Game objectives, mechanics and theme.
The main Undergrowth board.
Overview of the game
I suppose a good place to start is to introduce the general game objectives, game play mechanics and theme. I delve into each of these elements more in another post, but an overview is in order to help you conceptualise the game.
In Undergrowth: A tunnel Crawling Quest you are the leader of a treasure hunting gang, searching an ancient network of tunnels for quartz, gold and other shiny things. Unearthing treasure enables you to boost your capabilities and health as well as activate tools or stash gold for end game points. As you become richer you are able to pay local Dwellers to join your gang. As your gang grows, your tunelling and treasure hunting abilities expand. The more treasure you haul and the deeper you delve into the tunnels, the more your renown grows and the more Dwellers will want to join you (your hand size goes up). Wealth isn't everything in the ancient woodland though. There are older things than Dwellers in these woods, forces you must appease if you want to emerge victorious over rival gangs. Keeping in favour with the Green Man God is essential, as is avoiding the villainous weasels who roam the tunnels hoarding treaure for themselves and using dirty tricks to hold onto it.
Undergrowth is a game for 2 to 4 players which involves moving around a network of underground tunnels gathering treasure which can be stored for end game points or used to unlock new capabilities such as greater movement, greater load carrying, increased health and duelling skill. The treasure you find can also be used to add character, location or tool cards into your tableau. Dwellers will join your quest when you pay their price and play them into your own gang tableau, giving you a range of immediate and permanent new capabilities.
The mechanics of Tunneller deployment (worker placement), Tunneller movement (point to point) and treasure placement (economic management) enhance your tableau building, whilst your tableau building enhances your ability to move and find more treasure. Paying attention to both of these, whilst building up your stash of gold and your local renown will be important. The more renowned your gang, the more Dwellers will want to join you.
The game lasts 60-90 minutes (depending on player count) and runs over twelve rounds which chart the return of the Weasel King to the woodland after his long exile. When the king gets to the door of the Green Man Inn, it's game over! Players who have successfully left the tunnel network will have their treasure and tableau values totalled to find the winner (who must immediately take all other players to the Inn and buy them drinks)! Any Tunnellers still underground when the Weasel King returns, stay there!
Undergrowth uses mixed game mechanics of worker placement, tableau building, character movement and dice rolling, with some player interaction and a hint of take that!
Each round has four phases:
1. Move the Weasel King and resolve effects
2. Deployment phase (worker placement) - in which players send their available Tunnellers i) underground, ii) to the Green Man Inn (ready to recruit new gang members), iii) onto cards in their tableau to activate actions or iv) to the Stone Circle to gain favour with the Green Man or v) to stand guard over their gold supply.
3. Action phase, in which players choose 3 of the following actions: i) move tunnellers and collect treasure in knapsack ii) assign treasures on player board iii) recruit Dwellers (draw from the Inn deck), iv) play Dwellers into your gang tableau, v) Duel a Weasel or Opponent. In addition players can also a) swap a rare find for an additional action or b) buy renown using River Pearls.
4. Last orders - mopping up phase and preparation for the next round.
Tabletopia view of level one tunnels and burrows.
Moving through the tunnels, players collect treasures and put them in their knap sack. These are then assigned to spaces on the player board to boost capabilities and unlock actions, stored for spending or stashed for points. Abandonned burrows contain auxiliary actions and benefits and Green Man Blessings aid your quest.
Player board
Assembling a gang of talented accomplices is important in Undergrowth. Some cost more than others to hire, some bring immediate effects, some give you continuous benefits and others offer end game points. Building effective card combos is also a great help. Cards are in four categories: Dwellers, Locations, Tools and Energy.
Dwellers.
Energy, locations and tools.
Players progress up the Renown track by completing certain actions (or by paying River Pearls, which are only found in the flooded tunnel sections). As your Renown grows, so your hand size grows, making it easier to recruit Dwellers into your gang.
Other benefits of climbing the Renown track include victory points, reactivating immediate effects, activating your special Rune power, lowering the cost of gaining gold at the Alchemist and collecting one-off benefits such as an additional die or a tools for the first player to reach certain spaces on the track.
Certain achievements on your player board also give you Renown, as do some Dwellers when you play them into your gang tableau.
Renown Track
A nasty gang of Weasels also patrol the undergound tunnels and you really don't want to run into them too often. If you do encounter one, better make sure your Duelling Skill and Health aren't too low, you're going to need them!
The winner in a duel is calculated by adding a players Health, Duelling Skill and a dice roll and comparing to strength and dice roll from the Weasel. The player to the left of the duelling player rolls for the Weasel. Some, like this fella, have a special action when you encounter them. Winning a duel gives you Renown, so sometimes you might go looking for a Weasel to fight, or move one deliberately into your path. Moving Weasels into the path of opponents whose Health or Duelling Skill is low is another crafty but effective move.
The winner of Undergrowth is the player with the highest value gang tableau, most stashed gold and most points from other sources, such as Rare Finds and cleared tunnels.
Thanks for reading. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below and I'll do my best respond.
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