Adorable Animals and the Joy of Crafting in Maple Valley

Feb 27, 2024 | Sessions | 0 comments

Set out to trek through the valley to make friends, collect patches, and craft favors for a delightful festival in Maple Valley.

My new arrivals usually consist of crowdfunded projects from past years, yet there are some I miss out on! Maple Valley was a purchase that arrived last month, as I was confident I would enjoy it with its predecessor, Creature Comforts. Just unpacking the components and setting up the play area was a joy, and I couldn’t wait to start playing the solo mode!

Game Overview

Game Name: Maple Valley
Publication Year:
2023
Designer:

Artist:
Shawna J.C. Tenney
Publisher:
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game

Over the course of 5 hours during a single day, the goal is to prepare for an exciting spring festival. Resources are used to craft cheerful favors, while curiosities impress new friends to walk down more paths. It’s all about creating joy and making friends… Simply wonderful!

An Absolutely Adorable Game to Make Friends and Prepare for a Festival in Maple Valley
R

First Play

February 24, 2024

Complexity

3

Latest Play

February 25, 2024

Expansions

1

Setup Time

5 Minutes

Lifetime Plays

2

Play Time

45 Minutes

:

High Score

101

1

Game Area

40" x 26"

;

Low Score

63

The Cheeriest Artwork

How adorable is this?! It’s hard not to get a warm, fuzzy feeling from the brightly colored art and absolutely charming animal characters. So pretty and lovely!

I was quite surprised by the large board and its map of the entire valley. So much to see as the adventure unfurls!

Yet this is a game about everyday sorts of journeys. There is no conflict to be found, save for the choices in paths to explore and favors to craft before the day ends.

Some might classify the solo mode as entirely devoid of tension, but sometimes, I just need a calm experience.

A Simply Adorable and Cheerful World to Explore in Maple Valley

Outside the Village

Play begins in the village, which is just barely visible at the bottom. So much to explore! Friends help travel along the different kinds of paths to reach various areas quickly.

Foraging provides resources, while there are ways to pick up more favors, collect useful patches, or make friends.

At its core, the goal is to build up a collection of friends to take more actions each round. Yet it’s also about finding a balance with the patches and various favors.

Just 5 rounds make up a day, with an hourly sun good offering a bonus that can be essential for crafting favors.

All Sorts of Neat Decisions and Ways to Spend Time in Maple Valley

No Festivities in Solo

One of the main elements is a set of festivity cards that both set the thematic tone, and provide a way to earn a majority bonus. In the solo mode… These are left out.

I was a little surprised over this omission, as these are a good way to shape the decisions over choosing favors.

Even ignoring the ability and filling in spaces based on discarded favor types might have worked in some way.

No matter, though! I decided to still draw 3 festivities purely for the theme. My little fox was crafting favors for this wonderful celebration. Look how fun it would be!

Incorporating Festivities in Solo Purely for the Theme in Maple Valley

Into the Wilderness…

The rules didn’t take too long to understand, and the back of the rulebook included an excellent summary. I only flipped back to double-check a small outlier case. Neat!

There were a lot of decisions to make, and I knew this first play was mostly for learning about the interactions.

I found ways to craft lots of favors, although I ignored patches entirely and didn’t make a lot of friends. This was very much a solo journey, I suppose. Ha ha!

Describing this game as delightful is something I do a lot, yet it’s the perfect word. I smiled the whole time!

Setting Out from the Village with Lots of Ground and Water to Cover in Maple Valley

A Fun Collection

My final score was nothing to celebrate, although I didn’t mind all that much. I had lots of favors that interacted, and I was clearly the master of garland crafts! Ha!

It would have made more sense to add additional friends, as they each provide +1 action during each round.

A dawdle card gave me some resources each round, but it was more like a temporary benefit. I definitely needed to rely on those less with future plays and find more friends.

Was I able to do everything I wanted to? Mostly. There was no one to stop me, yet I still found it to be a challenge.

The Final Assortment of Wonderful Friends and Favors in Maple Valley

All About the Comfort

One of the most common discussion point, which makes a lot of sense, is whether this one is different enough from Creature Comforts to own both. Or are they very similar?

The art style and overall atmosphere are the main things they share. But after playing both a few times, I plan to hang onto this pair of game for various reasons.

Creature Comforts is about a push-your-luck mechanic with dice. It has moving parts, but not too many to grasp.

Here, the focus is to build a deck for actions and abilities. There are more elements, and a bigger challenge.

A Pair of Lovely Games and Comparing Creature Comforts with Maple Valley

Looking at How Similar Games are Quite Unique

Continuing on with the discussion about this pair of games, it might look like one would be a better choice than the other. That may be the case, yet I never felt like I was playing a very slightly updated version of another game. Each one offers different mechanics, goals, and gameplay that isn’t necessarily overshadowed or replaced.

I’m also finding that it’s hard to define if a game is “good” or “better” from a general perspective. There will always be solo games that get recommended a lot and have a high chance of resonating with a large audience, but that’s still not true for everyone. I find it helps to talk about my perspective, which is more helpful than a blanket recommendation.

At this point, I’m drawn to a lot of different solo games. But both of these had positive session reports from people I have something in common with, and I can’t resist cute animals. Ha ha! However, I think they both have a solo mode that might be too easy for some. The lack of tension and competition fits in with the relaxing themes, though.

Each of these games exists in the same world where animals work together, yet they play very differently. I can see me playing back-to-back in a loose campaign! The overall coziness factor is high with both, meaning either one could work. Yet they’re also unique in their mechanics, and that’s likely the biggest aspect in choosing one over the other.

Bringing the Favors

My next play worked out much better, particularly as I spent more time making more friends. One even allowed me to craft favors from those in the market. Very useful!

I brought even more to the festival, highlighted by some fantastic pancakes and a few musical instruments.

There are lots of duplicates in the favors deck, although this didn’t bother me that much. It was neat to find ways to earn more bonuses with connected favors, too!

It still felt a little off to entirely leave out the festivities, but it was no matter… I still felt like I captured the fun!

Making Extra Improvements to Craft So Manu Favors in Maple Valley

A Better-Balanced Fox

This time, I actually paid attention to the important elements, like friends and patches! Each one managed to be awesome in its own way, and I loved the variety.

In a way, it felt more like I had to shift my focus from crafting as many favors as possible and simply exploring the valley to get the fullest experience. Subtle, but neat.

With this set of friends, I also found myself sticking around the southern part of the map. Only one zoom!

I was almost a little sad when the final round ended, as I was having a great time exploring. More to do next time!

A Much Better Outing of Making Friends and Earning Patches in Maple Valley

Session Overview

Play Number: 1 & 2
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Outcome: 63, 101 (2 Losses)

Still not quite good enough to claim a proper victory, yet I was thrilled with the thematic festivities! It was nice to simply think about how my favors contributed. There are a lot of neat decisions to make during play, and I can’t express enough how cheerful and cozy the gameplay is. No tension might make it feel too open-ended, yet I know that when I’m in need of something completely adorable and happy, I have another fantastic solo game to play!

Appreciating the Fantastic Festivities Artwork in Maple Valley

%

1 Play

Affordability

Price & Value

6

Functionality

Challenges & Mechanics

10

Originality

Design & Theme

10

Quality

Components & Rules

10

Reusability

Achievement & Enjoyment

8

Variability

Distinctness & Randomness

9

+ Pros (Positives)

  • The artwork is adorable, bright, and charming with all sorts of characters, objects, and scenes to appreciate.
  • Crafting favors and making friends are very approachable, and the game is devoid of any sort of negative conflict.
  • Decisions are vital and it never feels like an action is wasted with the way everything is tied together so well.
  • Building up a group of friends is thematic and helps expand action choices each round, which is very powerful.
  • There are many ways to earn victory points and although a balanced approach helps, it isn’t required to do well.
  • Almost everything from the multiplayer game is the same in the solo mode, making it easy to learn and play.

– Cons (Negatives)

  • It would have been nice if the festivities were included in the solo mode in some way, as they’re pretty important.
  • Duplicate cards show up a little too often in the favors deck, and the variety here feels a little lower than the rest.
  • Some degree of luck is needed to make the most of the sun goods and foraged resources throughout every round.
  • With a lot of interconnected elements, there is the possibility of getting caught up in the options near the end.

More Maple Valley

Explore related posts about Maple Valley!

Victory Conditions

Score 120+ Points

  • Overall Goal Progress 67% 67%

Goals and Milestones

R

Craft at least 10 favors.

R

Score at least 100 points.

Q

Collect 4 patches.

Continue the Conversation

What are some of your favorite cards in Maple Valley? Have you managed to discover any really neat combinations? I loved this experience so much! The theme of making others happy and finding new friends in this land of adorable animals is something that works so well. I’m looking forward to continuing my journeys through this cozy valley!

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