Rolling Into Battle with Shadow Kingdoms of Valeria
Plan battles and sieges with a variety of shadowy allies in the fight to reclaim the land in Shadow Kingdoms of Valeria.
Onto another new solo game! I’ve always been intrigued by board games that flip the usual assumptions and showcase the stereotypical monsters as the heroes. In Shadow Kingdoms of Valeria, goblins, orcs, skeletons, and more must fight together! There were some interesting concepts and tons of exciting artwork to discover, so off to the table I charged!
Game Overview
Game Name: Shadow Kingdoms of Valeria
Publication Year: 2021
Designer: Stan Kordonskiy
Artist: Mihajlo Dimitrievski
Publisher: Daily Magic Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Various shrines provide actions and troop dice to prepare for different battles. Units must be matched up to best complete an attack, and the strength of every regiment is vital. With the help of champions, resources and abilities support a new leader whose power slowly grows.
First Play
December 25, 2021
Complexity
3
Latest Play
December 21, 2023
Expansions
3
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
8
Play Time
40 Minutes
High Score
300
Game Area
38" x 22"
Low Score
84
From the Darkness
The play area was quite interesting and made this part of the world have its own dark atmosphere. Shrines provided a way to move around and pick up the custom dice.
I decided to play as the gnolls, and they were ready to go! My only disappointment at this stage was how all of the factions were basically identical, with no unique abilities.
However, the idea behind unlocking more powers through battles and choosing the right sort of dice was excellent!
This was a game I played multiplayer in the past, so a lot of the rules came right back to me. I was excited to play!
Champion Planning
Individual troop dice provide the bulk of the strength for every battle plan, yet there are many other ways to aid a leader. After all, the goal is to command the whole army!
A wide selection of champions is always available to hire. Some provide immediate benefits, while others are more skilled in ongoing or long-term abilities.
I enjoyed taking a look through all of the artwork. So much personality in all of these different creatures!
Technically, everyone was a monster, yet it was refreshing to see them in a different light. No humans in this group!
Building Strength
Such fun wooden components! My faction leader would be running about and looking pretty awesome in the process.
I enjoyed the player board, which had some helpful reminders about victory points from various strength levels. Typically, these mainly come from the dice values.
The other fun element is the way powers are unlocked. Extra dice slots, more strength, or the ability to change certain dice could all be achieved over time.
The gnolls were prepared to defeat the solo opponent! All seemed interesting, and I was eager to go into battle.
Round and Round
Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed rather quickly. The solo opponent, represented by another faction, moved clockwise around the map to block spaces.
Every fifth round, it earned victory points for completing a battle. All I needed to do was stay out of its way…
Granted, there were some decisions to make, yet it had no interaction with the champions, nor did it make logical decisions. It was all rather random, while I had a plan.
Although this was far from satisfying, it wasn’t a terrible sort of solo mode. Just… Underwhelming and too random.
Where Randomness and Unpredictability Meet
Lately, I’ve been taking a little more of a critical look at solo modes to understand what makes them work. Although it’s not the sole criteria, there can sometimes be the assumption that random and unpredictable are the same thing. In a way, they’re very much related… But in the world of board games, they’re different and the distinction is vital.
Imagine a human opponent for a moment, even though we’re in the land of solo games! Will that individual play randomly, or unpredictably? New players or those trying out something new might behave a bit randomly, yet their decisions really boil down to being logical, yet unpredictable. You have some knowledge of what might happen.
Now, consider various solo modes. The ones that resonate with me bring in some elements that make them logical. Entirely random decisions don’t give me the agency to determine what might happen. Unpredictability is interesting because much like playing with a regular opponent, those unknowns slowly become more predictable with experience.
There isn’t a single magic formula to define the best type of solo opponent. I’m just rambling away here! But as I continue to dig deeper into the hobby, it isn’t merely the theme, mechanics, or even artwork that makes a game great for me. It’s that solo experience, and I’m enjoying the process of understanding more about what works best for me!
I also think this may help explain why I seem critical of some solo modes. Just like those ideas of theme, mechanics, and artwork, we all have our own preferences. Thinking more about the foundation of each solo mode is my attempt to put into words why I don’t always enjoy a solo experience. As I often say, even if I don’t like a game, I hope others do!
Building an Army
My first play was actually somewhat interesting as I tried to figure out the best way to move ahead. Champions were vital, as were the different dice I picked up to use in battle.
I decided to trigger the end game a little earlier than I needed to, leading to the narrowest of victories!
It was a bit of a shame about how the solo mode didn’t do much for me, yet the mechanics couldn’t save the game.
The artwork for every battle is unique and feels underused. What happened in these fights? What if I could actually simulate them for more fun? A missed opportunity.
Filling in a Side Map
An interesting aspect is the battle plan map, randomly chosen from a small stack and kept to the side. This holds all of the tokens that slowly reveal new faction abilities.
Despite the apparent variety, these boards simply entail a different assortment of the same rewards. Again… I would say underwhelming best described my solo experience.
At the same time, I had a few turns when I manipulated the dice and had some awesome outcomes. Exciting!
Taken in the right order, the chain bonuses also provided some spectacular bonuses all at once. Very neat!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1 and 2
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Outcome: 84-83 and 149-112 (2 Wins)
It was far too easy to stay ahead of the solo opponent with my next play, and my early lead just continued to grow. My champions helped a lot, and with no challenge to cycle out the ones I needed, I just needed to watch out for the dice refresh. Exciting for me, yet it all amounted to a rather hollow experience. Maybe that’s the feeling some monsters live with? Ha! There were some great concepts here, yet I don’t imagine I’ll be playing this solo again.
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
8
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
7
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
4
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
2
+ Pros (Positives)
- Playing as the typical villains is a different sort of theme that highlights how different doesn’t mean monstrous.
- The component quality is quite impressive with custom dice that are easy to read and thick cardboard tokens.
- Although there is a general progression and order to the actions, there are still important and impactful choices.
- Finding different combinations of heroes and unlocked abilities can be very fun, as there are a lot of possibilities.
- Play time progresses quickly with very little downtime for managing the solo opponent, save for the dice refresh.
- Most of the iconography is simple to learn and understand during a single play, with minimal rules referencing.
– Cons (Negatives)
- The solo opponent moves in a set pattern without priorities and ignores most elements of gameplay.
- Dice refresh phases help add more choices, yet the process of removing and refilling the cards takes far too long.
- Each faction has excellent artwork and unique components, but they play exactly the same and are identical.
- All of the artwork provides a lot of variety while the solo mode sequence doesn’t provide much of a challenge.
Victory Conditions
Score the Most Points
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Complete the Great Battle in at least 1 game.
Win at least 1 game.
Win at least 1 game with the Riftlands expansion.
Win at least 1 game with the Rise of Titans expansion.
Continue the Conversation
Have you played Shadow Kingdoms of Valeria? I will say that the multiplayer experience is quite fun and challenging, especially with the way players have to compete. What are some other aspects you enjoy about this one? It may not have worked for me as a solo game, yet this session was still enjoyable and enlightening in its own ways! Always a good time!
The whole part about the random A.I. had me writing a some paragraphs bout A.I. and why it is so hard to make an A.I. for board games, that are not random and yet not predictable. But then I realized that it’s inconsequential.
So instead, I’m glad that you brought light on the shortcomings of the solo mode. But also on the positive sides of this game.
I watched the tower dice video, when I came out and was disappointed for the exact same reasons you mentioned.
Nice to have someone share similar thoughts! I went in hoping for a great experience, and I keep looking back at these photos thinking how nice it looked on the table. Solo opponents might be even harder to create if a game isn’t designed for solo right from the start. I applaud any who have made any halfway decent solo modes over the years! I’ll likely be exploring more and considering randomness and unpredictability. There will likely be more to consider, and it should be an interesting journey! Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for the blog post, Jessica. I’m sorry you did not find the solo model engaging but I’m cheered that multiplayer went over better. Have fun!
You’re welcome, and thanks for stopping by! I hope I made it clear that this is an awesome multiplayer game, and the solo mode just didn’t work for me. It got me thinking a lot, though, and this is a game that will be sticking around to play with my husband. Appreciate all the work that went into the game!