A Distinct Lack of Bite with Shadow Kingdoms of Valeria
Direct armies of monsters to complete battle plans and gain a footing against the humans with Shadow Kingdoms of Valeria.
It quickly became apparent that my idea of connecting a solo campaign across the Valeria games wasn’t going to affect much of anything, but that was fine! Shadow Kingdoms of Valeria is one of the most visually striking titles in this series, and the idea of taking on the role of the monster armies is quite interesting. To war, from the shadows!
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
As the leader of a monster faction, battle plans need to be carefully executed to move ahead. Dice represent troops of different strengths, while other monsters themselves can be recruited to provide lots of bonuses. The humans, elves, and dwarves are in for a surprise with these monsters!
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
Choosing Where to Go
A big element of gameplay is centered around the map of 5 shrines. Each turn involves visiting a shrine, or heading into camp to complete a battle plan for victory points.
Dice provide other options, too, as these are stored as troops to participate in battles. However, low troop values provide valuable discounts at some shrines. Very helpful!
The solo opponent moves around in a clockwise direction, blocking spaces and taking a battle plan at a certain point.
However, there is no interaction with the dice, and I found this to be far too easy in my initial plays a few years ago.
Recruiting Monsters
In addition to troop dice, there are also individual monster cards that may be recruited over the course of play. These are limited, though, so choices are most important.
They also become more expensive with more of the same type. In practice, this encourages a varied strategy, but I always focus on end game scoring cards… Which works.
I’ll pause for a moment and say that either I can’t read a rulebook, or the solo mode is far too easy to win.
I spent time reading and re-reading the entire set of rules, though, so I’m pretty sure I played everything correctly.
Led by the Dragons
Where are the dragons?! I was hoping to spot my favorite piece of artwork here again, but the only dragon I found was the first player marker. At least it was very cool!
I decided to play as the gargoyles since I didn’t defeat any of them in my last play of Margraves of Valeria. It made sense that they would be the ones leading the charge.
The other neat mechanic is the fact that abilities get unlocked over the course of play. Lots of power by the end!
My gargoyles knew what they were doing, but it was kind of disappointing to see such a lackluster solo opponent.
Completing the Team
Before I knew it, the final battle plan was in place and I won handily… This is also with adjusting the solo opponent to start with a bonus of 30 victory points.
In looking at my choice of cards, this was one of my lowest scoring plays. Ongoing effects were rarely worth it, and I started scoring 50-70 victory points from end game cards.
Such cool artwork, though! I felt like the theme was still apparent here with all of the action and neat monsters.
I can’t express how much I wanted to feel like I was being challenged by the solo opponent. There was no tension.
Trouble Integrating a Meaningful Solo Mode
I suppose I might still be playing wrong after all this time, both in solo and multiplayer, but I’m going to set that aside unless someone can point out a mistake I made. The problem here is that the solo opponent is simply too predictable. Why force it to go clockwise? A solo opponent deck with 10 cards and randomized locations would have been better.
My feeling is that this is an example of a game that has a solo mode mostly to help with introducing the game concepts to teach others. I almost wanted to switch over to playing multi-handed against myself… Which I never do and says a lot! Yet I probably would have been happier with seeing this listed as a 2-5 player game than pretending to offer solo.
I appreciate designers and publishers accommodating solo players. Yet I’m also at that point where I would rather not try a solo mode that doesn’t feel polished than accept that I won’t bring a game to my solo table. That’s OK! This game is all about player interaction, but the solo mode doesn’t attempt to simulate that. Hence, absolutely no challenge.
Battle Plan Timeline
Finishing 7 battle plans triggers the end, which meant I could time everything. I found that the solo opponent kept up, usually completing 6 or 7 battle plans by the end.
I enjoyed the puzzle of figuring out the right dice to use, along with balancing strength with influence. The lowest value provided victory points, so that encouraged balance.
The types of battles often affected other elements, too, so I never felt like I was at a loss for making cool decisions.
But the solo opponent scored the least with battle plans requiring few dice… So I just set that up every time.
Moving to Expansions
Since I felt like I had seen everything in the base game after a couple of plays, it was time to move onto adding in some new expansion modules! This seemed promising.
Yet I hesitated when I found out that of the 4 modules, the solo opponent didn’t interact with any of them.
The Great Battles concerned me the most because all I had to do was carefully plan my dice selection to complete them. So didn’t that mean I would just score a lot more?
Reading through these rules, I was concerned that all of these modules simply made the base game easier in solo.
Rise and Fall of Titans
I was right… Everything about these modules simply made it easier for me, offering me more chances for victory points without affecting the solo opponent in any way.
The difference in scores widened as I found ways to move ahead. Spells gave me unnecessary bonuses, and the new shrine just gave me a way to reserve high-value dice.
Expansions don’t necessarily need to make a solo game harder, but they should add some more clever layers.
This felt like it would be awesome with other players, but again… No tension. I could still do everything, and more.
Creating a Rift
It was onto the latest large expansion, as I hoped this would provide the challenge I was looking for! Things looked promising with a whole new map area and relics.
Set collection entered into the formula, yet I wasn’t so sure about those majority bonuses… Way too close.
To be clear, I enjoyed a lot of these mechanics and the choices. A lot of clever elements were at play, but this felt more like I was learning the game to teach others later.
The solo opponent simply didn’t have any teeth. I just had to stay ahead, or follow in its pre-programmed wake.
Slight Difficulty Fixes
Although not explicitly called out, the solo opponent’s scoring was at least improved. Its battle plan scoring went from a tiered 9 / 12 / 15 to 15 / 20/ 25. Getting there!
The difficulty adjustments threw me off, though. In no realm was there a rift of just 5 victory points. I couldn’t lose at the 30 victory point disadvantage I gave myself!
Additionally, with this new shrine that the solo opponent visited, it couldn’t keep up with my battle plan strategy.
It didn’t help that there was an award for 2-dice battle plans, so I ended it all before it completed 5 battle plans.
Even More Bonuses
This expansion added in asymmetric powers for the factions, which made for some more interesting choices! I also enjoyed the ability to have up to 2 relics in effect.
But once again, I had no competition. There were more ways for me to move ahead, and I lost track of how many times both of us went around the scoring track.
Pretty sure there should be +70 victory points in one of these plays… But it didn’t matter. I won by a landslide.
Adjusting the scoring wouldn’t make a difference, though, as the real issue is in how little the solo opponent does.
Session Overview
Play Number: 3-8
Expansion 1: Shadow Kingdoms of Valeria: Riftlands
Expansion 2: Shadow Kingdoms of Valeria: Rise of Titans
Expansion 3: Shadow Kingdoms of Valeria: Promo Awards
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Expert Difficulty Level
Outcome: 6 Wins
This is such a beautiful and interesting game! Just a shame about the solo opponent. I’ll likely play this one with my husband and gaming group, so it still has some life left in it! Not one I recommend for solo play, unfortunately.
%
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)
- Deciding which shrine to visit based on the available dice is a clever mechanic, often tied into possible discounts.
- Since troop dice may be manipulated in multiple ways, there really isn’t a bad choice to make during most rounds.
- Most expansion content is quite interesting, and although it’s not suited to solo, there are some clever additions.
- The majority of the iconography is easy to understand at a glance and stands out amidst the lovely artwork.
- Combinations and synergies are quite fun to discover, particularly when completing a battle plan or award.
- Playing as the monsters is an interesting theme that comes through with all of the art and connected mechanics.
– Cons (Negatives)
- There is no tension with the solo opponent, particularly when adding expansions where it ignores the content.
- Without any real pressure, everything can be accomplished before the end of play with a very easy sort of victory.
- Immediate and ongoing cards don’t feel like they’re that useful compared to end game scoring cards.
- Once the general strategy and order of operations is figured out, there isn’t much more to get out of the solo game.
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
What do you think of Shadow Kingdoms of Valeria? Do you have a favorite expansion module? There really is a lot to enjoy here with the neat combination of mechanics and meaningful choices, but apparently the solo opponent took a nap in the shadows… Ha! We’ll see if I can work this narrative into the next game in the series that sees my solo table!
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