Disclosure: Meeple Mountain received a free copy of this product in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. This review is not intended to be an endorsement.
Back in 2020, Meeple Mountain’s founder and Editor-in-Chief, Andy Matthews, reviewed a preview copy of the cardboard version of Cascadia. Andy really liked this puzzly, hexagonal tile-laying game of animals and environments from the great northwest. It turns out he wasn’t alone in his opinion of the game. It soon began winning awards from around the world, including the prestigious Spiel de Jahres, in 2022.
Now, Cascadia finally arrives in the digital world. I was able to play a preview of the Steam version and can share screen grabs and my thoughts of what I found with you.
Note: For an in-depth review of the rules and scoring conditions, please read Andy’s review. The focus of this review won’t be on how to play Cascadia, but on the digital appearance and online gameplay options.
Launching the Game and Scoring Options
Opening the Steam version of Cascadia lands you in the upper northwest of North America, where mountains, forests, grasslands and water exist in harmony. A large Roosevelt Elk stands next to a signpost with your opening options.
Unless you know someone else who has access to the game, you’ll likely start with the Local Play option.
Here you can play against the Cascadia AI, play the solo version of the game, pass-and-play with a person sitting next to you, or take on one of many challenges the digital version has to offer.
When playing against the AI, you can choose how many AI opponents to play against, and how difficult (Easy, Normal, Hard) each one is. You get to choose which of the different scoring variants you’ll play with: Standard scoring (using unique scoring condition cards per animal), Family scoring (counting 1, 2, and 3+ groups of like animals), and Intermediate scoring (counting 2, 3, 4+ like animals).
If you choose the Standard scoring, you can choose to go with the standard animal scoring cards, or create a custom scoring set from the four scoring options each animal comes with.
Playing the Game
To add a tile to your board, simply click on the tile of your choice in the lower left corner and drag it next to one of your existing tiles. Curved arrows will allow you to turn the hex so you can match the edge of the new tile with one you already have.
You’ll then click on the round animal token that was underneath your chosen tile. Drag and drop it on a hex with the matching animal icon. The animal will call out and briefly move on your screen.
If you place an animal on a hex that only shows that animal, you gain a pine cone. These are worth one point each at the end of the game or can be spent to take any round animal token from the four available.
Cascadia is, largely, a multi-player solitaire game. However, it’s still good to see what your opponents’ boards look like. Knowing which animals and/or environments they’re collecting can help you better strategize your choices.
When playing against the AI, their turns are shown in the upper left corner, as they take them.
The tabletop version of Cascadia comes with a cloth bag that holds all the round animal tokens. Not all of them will be drawn during the game, so animal counting will only get you so far. In this version, you can mouse over the bag icon in the far left corner to see how many of each token are left. This is helpful if you’re considering the odds of an animal coming out during the upcoming turns. (I’m looking at you, Grizzly Bears. Yeah, you.)
Speaking of playing the odds, to the left of the four hexes and animal tokens available, is a brown hex standing upright on a stack of hexes. This is a very helpful reminder of how many turns you have left until the end of the game.
As with all the digital versions of tabletop games that I’ve played, scoring is a breeze. Gone is the manual adding of each item on the included scoring sheets. In its place is a counter that tracks each discrete scoring component along a line that draws out the tension as the points get tabulated.
Solo Play
Having never tried the solo version with my cardboard edition, I decided to give it a try here. The gameplay doesn’t change and you have the same scoring choices to choose from as when playing against the AI (or another person, for that matter).
After each solo turn, the right-most hex and animal token is removed from play. (If you choose the right-most tile/animal, the set to the left of that is removed.) This requires you to plan accordingly. Don’t leave that animal token you need sitting there for too long—or that environment hex that will tie two sections together.
The solo scoring tallies the same as competitive scoring. Your final score is graded, allowing you to play again to try to beat your previous high score.
As with many digital versions of tabletop games, there are various solo scenarios you can challenge yourself with. This is the second scenario, where you must play using the B scoring conditions for each animal. (The first scenario used the A sides.)
And speaking of challenges, the digital version comes with many solo play challenges to test yourself against.
Additional Play Options
I played Cascadia on a laptop with a mouse, but what if you’re a gamer who prefers to play using keyboard shortcuts? Not to worry, they have you covered.
And, if you prefer playing with a gaming controller, you’re covered as well.
Thoughts
Previously, I’ve reviewed the Steam implementations of Scythe and Wingspan, and Burgle Bros., all games that, like Cascadia, I first played as tabletop cardboard. As with each of these games, the digital design team behind Cascadia understood the elements and concepts of what made the cardboard version work and have worked to improve upon them in the digital sphere.
In some cases, this has meant bringing some elements digitally to life. For instance, in Wingspan, a game that also features animals, whenever you highlight a bird card, the bird moves and you can hear its birdsong. In Cascadia, you’ll hear the grunt, cry, or splash of the animal as you add it to your tableau.
The gameplay is smooth—if you have played the tabletop version of the game, you’ll likely be able to play the digital version minutes after downloading the game into your Steam account. The AI challengers are tough and will provide you with plenty of challenges. As well, there are many ways to tweak the game each time you play by changing the difficulty levels and scoring options. It will take you a long time before you grow tired of the game.
As I said earlier, Cascadia is multiplayer solitaire game. The digital version, if anything, amplifies this. Even though you can challenge friends through their Steam account, you’re still playing your own game with the tiles you choose while not seeing your opponents’ boards unless you intentionally do so.
As a fan of Cascadia, I had no problem with this. In fact, I was looking forward to the Steam version. While I enjoy playing this game in person with other people, playing it alone on my computer was a satisfying experience. I spent several evenings happily playing games with a variety of challenges and would happily do so again.
I tend to not be a fan of solo versions of a game that just ask you to beat your last score. In the Steam version of Cascadia, that didn’t bother me as much because the solo scenarios are so varied that they made each game a unique challenge.
Cascadia is a pleasant game, one with minimal conflict, and where you spend all your time focused on your tableau, building out the best sequence of hex tiles. When you’re looking for a relaxing game, either on your own (solo or against the AI), Cascadia is hard to beat.
If you’re a fan of the cardboard version, I think you’re going to like this Steam version. I certainly did.
Cascadia details
- Designer: Randy Flynn
- Artists: Beth Sobel
- Publishers: Alderac Entertainment Group, Boardgame Mall, Delirium Games, Flatout Games, Little Rocket Games, Lucky Duck Games, MINDOK, White Goblin Games
- Release Date: 2021
- Player count : 1 - 4
- Age range : 10+
- Time range : 30 - 45 minutes
- Mechanism(s): Drafting, Hexagon Grid, Pattern Building, Solo / Solitaire Game, Tile Placement, Variable Set-up
- BGG Geek Rating: - converted to Meeple Mountain scale: .
- More articles about Cascadia.
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