After winter hibernation ends in Maple Valley, spring begins, and the critters that live there are excited to get ready for their annual Spring Festival. The goal of this game is to bring the most joy to the festival and there are several ways to work towards preparing for this celebration with each one earning points at the end of the game. The player with the most points will be the winner at the start of the festivities and Maple Valley will celebrate the coming of a new year of comfort, community and prosperity! Background, Review & Overview of the game: In 2021 the first Creature Comforts game, which also takes place in Maple Valley, was published. In 2023, the company introduced the Maple Valley game and after several plays, I have had an equally rewarding experience and I am thoroughly enjoying my time with it. Several different card types drive the game. Friend cards provide movement on the main board, resources, special actions and end game points. Each player also purchases Favour and Patch cards to earn special actions and game-end points. In addition, Festivity Cards provide common goals for all players to work towards additional game-end points. These purchases are made using resources (called curiosities), which are collected as players move on the main board. Game Rounds: There are five rounds to this game with each player taking a turn to use a Friend card to either move their critter marker through a trail or collect resources. At the end of each round, dawdle cards are added to the hands of players with the least number of friend cards to keep the number of turns equal across all players. Dawdle cards do not provide trail movement but furnish additional resources. Each round ends when everyone has played through their cards, after which they prepare for the next round. Game Turns: Turns consist of four steps. 1.) Play a friend or dawdle card. 2.) Move along trails using the travel area type allowed on the friend card and use additional map tokens for extra movement. 3.) Activate the location you end up on (whatever that location provides). 4.) Craft Favour cards when you have the resources needed to do so. Game End: After five rounds are complete, tally all end-game points and the person with the most points wins! Final Notes: The instruction manual is clear, well organized and thorough with information provided in a very logical order. I found that all details and illustrations I needed were easy to find. There are also instructions for solo play. For 1-4 players with a 60-minute game time. ~Marsha
