Sylvion

Can easily win this on the hardest difficulty 100 times out of a hundred. Very very easy. Needs to be house-ruled to crank up the challenge.

Love refining my strategy to fight those fires.

Soloable . 2 Player

I think this is my favorite Oniverse game. In Sylvion, you are trying to defend a forest against invaders. You will be planting trees (these increase your overall vitality, which is crucial to winning), laying fountains (which defend against invading fires), and playing special animal cards from your hand which can disarm certain ill effects.

Meanwhile, every turn the flames grow and move closer to your forest. Will your fountains defend you, or will they be overrun? Will you have enough trees planted to restore your vitality at the end of the game?

Even the basic game is very enjoyable and feels complete on its own (in contrast to Castellion, where the basic game felt like a demo). There is advanced play, which I'll probably get into (that's the "true" version of the game, like most of Shadi Torbey's games), and expansion cards, which I probably won't get into (I don't like for my solo games to be too complex).

Shadi Torbey has a laudable goal and clear aim in his Oniverse games, and each one has explored a different mechanic in his trademark style. Of the three I've tried, though, Sylvion is far and away my favorite. That said, I've learned that solo games really aren't for me.

Dec '18: Rated 7 Dec '24: Rated 6

Huge footprint, mediocre gameplay. The only stinker in the Oniverse so far.

An excellent tower defence game that you can get through in a short period of time. I almost want to recommend the app more than the physical product because of the amount of decks to prep, shuffle, organize, etc. But a great entry into the series overall.

The deck drafting is pretty cool, but can also be kind of annoying if you play multiple games. I don't find the game very challenging. I do lose games, but that's because I couldn't get the cards I needed early enough to "get on top of things"; or the first few rounds went very badly. If you like tower defense games, you will probably like this game.

A much larger game than its price tag or box size implies. I really like this one. The mobilize phase forces players to try new strategies and keeps the game fresh.

Great solo game, meh co-op experience.

Sylvion is a beautifully-balanced solo game with a hefty playtime (thanks to the mobilization phase in the Advanced version) and just enough complexity to make your choices difficult (yet satisfying). Draft your deck, play your cards, resist the relentless (and I do mean relentless) horde!

The expansions in the box add a lot of variation to either your drafting, your enemies, or both! You can mix them in as you please and find yourself with the perfect 40-minute lunchbreak.

The footprint is big if you play it with the "forest frame" around the cards (6x6), but otherwise you can ignore the frame and set up a simple 5x4 card matrix. Make sure you understand the rule nuances before you decide whether you like it: blaze "C" cards only affect regular elementals (not those that have already been blazed once), a destroyed fountain gets you a free card, and "demobilization" is a good way to thin out your deck toward the end of the game.

It looks great, it plays well, it has a lot of variety. One of the best Oniverse games.