Winter Comes to Dice Kingdoms of Valeria with the Expansion
Find ways to recruit citizens, advance along guild tracks, battle monsters, and build roads with Dice Kingdoms of Valeria.
Although my initial session with Dice Kingdoms of Valeria had its flaws, I wanted to explore it just a little more before making a final decision. Besides, I was having fun with my neon pens. Ha ha! So I brought out the Winter Expansion to see how it might change up the strategies and offer some new challenges. Back to the land of this roll-and-write!
Game Overview
Game Name: Dice Kingdoms of Valeria
Publication Year: 2022
Designer: Levi Mote
Artist: Mihajlo Dimitrievski
Publisher: Daily Magic Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Dice provide the options for filling in spaces across a pair of player sheets. With the expansion, access to monsters must be built before participating in battles. Cascading rewards offer fun turns, while the choices of statue cards for victory points are important moments during play.
First Play
July 1, 2023
Complexity
2
Latest Play
July 2, 2023
Expansions
1
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
4
Play Time
1 Hour
High Score
87
Game Area
18" x 14"
Low Score
72
The Start of Winter
This expansion replaces the base game player sheets with new options. However, this really only affects the building side and adds a requirement for monster battles.
Aside from the option available from the start, the more valuable monsters may not be battled until an adjacent domain has been built. Simple change, but it is important!
I liked these changes overall and the completely new paths between the domains. Lots of new options to consider.
Unfortunately, the dark graphic design made it hard to see circled domains or the entrances to the monsters.
Stadelter Triplus Pens
These are the pens I’ve been using to fill in these sheets. I have a collection of both standard fineliners and the neon versions. I originally bought these for coloring books…
Which means they rarely see any use these days, so it was nice to bring them to the table for these player sheets!
I used to prefer plastic sheets and wet-erase markers, but lately, I enjoy the option to color on paper. All of these are recycled afterwards, and the waste is pretty minimal.
No telling when I’ll get to use these Staedtler pens again, but I definitely have a new appreciation for neon colors!
Choosing Statues
A maximum of 4 statue cards will be collected during a play, and these depend on the number of coins. There are always options, which can influence some decisions.
I had a little trouble getting my citizens to produce a lot during the harvest phase again, so I came out with a loss.
However, this was my highest score for the statue cards! They seem to generate around 30-40 victory points, or about half. So they’re a big focus on end game success.
Not surprisingly, it took me extra time to figure out which domains I had circled. Dark dashed lines are hard to see.
A Very Odd Solo Event
As I went in for my next play, which I suspected would be my last, I pulled everything together and saw that I was on the path to doing better than ever. How fun!
I rolled doubles to trigger a solo event here and there, but I was able to work through those voided spaces.
Then, I drew this solo event. Effectively, it took the full game from 20 rounds to 19 rounds. There is no way to mitigate doubles, so I lost a full round to… Randomness?
Honestly, I love random events that require a shift. But I drew this card very late, simply cutting off my final plans.
Looking at the Spirit of Random Events
I usually love random events, including those that thwart my best plans and make me re-think my actions. However, it was clear what didn’t work with some of these: They didn’t make me adjust my strategy, but merely took things away from me. Losing an entire round with no way to get around that just didn’t feel like a fun experience.
Of course, I get it: Random negative events should be quite unexpected! Yet they should also be pretty balanced. The voided spaces mean those rewards are lost, but it also means those spaces are skipped. For example, this actually speeds up the path to the end of a guild track… Where additional rewards are waiting. So, in a way, it helps.
What about losing an entire round? I had no way to give myself a double turn: This was 100% negative with no upside. Even the solo event that forced me to take the lower monster victory points wasn’t the end. I simply shifted a little bit to other rewards and actions. Plus, the timing of this could mean a sudden end to gameplay with no warning.
I think I would have been more open to these negative events if I had control over them. For instance, taking the same action 2 or 3 rounds in a row might be a better trigger. That way, I was the one making the decision about the risk. Punishing a solo player for a random element that’s a required part of gameplay isn’t something I’ll ever enjoy.
Session Overview
Play Number: 3 and 4
Expansion: Dice Kingdoms of Valeria: Winter Expansion
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Outcome: 72, 87 (1 Win & 1 Loss)
Despite losing that final round, I ended up with my highest score and filled in all of the guild tracks. Lots of neon colors over here. Ha ha! I thought there might be some more challenges with this expansion, yet it ended up just adding a little more of an order to the monster battles. I focused on that a little more, which oddly didn’t affect anything else… It only helped me get more victory points!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
3
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
6
Originality
Design & Theme
5
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
4
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
4
+ Pros (Positives)
- A new map with paths to monsters offers a slight twist on the base game player sheets for a slight challenge.
- Choosing a single action each round from the available dice is often interesting with at least a couple of options.
- The blue die may be used to augment any colorful action die, leading to more choices and never getting locked out.
- Statue cards provide plenty of options to find the best ways to earn the most victory points during scoring.
- There is a nice progression from early recruitment into more battling and building that feels very thematic.
- Gaining access to more domains provides additional dice manipulation options, which can be extremely useful.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Solo events are triggered randomly by rolling doubles, and some of them offer effects that are pretty harsh.
- Although final scores will vary a bit, almost everything is filled in by the end with limited variety in strategies.
- Busy artwork and some dark graphic design elements make finding circled domains very difficult, even up close.
- The play time feels pretty lengthy for the weight of the game, making the last handful of rounds drag on a bit.
Victory Conditions
Score 80+ Points
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Complete all 4 guild tracks in at least 1 game.
Score at least 80 points.
Score at least 85 points.
Continue the Conversation
What are some of the elements you enjoy about Dice Kingdoms of Valeria? Have you tried out the expansion with new player sheets? I ended up with some very colorful roll-and-write sheets! There were some interesting decisions to make, yet I’m content knowing that this one isn’t quite for me. Plenty of other Valeria games to enjoy solo in the future!
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