Vale of Eternity: Review
Information:
Player Age: 14+
Player Count: 1 - 4 Players
Time to Play: 30 - 45 Minutes
Year Published: 2023
Disclaimer: A review copy for the game was provided by the Lets Play Games.
Introduction:
Vale of Eternity is set in a world of monsters, myths, and gods. Filled with 5 families spanning 70 cards, players are aiming to create an engine that will score them 60+ points in order to end the game and win with the most points at the end of the round. This is a game about optimising your engine once built, and knowing when to keep a card and when to sell it for peak efficiency of your engine.
Game Anatomy:
Cards:
The deck is made up of 70 unique cards featuring five different families; fire, water, earth, wind, and dragon.
Each of these cards has a summoning cost on the top left and an ability (or abilities) at the bottom. This ability will either be active as an instant, ongoing (permenant), or will be triggered at the end of each round (active).
Stones:
There are three stone types; 1, 3 and 6, also known as red, blue and purple, respectively. At any point, a player can only hold four stones. They cannot be discarded to change their amount (e.g. three 1’s exchanged for one 3) and they cannot return change when a player overspends on one card.
Board:
The game board is where the cards will be drafted from each round. Surrounding the edges of the board is the kind of stones gained when selling a card from each of the five families.
Setup:
- Each player chooses a colour then gains the two-player player markers and one player tile of that colour.
- The player most recently to have seen a reptile will be the first player; they gain the first player marker.
- Place the game board and scoreboard in the centre of the table.
- Shuffle all cards together and place the shuffled deck and stones within reach of all players.
- Put the round tracker on the first round.
- Place each player's score counter on the matching spot according to player order, i.e the second player starts at two points, the first would start at one point.
How to Play:
During the game, players will either play 10 rounds, or the game will stop when at least one player has exceeded 60 points. At the end of the round where the end- game condition was triggered, the player with the most points will be the winner. Each round consists of 3 phases; hunting, action, and resolution.
Hunting Phase:
At the start of this phase cards equal to the player count times two, are displayed next to their family on the board.
During the hunting phase players are snake-drafting from the selection of cards displayed. In each round, cards are drawn equal to the player count multiplied by two. To further explain the drafting, starting with the first player and moving clockwise, each player will place one of their tokens on the card they are drafting. Then proceeding with the last player (who gains two drafts in a row) and moving counter-clockwise back up the line, the second claiming token will be placed.
Action Phase:
Starting with the first player, everyone will now fully resolve their action phase. This includes summoning, selling, taming, or removing cards. These actions can be performed multiple times and can be resolved in any order. At the end of this phase both cards you drafted will either be tamed or sold.
Tame or sell:
The cards you selected in the drafting will either be tamed (added to your hand) or sold. Selling the card gains the stones that are displayed on the board for that family type, the card is then discarded. Players cannot hold more than four stones and must discard down (to their choice) after a sell action if an over-abundance is gained. Players are constantly faced with the decision of removing good cards to further develop or enhance their engine.
Summon:
Now that a card has been tamed (added to your hand), you can summon it. Each card has a cost on the left, however, if you do not have the correct number in stones, no change will be given when paying beyond this cost. Each card with an instant ability will now resolve. In the area where you summon cards you can never have more than the current round number.
Removing:
If you require more space than the current round presents and have cards in your area that are no longer beneficial, you can pay equal to the current round to remove one card into the discard pile.
Resolution Phase:
Any card with the sand timer icon will be activated in this phase. These abilities are activated each turn, starting with the first player. Players can choose the order in which these effects resolve, this is a key element to getting the best out of your engine.
Final Thoughts:
- Great variation in cards.
- Important decision whether to keep a card or sell it.
- Plenty of different types of engines to build.
- Close scoring game.
Vale of Eternity is a great core engine-building game. Players are racing to build an engine that works, then gather the resources needed for that engine to churn out the 60 points first. Since all cards are unique there are many strategies players can deploy, such as gaining points based on the cards in your area, the stones you have, or how effectively you can manage your end of round effects. The other crucial element to Vale of Eternity is the important choice each round of what you do with your cards. Since most of the cards in this game are great, if they don't completely fit your engine then it may be more relevant for you to draft cards for their sell value instead. Players are often faced with the crucial decision of selling or taming cards. If you enjoy engine-building games then this one is fast and fun, while also great for introductions into the genre as well. For me, it is staying in the collection and has earned a Silver Seal of Approval.
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