- Publisher(s) : Unexpected Games
- Designer(s) : Corey Konieczka
- Artist(s) : Jonathan Aucomte, Olivier Fagnère, Tomasz Jedruszek, Damien Mammoliti
- Players : 1–6
- Playing time : 30 Min
- Weight BGG : 1.21
It's what ?
Cozy Stickerville is a cooperative and narrative board game in which players work together to build their own village and develop its inhabitants over the years. Its unique feature is an evolving adventure where the decisions made by the players permanently alter the game board, the story, and the life of the community.
The game takes place over 10 years , each representing a game session of approximately 30 to 60 minutes . During this adventure, you will accumulate resources, construct new buildings, welcome residents, and unlock various elements using cards and stickers.
How do we play?
In the morning: discover a new event
Each round begins with the Morning phase . The active player draws the top card from the Event deck corresponding to the current year and reads it aloud. Some cards require you to choose between several options.
These choices are not always insignificant. Some can have long-term consequences for your village, allowing the group to discuss before the active player makes their final decision.
The cards can then be discarded or remain in play. A kept card is placed under the board and can usually be used as an action during a future turn.
In the afternoon: perform an action
After discovering the day’s event, the active player moves to the Afternoon stage and performs an action of their choice . This is where you will truly develop your village.
Three main categories of actions are proposed:
Read a new part of the story
Some actions will direct you to a specific entry in the storybook . You must then go to the indicated page and entry, and read the corresponding passage.
Draw a card from the catalog
Other actions require you to retrieve a specific card from the Catalogue deck .
These cards can represent different buildings, characters or situations and allow you to gradually enrich your village.
Use a card capacity
Some cards also have their own actions. For example, they may allow you to construct a building in exchange for resources.
The available resources are four in number: wood, food, gold and ore .
Build your village with stickers
One of the most original mechanics of Cozy Stickerville is the use of stickers .
When the game asks you to place a sticker, it permanently alters your game board.
The end of a year
A year ends when the Event deck is exhausted. Players then resolve any “End of Year” effects of cards still in play.
You can then continue directly to the next year or save your game . The resources and cards in play are then stored in the save box so you can resume your campaign later.
Decisions that shape the end of the adventure
After the 10-year campaign, the game offers a final resolution to your story. There are 5 different endings , determined by the choices made throughout your adventure.
It's good ?
The first thing that stands out about Cozy Stickerville is, as its name suggests, its narrative and comforting, stress-free nature. Here, you can’t lose, but simply develop your village based on the choices you make throughout the adventure.
The game’s originality stems in particular from its sticker mechanic. You’ll embellish the board, stick on buildings, watch villagers settle in, and unlock new mechanics, which provides a great sense of satisfaction. All these additions and changes to your board will also introduce new mechanics and narrative options. Puzzles, riddles, moral choices: will you seek to make money at all costs or instead help nature reclaim its place? Many choices will dictate the course of your campaign and the ending of your adventure, which unfolds across 10 chapters.
The cooperative aspect will often revolve around making two choices, which remains very simple and family-friendly. The storybook encourages exploration, talking to the inhabitants, and discovering new dialogues and possibilities as the campaign progresses.
Cozy Stickerville, however, won’t be for everyone. There’s not much strategy or depth to it, and as I mentioned earlier, your choices will often be limited to just two options. There’s also the sticker system, which permanently alters the game components. So it’s practically a one-shot experience, even though the reverse side of the board can be used for another game, but with far fewer choices and possibilities.
But Cozy Stickerville succeeds in its mission: to offer a family-friendly, evolving, stress-free, and truly “cozy” narrative game. Watching your village evolve, see it transform, and build a story over time is quite enjoyable. Its sticker system, events, and various possible endings create a progressive experience centered on discovery, building, and collective choices. A game I highly recommend for family play.
A big thank you to my online partner store, Espritjeu. To discover their catalog, I invite you to visit their website:
My review of Cozy Stickerville
Positives
- Village that visually evolves over the course of the countryside
- Puzzles, riddles, and moral choices
- New mechanics and possibilities that are gradually unlocked
- Simple and accessible cooperation
- A cozy, stress-free experience
- Several possible endings
- Very accessible for playing with the family
Negatives
- Little strategy and depth
- Choices often limited to two possibilities
- Almost a one-shot experience
- The stickers permanently alter the equipment
- May lack appeal for players looking for a real gaming challenge.
