The sun is shining a little bit warmer, the days are getting longer, and the last of the snow is melting away. Spring has officially come to Maple Valley, and the little village is abuzz with activity. All of the different animal families are opening the doors of their dens and stepping outside for the first time in months. The Foxes are chasing each other through the meadow, the Porcupines gather their baskets, the Rabbits pop up from their underground den to check out the surroundings, the Raccoons shake out their carpets and hang their first wash of the year, and the Squirrels make their way down the big elm tree where they made their home towards the centre of the village.
Little Sam Squirrel excitedly led his family as he scampered and hopped along the path. The warm weather would mean Sam would have lots of time to play with his friends from the village. It also meant that Travelers would come from far and wide to visit the local Inn with stories of distant lands. As anxious as he was to get to play, he remembered from last year, that there was a lot of work to do to get ready for next Winter.
Sam's mom saw that look in his eye and said, “You can go play with your friends as soon as you’ve done your chores.”
“Ah ma!” Sam complained, but then quickly added “Ok, what do we need to do this month?”
In Creature Comforts, your goal is to collect resources and craft them into cozy Comforts for your den to get you through the next Winter. Over eight months, you’ll send out your family members to different locations in Maple Valley to accomplish tasks for you. For each location you visit you will have to assign one or more dice to complete the action. Every month, a new Traveler, like the Black Bear, Skunk, or Leopard Frog, arrives at the Inn with a new rule that is in play as long as they’re in town, and special abilities if you send a family member to visit them.
Sam looked out over the village and the hills and woods at the edge of town. He knew that in the Forest and the Meadow, he could collect all sorts of useful (and tasty) things like Fruit, Mushrooms, Grain, and Wood. He could also try his luck at the river to get Stone or even precious Coins.
“I want to be sure to go to the Market,” said Sam’s dad. “I still have some goods stored up to trade.”
“That’s fine,” said his mom. “I want to stop by the Workshop and see what new Improvements we can add to our home.”
“I wouldn’t mind stopping by the Inn,” said older sister Camille. “I hear Woodpecker just flew in with some great deals on mushrooms.”
The Squirrels had a good idea of what they wanted to accomplish, so each with their own assigned task, they set out in different directions.
At the start of each month, everyone rolls their own two Family dice. With the knowledge of your own dice roll, you then send out your four family members to different locations in Maple Valley. Everyone chooses their locations simultaneously, and there’s no need to race because spots at the different locations are not limited. All the residents of the village are friends and members of multiple different families can occupy the same spot.
Once all of the family members have been placed, the Early Bird player rolls the four Village dice. These dice form a communal set which each player will add to their Family dice to try and accomplish their tasks for the month. In turn order, everyone resolves their family members and brings them home. If a family member can’t complete their task (or chooses not to), they earn a Lesson Learned token that they can use in the future. At the end of your turn, you can spend resources to craft Comfort cards from your hand.
The end of the month came quickly and the Squirrels had done a great job with all the tasks they set out to do. Mom had built a Toolshed from the Workshop that would help the family out in the months to come. Camille had a great visit with Woodpecker and swapped some yarn (which she wasn’t using anyway) for some delicious looking mushrooms. Even Sam did a great job, collecting two bundles of wood. Dad wasn’t quite so lucky. Despite his talented negotiating skills, he didn’t make a swap at the Market, but he did learn a lot from the experience (earning a Lesson Learned token). "Next month would be better for sure", he thought to himself.
“What are we going to make with all of this stuff?” Asked Camille.
Stay tuned to for the next chapter to find out all about Comforts and Improvements!
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