On February 23, Stardew Valley: The Board Game was revealed to the world. On February 24, Stardew Valley: The Board Game completely sold out. Unsurprising, perhaps, considering the non-stop popularity of the idyllic farm-life sim, but still very disappointing for fans hoping to take a more analog journey through the valley.
When the first printing ran out, Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone said the makers were working on a second run, and today he announced that it's almost ready to go—with some caveats. Preorders will go live again at 12 pm PT/3 pm ET on November 3, but they may not get to customers in time for Christmas.
"Our fulfillment company Quartermaster has let us know that these orders should arrive to customers before Christmas, but please be aware that the state of shipping (internationally and domestic) is severely impacted right now by world events," Barone wrote. "There may be delays that happen which are out of our control. We’ll do everything we can to get your copy to you as quickly as possible, but we just want to warn you about this before you buy. We cannot predict how long the game will take to reach you, and it may not arrive before Christmas."
Direct orders of the Stardew Valley board game are still only available in the US, "mainly due to the complexities of sales taxes," but the makers are working with distributors in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the EU for the second run, so the game will be available for purchase in some stores in those regions. Unfortunately, they don't know which stores exactly, so you'll need to do a little shopping around if you want one.
The game has also been tweaked a bit for the second printing, based on feedback from the initial release: The number of Mine Map cards has been adjusted so you're more likely to receive a payoff for your efforts, and an additional component tray has been added to make storage and setup easier. The rules themselves remain almost entirely unchanged, however.
"The only rule change we added was to make it so the museum grants a Heart as a reward for donating to it, a minor change that is represented in the rules and on the board," Barone explained.
The Stardew Valley board game will be available again this Wednesday at 12 noon PST. Read the blog post for more info:https://t.co/0JEtPlTFsa pic.twitter.com/5TFzfUa9rkNovember 1, 2021
That makes this a good time to remind anyone aiming to snag one of these for the holidays (or shortly thereafter) that while Stardew Valley the videogame is a relaxed, serene experience for all ages, Stardew Valley: The Board Game is not: Barone warned when the board game was first announced that it "is not a casual quick game," and that if you're looking for short, simple tabletop fun with family and friends, "this game might not be a good fit."
The notice on the store page has been softened somewhat from the original but still warns that the board game is "designed to have a lot of complexity under the surface," and urges customers to check the rules to ensure it's a good fit before laying down any money.
Stardew Valley: The Board Game sells for $55. Barone also warned that because of supply problems, some of the "Fishing Bags" included with the box will be black instead of blue.
