How I Learned About Margraves from Margraves of Valeria
Travel across the dangerous countryside between the peaceful villages in Margraves of Valeria.
Time for something entirely new! My husband backed Margraves of Valeria: Kickstarter Edition and it arrived recently. In a truly blasphemous move, we enjoyed it as a multiplayer game before I could get my solo paws on it. Ha ha! Today, though, I decided to take it for a spin to see what it might be like without someone to beat me by 30+ points…
Game Overview
Game Name: Margraves of Valeria: Kickstarter Edition
Publication Year: 2020
Designer: Isaias Vallejo
Artist: Mihajlo Dimitrievski
Solo Mode: Included in Margraves of Valeria: Solo Events
My copy is a little unusual in that it contains some exclusive content. Never mind that for now, though: The forces of evil were all across Valeria, and I had to get to work putting together some defenses with ward towers! I should also note that the solo mode requires a separate pack of cards, though this added a very small cost.
First Play
July 15, 2020
Complexity
3
Latest Play
December 19, 2023
Expansions
6
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
4
Play Time
1 Hour
High Score
108
Game Area
34" x 28"
Low Score
84
“Some” Assembly
When I originally unpacked the game, I was excited about the little cardboard castles! They looked like they would be fun and the instructions made them look easy to assemble.
How wrong I was. I spent so long putting these little monsters together! Even with extreme care, some of the edges bent or a layer of cardboard was peeled back.
After that, I figured they would be integral to gameplay. Nope… Only for organizing gold coins?! Come on now.
The irony is that I constructed an extra pair due to extra punchboards being included. I am done with castles. Ha!
A Colorful Cast
The player boards featured a number of unique people, but it was the starting citizens who stole the show for me.
Since the solo mode doesn’t simulate an opponent, I used a mixture of red and pink components. Might as well try to put them all to good use! Colorful is always nice for me.
Every citizen card acts as a sequence of actions. More on that in a bit! But they provide the central element of gameplay. Nice to see a rather diverse bunch out there.
With my starting bonuses randomized and all set, I prepared to roam across Valeria and slay the monsters!
Tales from the Road
What a board! Although the villages provide the central points, the paths between are most important. Moving a margrave or knight will trigger a specific action.
See Silesia on the middle left? Activating that ability allows a gold coin to be exchanged for a single resource.
Various lairs exist across the countryside, too. The villages exist in close proximity, and taking out the monsters offers a nice way to earn influence and other bonuses.
Not to be forgotten is the small shipping track in the water! My little ship was backward… Good navigator.
Citizens and Guilds
If you’re familiar with the Valeria games, you’ll know all about the concept of guild symbols! Here, they play a major role in the classification of the citizens.
Everything comes together with the influence track for the various guilds. There are bonuses to collect, but also tolls to pay for crossing the bridges. Clever, clever.
Advancing further means that each symbol counts for more and more points. So what works best?
It’s possible to focus on a single guild or try to gain favor with some… Or even all! I had plenty of decisions ahead.
The Moment of Analysis Paralysis
It was at this very point during the setup process that I suffered from a bout of analysis paralysis. I tried to plan my first move. There were no less than 3-4 decent options. But which to choose?! Fortunately, rarely do I try to achieve a highly optimized play during my first experience. For me, it’s more about having fun and learning a little something!
Maybe I was in a slightly better position after playing once with my husband and losing by an embarrassing margin. I kind of knew what not to do, although it seemed like there were plenty of other paths to explore. Once again, that’s often what keeps me playing so many games… The exploration and sheer fun of trying until every piece falls into place.
Choosing an Action
Each citizen card may be used in a multitude of ways. I’ll keep things simple and leave some of those to be discovered by anyone learning to play!
In general, though, the majority of these cards are used either for the symbols in the upper left or the bottom text.
This adds an interesting sort of choice into the mix. It isn’t just about choosing a card: What part of the card to use?!
I started to think through my first set of actions. At the top of my list was the goal of collecting more citizen cards. No sense refreshing the discard pile over and over again.
Building Ward Towers
As I started to collect resources, I had a single purpose in mind: Build the ward towers! Each city was limited to a single one, although I was able to choose the bonuses.
I focused on collecting a few more guild symbols in this way. However, building this structure also came with its own reward of 3 influence. Very, very useful!
My margrave slowly traversed Valeria as I recruited knights to perform actions and help with monster slaying.
Citizens were hired in due course, as well. My deck looked like it might never need to be refreshed. Awesome luck!
The Final Crew
My luck held, and with the help of a few clerics plus the town crier, I managed to avoid refreshing my deck entirely! That worked out much better than I thought.
These citizens gave me some mediocre actions, but then allowed me to retrieve a single previously played card.
I fell apart a little bit in terms of collecting all of the guild icons. Had I focused a little more, that might have resulted in an even better first outing. But what a busy bunch!
With so many cards, I still fell a little short of where I figured I would end up. Not bad, though.
Examining the Solo Mode
Unfortunately, the base game does not include the small set of 16 cards needed to play solo. These event cards change the rules until a citizen card is recruited. Every event features a bonus, as well as some sort of negative effect. All in all, they create situations that need to be navigated properly to make the most of them. Plenty of opportunities!
The trouble is that there really isn’t any conflict. Not that I’m one who absolutely must have conflict, of course! But here, the solo mode felt underwhelming. I could do whatever I wanted to, even though the setting is one all about creeping monsters and a land in danger. There was just no… Peril? Tension? Maybe I missed my husband. Ha ha!
About Those Monsters
Perhaps the nice thing about the solo mode is how variable it can be. All of the monsters are randomized during setup, and only a handful come out during every play.
I managed to clear out 3 of 4 lairs. Not too bad! Although those trips left my margrave a little shaken.
The process of slaying them was a little anticlimactic. There wasn’t really much of a battle… I merely had to spend the requisite amount of strength and magic.
Don’t get me wrong: I really enjoyed taking these monsters out! They just felt… Minimally perilous.
Session Overview
Play Number: 1
Expansion: Margraves of Valeria: Solo Events
Solo Mode: Included in Margraves of Valeria: Solo Events
Required Play Space: 34″ x 28″
Setup Time: 10 Minutes
Play Time: 55 Minutes
Outcome: 84 (Win)
My relatively high influence with a pair of guilds helped out tremendously! I finished in the second-highest scoring tier. Not much improvement needed! But this one didn’t enthrall me, so I don’t know when I’ll play again.
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
7
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
9
Originality
Design & Theme
3
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
4
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
3
Victory Conditions
Score 100+ Points
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Defeat all enemies and lairs in at least 1 game.
Maximize influence with 2 guilds in at least 1 game.
Place all 4 ward towers in at least 1 game.
Score at least 100 points.
Continue the Conversation
Have you had a chance to play Margraves of Valeria: Kickstarter Edition? I wonder if adding in some of the small card packs might improve the experience. Are there any other solo modes that didn’t click with you at first? I expect to give this one another chance since first impressions don’t tell the whole story. We’ll see what’s ahead for my margrave!
Thanks for giving Margraves of Valeria a try and I hope you’ll give it another shot soon…even if you have to rope in your husband for that “conflict” factor.
Ha ha! Thanks, David. I always feel terrible when I have a not-so-great first impression, but I’m hoping things turn around when I play again. Sometimes, it comes down to my expectations. Shifting my focus on this being more of a puzzle than a truly competitive solo mode will likely add to the fun factor! As will a few of the card packs that I quickly peeked through, and got a bit excited about.
Thanks for the comment, even though I know this wasn’t the rosiest sort of session report. I’m hoping to play again today or tomorrow to post an update on my thoughts. Even if it doesn’t turn out to be the game for me, I appreciate the time and effort that went into creating it. I can definitely see its positive points, and I know my husband and I will play it together for a long time to come!