Long long time ago…
The kingdom in the valley takes us back to the medieval times. In it, we move to, as you can easily guess, a certain valley. This is where a well-organized society lives, which supports and complements each other. However, they lack a king. He will be democratically elected. The throne will be held by the one who gains the greatest influence, and hence, the support of the local population. Both the nobility and the peasants will decide, every vote will matter!
This is the introduction to the game. It is quite atmospheric and it certainly helps us feel the role we are going to play. We can only regret that the creators did not try to name the country or valley in which we will fight for the throne. Ultimately, however, the introduction is intriguing and can encourage gameplay.
Visual impressions
Although you shouldn’t judge games by their cover, a good illustration will certainly catch your eye and tempt you to familiarize yourself with it. In the case of the Kingdom in the Valley, the packaging will attract attention. In front of us we will have a large box with colorful, atmospheric and humorous graphics. David Cochard, an artist whose works you may know from such titles as Alchemists , Lords of the Underworld or Pupile of the Underworld , is responsible for it .
After opening the package, we should not be disappointed either. We will find there mainly several dozen character tokens that will create our game board. They represent peasants, princes, knights and even wizards. Each of them also has a frame in a different color to make it easier for us to distinguish them. Scores and special powers are also marked here so that we can better plan our moves in the game. We can only complain a little that all members of a given class look alike. So we have 9 identical countesses or 3 identical jesters. The fact is, they look good, but some variety would certainly not hurt.
In addition, there are four castle boards, one for each player. Each of them has a different coat of arms and colors. We will move by means of special, wooden king’s pawns. There are also 1, 3 and 5 coins. It can be a little confusing that they are described as “gold”, while the least worth looking more like copper and middle coins more silver. For a board gamea notebook is also included, graphically matched to the rest of the issue, in which we will save the results. There is also a hill on which we will place character tokens. I must admit that I was a bit worried that the tiles would slip over the angled cardboard, but fortunately they hold quite solid and only a stronger shock can make them all fall down and the whole structure will fall apart. Finally, I would like to mention that the creators also included T-shirts to store all the elements, for which they deserve an additional plus.
Game of Thrones
The Kingdom of the Valley game is intended for 2-4 players aged 10 and over. Its creator is Hans van Tol. The board game manual contains only eight pages, of which the rules are explained on three pages. The others contain an introduction and describe the scoring and special abilities of the selected characters. And it must be admitted that the gameplay is actually simple and has a low entry threshold. However, this does not mean that we will be bored with it. As befits a strategy, we have a lot of planning and choices ahead. Additionally, our ranks can be thwarted by other players. Let us also add that thanks to the drawing of tokens and placing them in the form of a board, our games will never be the same. What is it more exactly? I’m already translating!
First, we need to prepare our table. Since the elements for the game are not very large and mostly made of cardboard, we will have to play the games at home. In the fresh air, the wind would certainly prevent us from having fun. The goal of our game is to score as many points as possible. We will do it by recruiting new subjects and collecting money. Whoever proves to be the best in the end will be King of the Valley!
Starting with the first player in our turn, each of us will perform four more steps. First, we will be able to recruit a subject located on the aforementioned hill. For each of them, however, we will have to pay an appropriate amount. Then we will move our pawn through the valley previously created from the character tiles. We will decide for ourselves how many fields we will move, and our movement will be vertical, horizontal or diagonal. When finished, we will recruit people according to one of several options. If we manage to gather five different representatives of the society, then we will receive a bonus in the form of coins and additional points. Finally, we will have to replenish the valley and the hill with new minions drawn from the pool and the next player will start their turn.
During the action, it may happen that one of the three specialists (priest, wizard or tax collector) will go to our resources, which will enable us to activate his unique ability. However, it must be performed as soon as that character is acquired, and upon completion, the hero will be thrown aside. The game will end when we will not be able to fill the empty spaces on the board. Then we will move on to counting points.
I already want to be this king!
The board game in question is definitely worth our attention. It is an interesting and original strategy that teaches logical thinking. You can also feel the right atmosphere in it, which is necessary to fight for power. There is not much interaction in it, but we can still thwart the opponent’s plans. A lot of randomness will also provide us with unique gameplay. By the way, we’ll also need some luck when revealing new subjects. In turn, the easy rules will allow you to quickly introduce new players to the Kingdom in the Valley . Let us also add that it works well both in two-, three- and four-person mode.
You can complain about the graphics, which are colorful and detailed, but also repeatable and many of them look the same. The coins could also have been refined better. There were two options – either to actually give all the zlotys, or to call them “copper” or “silverware”, so as not to introduce some confusion in the rules. Ultimately, however, we are dealing with a quite successful product that will provide us with fun both in the family circle and during meetings with friends.
