I just reviewed PARKS earlier this month so I’m a little bit behind the curve with regards to the tabletop art exhibit, but I’m catching up with the release of both PARKS Memories (a standalone memory game featuring the same U.S. National Parks and the same design handiwork from Keymaster Games) and PARKS: Nightfall, this new expansion that further deepens the PARKS nature trek with more Parks, more Photos, and more board gaming that feels like a relaxing day at the spa.

The hiking game from Henry Audubon and Keymaster Games is now bigger than before. It’s got more nuance. More strategy. And more of that jaw-dropping art for all of us to enjoy. The journey has been extended. We’re camping out in the parks now, so we can bask in more sunshine, drink more refreshing water, reach the pinnacle of more mountains, and wander through the verdant green forests that we missed the last time. America has never been so full of potential for the Nalgene-toting, energy bar-munching, and park-visiting adventurers among us.

PARKS did a lot right. So how does Nightfall raise the bar?

STORY

Who knew that the season of darkness wasn’t actually all that bad? The Parks are coming alive with the sound of nocturnal wildlife and hikers are stopping to rest and camp all along the trails in the country. Cheerful nighttime chirping. S’mores around the fire. And more of an excuse to break out a board game on the table for anyone living vicariously through the more adventurous types.

PARKS has been expanded with new places, new creatures, and new memories. Fresh chapters are being written in the story of the American wilderness.

We need the tonic of wildness...At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.

Seems like Thoreau was onto something. Playing PARKS with the Nightfall is like going into the woods and deciding to build a cabin so you can spend more time there. It’s doubling down on the experience. And I’m happy to indulge that inclination.

As always, though, make sure you’ve got the right gear. The wilderness demands careful planning!

GAMEPLAY

Now to see how the contents in Nightfall affect the overall PARKS gameplay! If you want a more thorough look at the base rules of PARKS, then check out my full review to get an idea of how the game works.

But take comfort in the fact that not much changes. The introduction of more content and player options is what I appreciate about the expansion.

Here’s what’s new:

Park cards - there are now 24 more cards for the Parks deck and these will also provide instant bonuses when visited
Year cards - an alternative deck of Year cards can greatly affect endgame scoring as players can now get multiple Year cards for layered and varied bonuses
Nocturnal Wildlife - four more cute critter meeples give players other adorable resources to fight over
Camping Trail action - camping markers are placed on the Trail and give players the option to abstain from the Trail site action and instead visit the Campsite board for powerful actions

These additions really provide some significant changes to PARKS because it frees up spaces on the Trail for players to gain weather tokens that would have been depleted. And the Campsite tiles are generally strong and favorable actions to incentivize players.

Also, the new Year cards alter how players might focus on their strategy. Instead of getting tunnel-vision on one type of Park, players can benefit from a more varied collection of Parks visited. Between the Campsite tiles, the instant bonuses on Nightfall Parks, and regular actions, I noticed an intriguing and fun symbiosis forms.

PARKS is still a straightforward game, which is a big plus for me and more many gamers. Some expansions ramp up the complexity in a steep manner, but that doesn’t occur here. It’s still a family game that will be popular with a lot of tabletop fans. It’s still easy to learn. It’s just more dynamic now. You get more strategy and more depth without losing really anything. Strategy gamers will appreciate what’s added here but casual gamers won’t be intimidated by the alterations to the gameplay. The new mechanics smoothly fit in with everything else.

With Nightfall thrown into the mix, I still recommend PARKS as a gateway game for people that want a beautiful game to entice their unsuspecting friends and family.

And, it shouldn’t need to be said, but you won’t regret more of this artwork.

VISUALS

Who doesn’t want to play with tiny wooden critters? If you don’t, then maybe you should get the thumping organ in your chest check out? Because it’s a well-honored pastime in the tabletop community and there’s nothing weird about it.

I think…

Nightfall does everything right that I also appreciate in PARKS. It created a compact game with unpacks and packs away easily. It delivers clear iconography, fetching visuals, and a high level of production that will make you want to show off the game on your shelf.

I like playing this game and the artwork really helps sell me. I wiped the drool off from my first time playing PARKS but I’ve got some napkins nearby in case my mouth starts salivating again. If you liked the base game, then you’ll also enjoy Nightfall.

REPLAYABILITY

The expansion is designed for this purpose. To make a game that already exists more playable. More enjoyable. Deeper.

And Nightfall accomplishes this. Whether you’re enjoying the competitive or solo mode, you’ll have more content to keep the game fresh. It’s a small box but the impact makes a ripple on the surface of the game that will keep you staring. It’s going to pull you in again and it’s going to give you different ways to play.

It’s not game-changing. It’s game-honing. And that’s enough for me. Like Lords of Waterdeep with its Scoundrels of Skullport expansion, I think I’ll always play PARKS with the Nightfall expansion. It makes it better. But it doesn’t change the identity of the game.

WHAT IT COULD HAVE DONE BETTER

Nightfall does work to create a more variable game state for PARKS, but I don’t know if it will be enough for some players. If you weren’t convinced by the base game, then this expansion will not persuade you to give it another chance.

I do think it’s priced well, though. At $25, it’s half the price of PARKS and that’s worth the cost because it will give the game more life over time.

Ultimately, it’s some more of the same with little pieces that grow the game in different directions. That’s not going to be compelling for everyone, but it works well as an expansion and gets the job done!

VERDICT

I think this is one of those expansions that everyone should get if you have the base game. It adds just enough to make a great game that much more enjoyable. It’s a small box that ripples enough across the surface of the game that you want to keep staring.

PARKS: Nightfall is the board game equivalent of rediscovering your love for being outside. It reaffirms why you liked PARKS in the first place and it gives you more incentive to keep the game out on the table.

Yes, Keymaster Games does a fantastic job of producing quality games with components you want to fiddle with all game. Yes, PARKS was already a great game that delighted many gamers. Yes, the artwork pulls you in and makes you enter a hypnotic state.

Nightfall knows all of this. It nods along as you babble like a happy stream. And then it extends a hand and asks you if you want to go for a walk. Because staying outside is nice and you should take it up on the offer.

So go outside. Enjoy a National Park somewhere in the United States. Or just the park down the road. It doesn’t really matter. Just go out. And when you come back inside, PARKS and Nightfall will be ready at the table to let you relive the pretty world all over again.