It is Autumn in the Savernake Forest where all types of woodland creatures are preparing for the winter by storing their favorite foods in their lairs. Some animals such as the beaver prefer strawberries or acorns while the skunk likes both as well as eggs and worms. As the animals start down the forest paths from their burrows, they are happy when they find their preferred food, but they might also learn that their burrow will hold more food than they thought and perhaps, they may even learn to like new foods that they find.
Although this game is not difficult to learn and has very few rules, there is quite a bit of planning and strategy to be employed in order to win. Players each start with one animal card with the goal of ending the game by placing sixteen total cards in their forest and earning the most points. Taking turns gaining one card at a time, they will either draw another animal card that starts a second forest path or build a path for an existing animal to walk down and collect food. Each animal card specifies a few things: 1) which foods they like (these are worth points when found on their path), how many foods they may store in their lair and how many points the animal card itself is worth. Forest cards contain paths of various shapes such as one straight path or two separate curved paths.
During the game, players may draw cards under one of the following animal advisors which gives them a benefit: 1.) The rooster decides that when morning comes, that person will be the first to take their turn in the next round. 2.) The armadillo hands out a lair token that is placed on any animal card on that player’s tableau to provide one extra storage capacity in that animal’s domain. 3.) A goat hands out water drop tokens which provide one extra point per food type collected on any one animal card. 4.) The rabbit brings a new animal card to your forest. There can only be one animal per continuous forest path so players will need to plan additional lairs and paths.
Once all players complete their final turn by taking their sixteenth card, the 4x4 grids are complete and scoring begins. Players receive points based on the capacity of each animal card placed with the food found on their paths. Any food that the animal card can gain points for is multiplied by the number of points that food earns times how many foods earning points are on that path and up to the allowed storage amount for that animal. Points are also earned for the points on each animal card. The player with the most points wins.
There is also a two-player advanced mode included with this game for 2-4 players with a 20-minute game time. With its small box footprint, nice price point, quick playtime and setup and nice level of challenge, Savernake Forest is a perfect “grab and go” game for the whole family. Although the publisher recommends this game for ages 10+, the boardgame hobby community rates it at an 8+ age range.