produce round, where your buildings produce even more. Things can get crazy!
Solo Gameplay
Exactly the same, you’re just beating your own high score.
Components
To play, you need four dice, preferably in the four colors of the wheel, a village sheet and a dice wheel sheet. Additionally, there are 9 goal cards. They are also releasing season specific sheets that add in special mechanisms.
Conclusion
A little bit Hadrian’s Wall, a little bit Fleet the Dice Game, and a whole lotta crazy combo going around. Oak Dell is a very generous game, but efficiency is so rewarding here. The generosity is very tied to the planning of each resource, and how balanced you are.
The base game is already a bunch, but each new sheet brings in new challenges. Either the resources in the castle are limited, or there is flood, or even fishing.
What a little gem. Highly recommended if you like intense but quick playing Roll and writes
Score: 9 /10
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