Eila and the Radiance of the Mountain: a “choupi” narrative game, but with moral choices to make

What is a board game? Eila and the shine of the mountain ?

While she lives peacefully near her tree, Eila the little rabbit is intrigued by a light that shines brightly at the top of the mountain. Courageous, she sets out to search for this mystery. It’s up to you to make the right choices to change his destiny and allow him to go through his journey without incident.

Accessible from 12 years old, for 1 player or more, with games lasting 30 to 45 minutes, it is a narrative game, in which we experience a real quest through five chapters.

Edited by Iello, Eila and the shine of the mountain is a game by Jeffrey CCH, illustrated by Roxy Dai, and sold at the price of €40.95 at Philibert.

How do you play it?

Set up

The setup is generally the same, regardless of the chapter played. You start by placing the large board in front of you, to place different packs of cards on it.

To put it simply, we essentially distinguish two: that of imminent events which, as its name indicates, are the cards that we will draw whatever happens, and other events which will occur, or not, depending on our choices. during the game.

An objective in the center of the board indicates how to succeed in the chapter, and allows you to keep track of the time spent.

Finally, note that the game offers a very well done chapter 0, allowing you to discover the rules gently.

Progress of part ofEila and the shine of the mountain

Each chapter begins with a prologue in the form of a small comic strip. Then the adventure begins. A turn simply consists of drawing the first impending events card. Impossible to go wrong, they are stored in a display placed in front of us.

Each card offers an illustrated situation, and above all different choices related to it. The consequences are obviously dependent on the choice made.

Certain choices make us gain or lose resources. Tangible (food, money, magic stones) or intangible (knowledge, energy, even fear). Others provide us with help, in the form of talent cards, objects or support, which we keep from chapter to chapter.

For example, this card invites us to harvest carrots. Little if you do it by hand, more if you have the right tool. On another card, a merchant exchanges food for money, or vice versa.

Depending on the choice made, the card is placed either in the future or in the past. When the events deck is empty, our day is over. We then shuffle the future cards to form a new draw pile. We no longer see the cards of the past, however. Thus, you can collect carrots several times during the chapter, but you only fall into a hole once, you do not fall back into it each time you take this path… After the first fall, the card is placed in the past.

Finally, regularly, choices ask us to place event cards from another deck in the future. The consequences and the rest of the adventure are different depending on whether you go through the left or right door, for example.

We follow the events, map after map, day after day. We succeed in the scenario if we manage to complete the imposed objective, and we move on to the next one. We fail it if we reach the end of the seventh day or if we lose all our life points, and we have to start it again.

We deliberately omit a whole bunch of script and narrative details so as not to spoil the pleasure of discovery. This is also why the article is rather stingy with illustrations. Here you know the basics of how it works.

Why play Eila and the shine of the mountain ?

Despite its childish rules and cute illustrations, Eila and the shine of the mountainis not a game specifically intended for children. An adult will have a lot of fun following the adventures of this little bunny.

Because, despite its elementary scenario, the game offers moral choices and some darker situations than the cover suggests. The contrast with the choupitudedrawings is all the stronger.

The game indicates one or more players. Let’s be honest, this is essentially a solitaire game. You can, why not, play it in pairs, like all solo games, making decisions together. But it stops there. We would have liked to take advantage of a real multiplayer mode.

The adventure is thus experienced like a book, a comic strip. Or rather a video game. Everything, from the mechanics to the illustrations, would have had a place on an electronic medium. Transposing it into a board game also allows you to add the tactile pleasure of the object. Especially since the material is of excellent quality, including all the resources made from wood (small carrots, small books, etc.).

We rarely talk about the price of a game, except when it seems exaggerated. Here, it’s quite the opposite! The material is abundant, the quality is there, and the box, even if it is very big, and well filled, and everything is well organized. All for a very reasonable price, considering all this content. Great effort on the part of the publisher.

Even though it is a narrative game, with a beginning and an end, it is possible to play it several times. If only to glimpse all the possibilities, take all the plot twists, discover all the secrets and all the cards. The game also offers two difficulty modes, to add to the challenge.

So yes, the rules are very simple. Yes, the screenplay is not going to win any literary awards. However, this little bunny gave us a nice playful slap. We followed his journey, chapter after chapter, impatient to discover what happened next and to reach the end. Arrived at the end, disappointment. Not disappointed by the game. It’s intelligent, engaging, clever as hell. And, beautifully highlighted by the material. But, disappointed to have finished it. Already. We want to continue following Eila. We want other adventures from this heroine.

Eila and the shine of the mountain, it is a delightful, poetic, touching adventure, in a magnificent setting. A game that takes you back to childhood. Above all, one of the most beautiful releases of this end of year.

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