The Pros and Cons of Dungeons in Valeria: Card Kingdoms
Explore the depths of an ever-changing dungeon with a group of versatile citizens in Valeria: Card Kingdoms.
Funny to look back at my initial experience with the Valeria: Card Kingdoms base game. It all changed dramatically when I added in Darksworn! With the campaign behind me, there was just one more solo mode to try out: The dungeon delve. My time with the game was drawing to a close for the time being, yet excitement kept me rooted to the table!
Game Overview
Game Name: Valeria: Card Kingdoms
Publication Year: 2016
Designer: Isaias Vallejo
Artist: Mihajlo Dimitrievski
Publisher: Daily Magic Games
Solo Mode: Included in Darksworn
With random rooms and tasks, the dungeon uses most of the components to create an unpredictable challenge. Dice continue to provide resources through citizens, yet keeping the monsters at bay long enough provides an exciting way to take on the dungeon and solve its puzzles.
First Play
Janaury 8, 2022
Complexity
2
Latest Play
December 25, 2023
Expansions
5
Setup Time
10 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
14
Play Time
30 Minutes
High Score
128
Game Area
26" x 28"
Low Score
82
Unknown Dangers
Perhaps the best part of this dungeon delve is its pure randomness. Double-sided cards provide rooms and tasks. When combined, these act in very different ways!
Only a portion of the cards are used with each play. The more rooms, the more of a challenge the dungeon is.
Still, the monster bosses weren’t included and some of the campaign elements were completely excluded. I wanted to use it all! I assumed it was a balancing issue, though.
The more I played, the more I liked the game… It wasn’t my favorite, yet I found a lot more reasons to enjoy it!
Limited Citizens
One of the better design choices involved the citizen stacks. The base game solo mode includes 5 of each card, but the dungeon delve calls for just 3 of each value.
Since exhausted stacks risk ending the game in a loss, this makes citizen recruitment rare but important.
In fact, I only recruited a handful beyond my starting trio. To deplete a stack could spell disaster, especially with the possible monster events I mixed with the exhausted cards!
This helped curb excess resources and put the pressure on managing monsters, rather than collecting victory points.
Not-So-Forgotten
I loved the artwork and style that brought the world of Valeria to life. Some of the monsters were terrifying, yet my citizens looked brave enough to slay them all!
Near the end of this play, I stumbled across the statue of a shark-god centered around the forgotten.
There was an instant sense of recognition for me, though! One of the citizens, a conjurer, definitely featured a shark that resembled this mysterious statue. Very neat!
Maybe I didn’t solve any big mystery, but it was kind of nice to weave some connections between the cards.
A Brief Comparison of the Different Solo Modes
It was fun to go through the entire dungeon, which got me thinking about the different ways I played solo and how they might compare. Although each had its own set of pros and cons, I decided to take a look at how each improved upon the issues of the others. In a sense, this gave me a basis to figure out which way worked the best for me.
As I mentioned previously, the campaign made the most improvements for me while the dungeon delve felt a little less meaningful. For the amount of setup the card stacks require, this is a game that requires a purpose! The only main downside is that the campaign is static, so there won’t be any surprises. Yet it can be different with other monsters!
Maybe more time hanging around in the dungeon will allow it to grow on me, especially if I go beyond the starting number of rooms. This may very well be a game that needs to be tailored to each player’s preferences to be the best it can be. Some extra work is required, yet finding the right kind of challenge can be a fun experience in and of itself!
Original
Base Game- Domains and dukes add little.
- Resources accumulate quickly.
- Monster stacks are predictable.
- Goal is a race to fight monsters.
Campaign
Darksworn Expansion- Domains and dukes are ignored.
- Victory points may be spent.
- Monsters and tasks are random.
- Goal is to complete every book.
- Creates a fun, connected challenge within a story.
Dungeon
Darksworn Expansion- Domains and dukes are ignored.
- Victory points may be spent.
- Monsters and tasks are random.
- Goal is to survive to the end.
Neatly Packed Away
I felt like I had experienced all I would for the time being, and decided to pack things up. Naturally, the Bigger Box simply had to take its place on a shelf in my collection!
My only major issue with this is how empty it is. I love that it’s compatible for those who sleeve, but this is the bottom tray. As in… There’s another almost empty tray on top.
Plenty of room for more content, yet I would only be looking for more campaigns and dungeon delve scenarios.
As much as I love sorting, mixing the citizens for each value saves time. Works for me, as time is always limited!
Session Overview
Play Number: 11 and 12
Expansions: Many
Solo Mode: Included in Darksworn
Play Details: Dungeon Delve: The Forgotten Temple
Outcome: 2 Wins
There were some exciting moments in the dungeon! It wasn’t quite as good as the campaign, yet I had a great time working through the challenges. As I set the box down until next time, I had to get used to the French name since the English title only appears on the sides for vertical storage. This shall now be known as Le Royaume!
%
10 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
9
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
9
Originality
Design & Theme
5
Quality
Components & Rules
7
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
7
+ Pros (Positives)
- There are many possible ways the dungeon can play out with the different combinations of tasks and rooms.
- Difficulty may be adjusted in a number of ways that can take a little time to put together, but is worth the effort.
- All of the card artwork is interesting and brings the world to life with various monsters and citizens.
- The challenge of managing the citizen stacks is intriguing and can swing unpredictably based on the dice rolls.
- Resource production feels limited with so few citizens, yet this adds to the fun of planning out each round.
- The component quality is excellent with linen-finish cards, large dice, wooden resource tokens, and more.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Some of the rules are a little unclear, such as how to handle the final combination of the task and locked door.
- Not all of the base game components are used, which makes some sense, but feels like a missed opportunity.
- The dungeon doesn’t have as clear of a goal or storyline as the campaign, thereby making it feel a little generic.
- Setup and cleanup take up a lot of time, even with mixed card stacks, due to all of the required card sorting.
Victory Conditions
Complete the Book or Dungeon
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Complete Book One: The Prophecy.
Complete Book Two: A Trail of Eyes.
Complete Book Three: The Shores of Kosk.
Complete Book Four: Blackest Death.
Complete Book Five: Midnight Whispers.
Complete Book Six: The Final Breach.
Complete Dungeon Delve: The Forgotten Temple.
Win at least 1 game at the standard difficulty level.
Win at least 1 game at the hard difficulty level.
Continue the Conversation
How do you feel about Valeria: Card Kingdoms and Darksworn? Do you have a preferred way to play solo? It was great to dig deeper into the game, especially since I didn’t quite enjoy the base game experience. This may explain why I have such a hard time accepting a game isn’t for me… Maybe it is, with a few changes. Ha ha! Glad I tried out the expansion!
I really appreciate your comparison of the solo modes – this isn’t really my genre but if I were looking to buy it’s just the thing I’d want to see.
(The only Valeria game I’ve played is Villages Of… and this doesn’t look at all similar.)
Thanks, Roger! The solo modes are so different that it seemed useful to compare them. What you get in the expansion is vastly different from just the base game!
I haven’t played Villages of Valeria in ages, but you’re right: They’re very different games. Hoping to get that one and some expansions to the table at some point!
Excellent articles on your website. This was just the review I needed. Thanks for investing the time on this series.
Raygun1966
You’re very welcome! I’m glad it was useful. I had a lot of fun exploring this series and seeing how the solo experience improved with the expansion.