Villages of Valeria is a village-building card game in which players establish resources, construct buildings, and attract adventurers to become the next capital city of Valeria. Take on the role of a Duke or Duchess in the vast and beautiful kingdom of Valeria.

Villages of Valeria is a standalone game set in the world of Valeria and takes place just before the hordes of monsters invade the kingdom in Valeria: Card Kingdoms, the first game in the Valeria series. 

Now that we have that marketing blurb out of the way, let’s get to the meat of Villages of Valeria and why Rick (Holzgrafe) and I think it’s the best game we’ve ever designed.

#1: Lead and Follow Actions

When a player takes their turn, they pick an action: Harvest, Develop, Build, Recruit, or Tax. They perform their action, then, in player order, the other players “follow” the action by doing a weaker version of that action. This creates incredible player engagement when it is not your turn because you’re highly invested in the action that the active player will take so that you can take advantage.

This lead and follow mechanism also leads to interesting timing issues in the game. For example, your gold tokens could be tied up in such a way that when the active player does a Build action, you are unable to follow and erect a building! Since the game ends when there are a certain number of cards built in front of you, missing an opportunity to build a building is a big deal.

#2: Duel Purpose Cards

Each building card in Villages of Valeria can be used for two different purposes. You can either pay the cost to build the card as a building, or you could develop it in to a resource by taking the Develop action and tucking the building card upside-down under you castle card. You need resources to be able to build buildings, but you also may need to build a certain card to maximize your victory points. Do I discard this card to build this other card? Do I develop this card or use it for its power? This tension makes every card you hold highly important and gives you a meaningful decision to make every turn.

#3: Sharing is Caring

Each player starts with three gold tokens, and each gold token is worth one victory point at the end of the game. Gold tokens are placed on resources (Food, Wood, Stone, or Magic) you’ve developed throughout the game in order to pay for the cost of building. At the start of your turn, you get back any gold tokens you’ve “spent”. In this way, you’re really just paying yourself to produce resources, but you always get that gold back to use again and again.

But, what if you’re unable to develop one of the four resources? In this game you can either use gold on a resource you’ve developed or you can place it on an opponent’s resource. Yes, you’ve given your opponent one gold which is one victory point at the end of the game, but hopefully you’ve built a building with a great power that will help catapult you to the lead!

Another interesting side effect to being able to place your gold on an opponent’s resource is that you’ve essentially “blocked” that resource from being used again until the beginning of your opponent’s turn. That’s right! You’ve just made it impossible for them to build until their next turn. They might be mad at you, but at least they get that victory point.

#4: Multiple Paths to Victory

Each building has a type assigned to it: Worker, Soldier, Shadow, and Holy. We took great care in making sure that each building type had its own path to victory and unique flavor. Some building will give you immediate powers, but most will give you game-changing, ongoing powers that crank up your rewards when you take actions in the game – whether you’re leading or following an action!

Of course, mixing and matching different building types to discover synergies is highly encouraged. Discover the free resources from Worker buildings and mix that with the card management powers in the Soldier buildings. Or try your hand at maximizing your gold generation with the Holy buildings while monopolizing on the tricky powers of the Shadow buildings.

#5: Adventurers Galore!

Besides building for powers and victory points, the most important reason to build is to attract adventurers to your village. Adventurers have higher victory points and come with even greater powers.

You attract adventurers by having buildings in your village that they desire and by paying them a gold or two. For example, you may want to attract the Knight to your village that gives you one victory point for every Soldier building you have built at the end of the game. The Knight needs two Soldier buildings to feel comfortable in your city, so you’ll have to build those first.

#6: An Expanding World

Villages of Valeria is the second game in the Valeria-verse and we plan to release many more games in this universe. The setting is familiar to most players, but the structured archetypes and wonderful art quickly engage even the most casual player.

We’re really proud of Villages of Valeria and the mini-expansion packs accompanying the game upon its release. It has a nice blend of familiar mechanics (Puerto Rico, San Juan), intricate strategies, and low barrier for entry. Rick and I can’t wait to see all of the villages you’ll build and which ones will become the next capital city of Valeria!

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Isaias Vallejo is co-owner of Daily Magic Games and designer of Valeria: Card Kingdoms, Sunrise City, and Quests of Valeria. He is co-designer of Villages of Valeria and attributes most of the great things in that game to Rick Holzgrafe.