Monster Lairs: All in a Day’s Work for Margraves of Valeria
Follow the solo journey of a margrave from villages to monster lairs and back again in Margraves of Valeria.
Although I wasn’t sure if the solo mode would hold up for me, I was still excited to reset and dive back into Margraves of Valeria: Kickstarter Edition! Keep in mind that I don’t play as much multiplayer, yet I suspect that’s where this game truly shines. Still, I was ready to protect the villages and start clearing out some lairs. To the game table!
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
A beautiful and large set of boards made for a fitting backdrop as I got started. This time, I used some of the exclusive card packs to add more variety to the monster pools. With just 2 per lair, it seemed nice to switch things up. I collected my starting resources and bonuses, and then it was off to get those ward towers constructed!
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
New Monsters to Slay
As I mentioned, a whole lot of shuffling gave me plenty of new monsters to see! But that burning skeleton remained. I guess I should “ash” him what’s up. Bad joke alert! Ha!
One aspect of the solo mode I don’t particularly like is the fact that there isn’t any surprise… The 2 monsters at each location must be stacked by strength level.
Still, I went in with a new perspective. I would treat this as a puzzle and try to enjoy its different elements.
The artwork and components are amazing, so I wanted it all to work out! But sometimes… That’s not the case.
Stacks Upon Stacks
The privilege tiles, separated by values I and II, provide unique bonuses throughout the course of play. It’s vital to know which ones to collect at the right times.
There are choices aplenty, though the lack of tension can make things feel a little underwhelming.
During my multiplayer experiences, it’s important to block the other player from collecting the most beneficial tiles. In the solo mode, I could just pick what I needed.
I think it’s important to separate out my negative thoughts with the solo mode from the multiplayer game.
A Nasty Sort of Foe
My margrave got off to a rough start with this rather unseemly creature! After building up plenty of strength and gathering a few knights, the lair was raided.
The influence points helped out quite a bit! Remember that gathering influence with the guilds is paramount.
All of the opening citizens were centered around a certain guild… So there was my strategy from the get-go!
I saw the puzzle before me and continued to perform different actions. Yet I rarely used the upper left icons on the citizen cards. The text was much more lucrative!
Flight of the Dragon
A new dragon card made it into a lair, and I was only too glad to uncover it! Its rewards came from a stack of randomized bounty tiles, so it would always be unique.
Don’t think it was easy, though. I had to attack twice to take out the dragon… But that might have gone against the idea of having 2 monsters per lair in the solo mode.
Perhaps these bounty tiles would help with further variety in the existing monsters? Or, maybe not.
The villages were safe in no time, but there it was… I felt like there was a distinct lack of tension. Or was it purpose?
On the Subject of Purpose in a Solo Game
I often gravitate towards narrative-based solo games, at least when it comes to deeper experiences. When I spend around an hour per play, I like to get immersed in the world and, often, my character. It’s not an absolute necessity, though I started to think more about the concept during this play. Who was I? What was I doing?
Now, please don’t assume that this is a specific flaw with the game! I think when we play multiplayer, this isn’t much of a consideration. It’s about outplaying a real opponent, and the immersion factor might not be as important.
When I play on my own, though, I like to feel like a world is alive. Valeria spans multiple games and seems like a rich sort of setting. Yet I just felt like I was moving my margrave pawn around with no guidance. Slay a monster. Collect a citizen card. Build a ward tower. Ship out goods. Everything felt disjointed, and I wanted to like it all so much!
Optimizing Influence
In the end, I was very confident in how well I did on the influence track. 5-6 points for half of the icons was quite the achievement and looked pretty excellent!
The best placement of these markers is just to the right of the rivers. Why? Optimization of influence, of course!
Ending up anywhere else means that progress didn’t turn into additional points. I was actually surprised that I did this well, yet I was also swimming in coins for many turns.
The highest scoring tier started at 100 points, which wasn’t going to be easy. Still, just maybe I pulled it off…
Maximum Results
It was the holy guild that showed up early on, and I took advantage of that fact. With such a strong focus, I hired every relevant citizen card along the way.
With my ward towers in the right places, that landed me 10 total icons. Multipled by 6, and I had 60 points already!
Maybe I stumbled onto an important strategic point, yet I only had to refresh my citizens once. It was like each offered a one-time use bonus, and I just hired more.
Against an opponent, a winning strategy is almost always kept in check. Here, I was the runaway leader!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1
Expansion: Margraves of Valeria: Solo Events
Solo Mode: Included in Margraves of Valeria: Solo Events
Play Details: Used the Dragons Pack and Monster Pack
Required Play Space: 34″ x 28″
Setup Time: 10 Minutes
Play Time: 1 Hour
Outcome: 100 (Win)
I barely made it, but I hit the 100-point threshold! All the lairs were emptied, and I could rest assured that I did my absolute best and collected all of the holy guild icons.
%
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
What are your opinions about Margraves of Valeria: Kickstarter Edition? In particular, am I just doing it all wrong? I still think that this is a worthwhile experience with others. Even a 2-player play is quite enjoyable! Unfortunately, I don’t think the solo mode meshes with me that much. All the same, we can’t like every single board game out there!
Ah, I see you did get in that second solo play. Good. Nice to see the dragon in action. Going the “Holy” path worked out well for you. 🙂
I definitely look forward to including the dragons in multiplayer plays! I really liked the randomization of the rewards, even if that wasn’t a major feature in my solo play. Now I think I know some more strategies I can use when I play with others… Maybe I can actually win one of these times. Ha ha! Thanks for stopping by!
“Your evilness, they have slain all the monsters, except for the skeleton of unquenchable fire.”
“What are they doing with that?”
“Cooking, heating their houses, making coffee…”
Ha ha ha! This is too perfect. I feel like we need a game where exactly this happens. We find out the heroes really aren’t that adept at fighting, but their negotiating skills are off the charts! And one wonders why cities right near monster dens still prosper. I think we now know the truth behind it all!