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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Cindr in Tabletop Games
Oct 29, 2020
Finally! A game to simulate dating dragons. I have been waiting for this theme all my life and it’s now a reality!! Well, okay, I have never really considered dating a dragon. But I know I would be signing up for a service app like Cindr to find my true dragon mate FO SHO if it were real. So how does a card game dragon sim play?
Cindr has players taking on the persona of a lonely fantasy creature looking for dragon love on a dating app. Players will be building their character by making choices and then swiping left or right to attempt going on dates with dragons that may be a great match. Roll the dice well and things may go to the Next Step, or even the Next Level. Roll poorly and your dear dragon date may send you home aflame.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. Furthermore I will be covering the game using the Solo rules (which are no different than the multiplayer rules). For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, each player (or just yourself if playing the solo rules as I am) will choose a Character Profile card, filling in the blanks and circling choices to build their new fantasy persona. Each player will take one Try Again card that is useful during game play. Shuffle each Cindr App Dragon Profile and Whelp App Location card deck and place near each other. The dice will be placed near all the cards as well and the game is ready to begin!
On a turn a player will do each of these steps in order: Choose a Dragon to Date, Assemble the Dice Pool, Draw a Location Card, Check Dragon Powers & Location Bonuses, The Date / Roll Dice, Burned by a Dragon, and End of Turn. In the solo game players will be playing long enough to complete five dragon dates.
Choosing a Dragon to Date consists of reading the profile on the top of the deck and deciding whether to date or not. If not, swipe the profile into The Dating Pool below the deck. Players may swipe twice for free, and pay for additional swipes. After a dragon has been chosen, players will Assemble the Dice Pool by flipping the profile card and comparing with the stats they had made for their character at the beginning of the game. For each match players will receive a green die. For each value one space away a blue die, and for two spaces away a red die. Each die color has a different value of faces, but all have hearts and fires. Next the player(s) will Draw a Location Card from the top of the deck, read the front, then flip to the back. The back of the card will list any die up/downgrades and bonuses that may activate at different times during the date. Checking Dragon Powers & Location Bonuses will happen next and are self-explanatory.
Now that a dragon date has been procured and a location chosen, The Date may occur! When on the date, players will roll the four dice up to three times. The first time they are rolled is considered the Meet Up. The Next Step and The Next Level are the second and third rolls respectively. To be considered a full date, players will need to at least roll a second time. It is during The Date that players will be collecting hearts and trying to avoid fires. Three fires and the hearts are lost and the turn over. Players may stop rolling any time they wish and bank the hearts they have won to that point. The hearts then transfer to Love Points that are tracked at the bottom of the Character Profile card.
Should a player roll three flames and have no way to mitigate them, they lose all earned hearts for that round and their turn is over. They were, after all, Burned by a Dragon. The End of Turn is a cleanup phase to setup for the next player (or next round if playing solo). Play continues in this fashion until a player reaches 21+ Love Points in a multiplayer game or after the solo player has gone on five complete dates. Total the points to see who is the winner, or compare against the Love Meter card to see where you stack up.
Components. I’m just going to come out and say it now: I love everything about the components in this game. The dice are excellent and feature GOOD colors (not just boring primary colors). The app cards look like a phone’s screen and that’s brilliant. The Location cards are using a review service named Whelp, and also a stroke of brilliance. The art is amazing, save for the somewhat boring Second Chance cards, and one of the fonts is the same as my favorite game of all time – Valeria: Card Kingdoms, so I am fan for sure.
It’s no use hiding the fact that I am giddy playing this game. Even solo! Yes, I missed out on being able to date dragons from other players’ Dating Pools, but I have access to all the dragons anyway! Being able to adjust your choices during the game as a result of dragon powers or location powers is a neat twist that I wasn’t expecting. Those powers and bonuses are great and can really change the game, and contribute to an already large replayability score from me. It’s just a superb game that I love more and more every time I play it.
Cindr will probably never make my Top 10 Games of All Time, but it will most certainly remain in my Top 100 for years. Again, I wish I had not missed out on the Kickstarter for this one as I am gluttonous for KS stretch goal extras, but I am quite happy with where this game is at retail level. If you are looking for a great game with a hilarious and wonderful theme, plays quickly, and is excellent as a solo game too, then check out Cindr. You will never look at dragon dating sites the same way again. I promise.
Cindr has players taking on the persona of a lonely fantasy creature looking for dragon love on a dating app. Players will be building their character by making choices and then swiping left or right to attempt going on dates with dragons that may be a great match. Roll the dice well and things may go to the Next Step, or even the Next Level. Roll poorly and your dear dragon date may send you home aflame.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. Furthermore I will be covering the game using the Solo rules (which are no different than the multiplayer rules). For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, each player (or just yourself if playing the solo rules as I am) will choose a Character Profile card, filling in the blanks and circling choices to build their new fantasy persona. Each player will take one Try Again card that is useful during game play. Shuffle each Cindr App Dragon Profile and Whelp App Location card deck and place near each other. The dice will be placed near all the cards as well and the game is ready to begin!
On a turn a player will do each of these steps in order: Choose a Dragon to Date, Assemble the Dice Pool, Draw a Location Card, Check Dragon Powers & Location Bonuses, The Date / Roll Dice, Burned by a Dragon, and End of Turn. In the solo game players will be playing long enough to complete five dragon dates.
Choosing a Dragon to Date consists of reading the profile on the top of the deck and deciding whether to date or not. If not, swipe the profile into The Dating Pool below the deck. Players may swipe twice for free, and pay for additional swipes. After a dragon has been chosen, players will Assemble the Dice Pool by flipping the profile card and comparing with the stats they had made for their character at the beginning of the game. For each match players will receive a green die. For each value one space away a blue die, and for two spaces away a red die. Each die color has a different value of faces, but all have hearts and fires. Next the player(s) will Draw a Location Card from the top of the deck, read the front, then flip to the back. The back of the card will list any die up/downgrades and bonuses that may activate at different times during the date. Checking Dragon Powers & Location Bonuses will happen next and are self-explanatory.
Now that a dragon date has been procured and a location chosen, The Date may occur! When on the date, players will roll the four dice up to three times. The first time they are rolled is considered the Meet Up. The Next Step and The Next Level are the second and third rolls respectively. To be considered a full date, players will need to at least roll a second time. It is during The Date that players will be collecting hearts and trying to avoid fires. Three fires and the hearts are lost and the turn over. Players may stop rolling any time they wish and bank the hearts they have won to that point. The hearts then transfer to Love Points that are tracked at the bottom of the Character Profile card.
Should a player roll three flames and have no way to mitigate them, they lose all earned hearts for that round and their turn is over. They were, after all, Burned by a Dragon. The End of Turn is a cleanup phase to setup for the next player (or next round if playing solo). Play continues in this fashion until a player reaches 21+ Love Points in a multiplayer game or after the solo player has gone on five complete dates. Total the points to see who is the winner, or compare against the Love Meter card to see where you stack up.
Components. I’m just going to come out and say it now: I love everything about the components in this game. The dice are excellent and feature GOOD colors (not just boring primary colors). The app cards look like a phone’s screen and that’s brilliant. The Location cards are using a review service named Whelp, and also a stroke of brilliance. The art is amazing, save for the somewhat boring Second Chance cards, and one of the fonts is the same as my favorite game of all time – Valeria: Card Kingdoms, so I am fan for sure.
It’s no use hiding the fact that I am giddy playing this game. Even solo! Yes, I missed out on being able to date dragons from other players’ Dating Pools, but I have access to all the dragons anyway! Being able to adjust your choices during the game as a result of dragon powers or location powers is a neat twist that I wasn’t expecting. Those powers and bonuses are great and can really change the game, and contribute to an already large replayability score from me. It’s just a superb game that I love more and more every time I play it.
Cindr will probably never make my Top 10 Games of All Time, but it will most certainly remain in my Top 100 for years. Again, I wish I had not missed out on the Kickstarter for this one as I am gluttonous for KS stretch goal extras, but I am quite happy with where this game is at retail level. If you are looking for a great game with a hilarious and wonderful theme, plays quickly, and is excellent as a solo game too, then check out Cindr. You will never look at dragon dating sites the same way again. I promise.
“OMG when is Purple Phoenix Games gonna review another Harry Potter game??” We listened. So here is the next installment of our unofficial Harry Potter games series. In Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle – Defence Against the Dark Arts (which I will gladly reduce to Defence throughout the review, even though my American English Spidey-Senses are all over that spelling), players will be playing through a duel in the classroom using spells, allies, and items to push back and stun their opponent. Have you got the wand strength to stand up to your rival?
Like I just mentioned, Defence pits two players against each other in a sparring scenario. Players will be drafting cards that represent Spells to sling, Allies to aid, and Items to help knock opponents off their balance. The winner of Defence is the wizard who can stun their opponent three times. Only then will they be able to stand a chance against their dark foes.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup a game, follow the rulebook instructions to lay out the main duel board and its shuffled decks that will surround it. These include the Hogwarts deck (from which players will be purchasing cards to add to their discard piles), the Library deck (which includes only Books cards that add influence or the ability to draw the top card of the player deck), Hexes (which are placed directly in the opponent’s discard pile and must be dealt with first when in hand), and Banished cards. Each player will choose a House card and a matching mover token to be placed on the board. Likewise, each player will have a starting hand of seven Alohomora! cards, one Wand, one Cauldron, and one starter Ally: Owl, Toad, or Cat. Each player will shuffle their starting deck, drawing five for their starting hand. Determine the starting player and the duel may begin!
On a player’s turn they will first deal with any Hex cards they have acquired, following the instructions written on the card. Once cleared, the active player will play cards from their hand in any order they wish to gain Influence to purchase cards from the Classroom (market), Attack points to push back their opponent towards the Stun space, or Health points to move their own mover token one space closer to the Starting space on the board.
Cards that are purchased from the Classroom can be Items, Spells, or even Allies. Items and Spells typically provide Influence, Health, or Attack, and some will have House bonuses in addition to normal effects. In order to take advantage of the House bonus, a player will either need to be from the affiliated House, or have an active Ally belonging to the affiliated House. This is a new mechanic in this game and adds another layer of strategy to a player’s purchasing.
As wizards duel back and forth slinging Spells, recruiting and activating Allies, and using Items to push back their opponent, one wizard will be stunned. When this happens the players will reset their play areas by combining all of their cards they have in their possession. Shuffle the lot of them, draw another hand of five cards and reset their mover token back to the Starting space. The next round is ready to begin and the wizard who stuns their opponent thrice will be crowned champion! Or get an A for the day… or whatever the Common Core equivalent is nowadays.
Components. I have many great things to say about the components in this box and a couple little gripes. Gripelets, really. First gripe: the box comes with a cardstock sleeve. It is very cool and looks great, but it’s unnecessary and I find it keeps snagging on other boxes and such. Not a big deal, as I can always get rid of it, but that’s an opinion. Second, the board is very dark. It features a very dark purple (yay purple!) with black spaces upon which players move their tokens. The colors are very close under certain lighting and I wish there was even just a faint outline of the spaces in a white or gray. Lastly, and probably just me and the way I play, the Attack and Health trackers are almost completely unnecessary. I know you are supposed to take a token every time you “Gain” a Health or Attack point, but I always just keep track in my head thus negating the need for the tokens.
But onto the great. Literally everything else is great. I have always enjoyed the components in the original game, and as this one contains many of the same, I also enjoy these. The art style is interesting and pretty cool, and I really don’t mind screencaps as much as many others do. So for me, overall, I really enjoy the components here.
All in all I truly love this game. I am almost always in the mood to play Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle, but it is cooperative and my wife doesn’t really enjoy the OG HP game. This one, however, she does enjoy because she can just flex on me and stun me into oblivion with her superior deckbuilding abilities. This one is quicker to setup and play, and holds a much smaller footprint. The mechanics are familiar without being totally duplicating, and I just love deckbuilders in general. So this one was bound to be a big hit with me from the start.
If you are looking for a great Harry Potter-themed deckbuilding game and are not completely sold on the bigger cooperative game, take a look at this much smaller two-player competitive title. Do try to take some of the cards with a grain of salt, as I am sure it is difficult to imagine having both Hermione and Draco as allies simultaneously, but it can happen in the game. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a very enthusiastic 11 / 12. Just a word of caution, try not to Flipendo your table when you lose. It won’t end well.
Like I just mentioned, Defence pits two players against each other in a sparring scenario. Players will be drafting cards that represent Spells to sling, Allies to aid, and Items to help knock opponents off their balance. The winner of Defence is the wizard who can stun their opponent three times. Only then will they be able to stand a chance against their dark foes.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup a game, follow the rulebook instructions to lay out the main duel board and its shuffled decks that will surround it. These include the Hogwarts deck (from which players will be purchasing cards to add to their discard piles), the Library deck (which includes only Books cards that add influence or the ability to draw the top card of the player deck), Hexes (which are placed directly in the opponent’s discard pile and must be dealt with first when in hand), and Banished cards. Each player will choose a House card and a matching mover token to be placed on the board. Likewise, each player will have a starting hand of seven Alohomora! cards, one Wand, one Cauldron, and one starter Ally: Owl, Toad, or Cat. Each player will shuffle their starting deck, drawing five for their starting hand. Determine the starting player and the duel may begin!
On a player’s turn they will first deal with any Hex cards they have acquired, following the instructions written on the card. Once cleared, the active player will play cards from their hand in any order they wish to gain Influence to purchase cards from the Classroom (market), Attack points to push back their opponent towards the Stun space, or Health points to move their own mover token one space closer to the Starting space on the board.
Cards that are purchased from the Classroom can be Items, Spells, or even Allies. Items and Spells typically provide Influence, Health, or Attack, and some will have House bonuses in addition to normal effects. In order to take advantage of the House bonus, a player will either need to be from the affiliated House, or have an active Ally belonging to the affiliated House. This is a new mechanic in this game and adds another layer of strategy to a player’s purchasing.
As wizards duel back and forth slinging Spells, recruiting and activating Allies, and using Items to push back their opponent, one wizard will be stunned. When this happens the players will reset their play areas by combining all of their cards they have in their possession. Shuffle the lot of them, draw another hand of five cards and reset their mover token back to the Starting space. The next round is ready to begin and the wizard who stuns their opponent thrice will be crowned champion! Or get an A for the day… or whatever the Common Core equivalent is nowadays.
Components. I have many great things to say about the components in this box and a couple little gripes. Gripelets, really. First gripe: the box comes with a cardstock sleeve. It is very cool and looks great, but it’s unnecessary and I find it keeps snagging on other boxes and such. Not a big deal, as I can always get rid of it, but that’s an opinion. Second, the board is very dark. It features a very dark purple (yay purple!) with black spaces upon which players move their tokens. The colors are very close under certain lighting and I wish there was even just a faint outline of the spaces in a white or gray. Lastly, and probably just me and the way I play, the Attack and Health trackers are almost completely unnecessary. I know you are supposed to take a token every time you “Gain” a Health or Attack point, but I always just keep track in my head thus negating the need for the tokens.
But onto the great. Literally everything else is great. I have always enjoyed the components in the original game, and as this one contains many of the same, I also enjoy these. The art style is interesting and pretty cool, and I really don’t mind screencaps as much as many others do. So for me, overall, I really enjoy the components here.
All in all I truly love this game. I am almost always in the mood to play Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle, but it is cooperative and my wife doesn’t really enjoy the OG HP game. This one, however, she does enjoy because she can just flex on me and stun me into oblivion with her superior deckbuilding abilities. This one is quicker to setup and play, and holds a much smaller footprint. The mechanics are familiar without being totally duplicating, and I just love deckbuilders in general. So this one was bound to be a big hit with me from the start.
If you are looking for a great Harry Potter-themed deckbuilding game and are not completely sold on the bigger cooperative game, take a look at this much smaller two-player competitive title. Do try to take some of the cards with a grain of salt, as I am sure it is difficult to imagine having both Hermione and Draco as allies simultaneously, but it can happen in the game. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a very enthusiastic 11 / 12. Just a word of caution, try not to Flipendo your table when you lose. It won’t end well.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Dungeon Academy in Tabletop Games
Dec 8, 2020
Roll-and-write style games have come a really long way over the past couple years. In the olden days we had Yahtzee, and that satisfied us. But then designers began dusting off that olde mechanic and breathing new life into it. While roll-and-write may never become my favorite mechanic, I am starting to appreciate the good ones more and more each time I play them. Dungeon Academy is one of these good games.
In Dungeon Academy players are taking the roles of students attempting their finals to become graduated warriors and mages in the land. They must pass their tests though, and that entails surviving through the dreaded Dungeon four times and surpassing all opponents to receive their degree.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup a solo game of Dungeon Academy, assemble the Dungeon component per the instructions. The player is dealt a character card with a special ability and markers to track Health and Mana throughout the game. Pile the Health and Mana tokens on the table, shuffle the Loot cards into a deck, and place the Teacher pawn nearby. Grab the pad of paper and pen and you are ready to begin.
Each attempt in the Dungeon will require the 16 Base Dice to be rolled and set inside the Dungeon. It is then flipped upside down when the timer begins and the mad dash to the Exit commences. As the player marks a line through every “room” (each die is considered a “room” in the Dungeon) they create a path to be checked at the end of the round. Once the player has made it through the Dungeon satisfactorily the Teacher will check the path.
The Teacher pawn is now used to track movement in the Dungeon. As the player tracks the path they drew on the paper, the Teacher is moved through the rooms. In each room (each die face) will be one of these possible encounters: a Mana potion to refill an empty Mana space on the character card, a Health potion, a small red Blob, a small blue Ghost, a large red Colossus, or a large blue Reaper. Each small foe encountered will be overtaken by spending one Health or Mana token from the character card. Each potion will restore spent Health or Mana. Each large foe encountered will require two Health or Mana to be spent. As the Teacher follows the path set by the player, Health and Mana will be spent and replenished on the character card, and foes defeated tracked on the sheet.
Once complete, the player will add up all the points from defeated foes (1VP per foe) and any VP from special character abilities or Loot cards. Additionally, the player will choose one of the four Quests at the bottom of the sheet to score each round for extra VP. They write these numbers on the sheet and prepare for the next level. After four total levels the game ends and the total is compared to a scale in the rulebook.
Multiplayer Dungeon Academy works the exact same way except once a player exits the Dungeon, they must grab the lowest-numbered Exit card as representation of the place finished in the Dungeon (so the first one out grabs the 1 card, etc.). The other difference from solo play is that players all compare total VP at the game end to determine the winner.
Components. This game has a large scorepad of 150 double-sided sheets, a bunch of cards for Hero characters, Loot, and Exits, as well as 18 total dice, about a trillion double-sided Health/Mana tokens and an impressive cardboard Dungeon. Everything is of wonderful Matagot quality… except for the Duneon. In my copy the Dungeon does not stay together very well. I may attempt some glue to keep the parts down that need to stay down, but it is still functional and a great design. The art style across the game is cute and fun, and I like the muted bright color scheme. That feels so weird to say/type, but the colors are vibrant hues, but muted so they stay out of the way. It’s strange and I love it.
Speaking of I love it, I love this game! It is quickly becoming one of my favorite roll-and-write games, and I can play it solo. In about 15 minutes. These are all positives, and I haven’t even really touched on the gameplay. Being able to get through a light solo game in 15 minutes while having a great time throughout is an achievement, and one I would like to applaud here. I wasn’t really sure going into this if I was going to enjoy it, but it has blown me away. Trying to evaluate the best path through the Dungeon while keeping track of how the Health and Mana is always in flux gives my brain a welcomed workout that is just a breath of fresh air for me. I love the art style and the theme, and the simple but easy to understand iconography on the dice is much appreciated.
I think that if you are looking for or lacking a similar type game in your collection you should do yourself a favor and check out Dungeon Academy. It is super quick, easy to grasp and play, requires little table space, and is simply a great time alone or with your gamer friends and family. I know I am going to be tracking lots of plays with this one. I am going to have to find a place on my shelves at eye-level because I don’t want it to be overshadowed down at foot-level.
If you already enjoy roll-and-write games and want something a little different with a great theme, or you don’t have any roll-and-writes and want to check one out for the first time, or you simply cannot get enough games featuring great art about wizards in school check this one out. I recommend it.
In Dungeon Academy players are taking the roles of students attempting their finals to become graduated warriors and mages in the land. They must pass their tests though, and that entails surviving through the dreaded Dungeon four times and surpassing all opponents to receive their degree.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup a solo game of Dungeon Academy, assemble the Dungeon component per the instructions. The player is dealt a character card with a special ability and markers to track Health and Mana throughout the game. Pile the Health and Mana tokens on the table, shuffle the Loot cards into a deck, and place the Teacher pawn nearby. Grab the pad of paper and pen and you are ready to begin.
Each attempt in the Dungeon will require the 16 Base Dice to be rolled and set inside the Dungeon. It is then flipped upside down when the timer begins and the mad dash to the Exit commences. As the player marks a line through every “room” (each die is considered a “room” in the Dungeon) they create a path to be checked at the end of the round. Once the player has made it through the Dungeon satisfactorily the Teacher will check the path.
The Teacher pawn is now used to track movement in the Dungeon. As the player tracks the path they drew on the paper, the Teacher is moved through the rooms. In each room (each die face) will be one of these possible encounters: a Mana potion to refill an empty Mana space on the character card, a Health potion, a small red Blob, a small blue Ghost, a large red Colossus, or a large blue Reaper. Each small foe encountered will be overtaken by spending one Health or Mana token from the character card. Each potion will restore spent Health or Mana. Each large foe encountered will require two Health or Mana to be spent. As the Teacher follows the path set by the player, Health and Mana will be spent and replenished on the character card, and foes defeated tracked on the sheet.
Once complete, the player will add up all the points from defeated foes (1VP per foe) and any VP from special character abilities or Loot cards. Additionally, the player will choose one of the four Quests at the bottom of the sheet to score each round for extra VP. They write these numbers on the sheet and prepare for the next level. After four total levels the game ends and the total is compared to a scale in the rulebook.
Multiplayer Dungeon Academy works the exact same way except once a player exits the Dungeon, they must grab the lowest-numbered Exit card as representation of the place finished in the Dungeon (so the first one out grabs the 1 card, etc.). The other difference from solo play is that players all compare total VP at the game end to determine the winner.
Components. This game has a large scorepad of 150 double-sided sheets, a bunch of cards for Hero characters, Loot, and Exits, as well as 18 total dice, about a trillion double-sided Health/Mana tokens and an impressive cardboard Dungeon. Everything is of wonderful Matagot quality… except for the Duneon. In my copy the Dungeon does not stay together very well. I may attempt some glue to keep the parts down that need to stay down, but it is still functional and a great design. The art style across the game is cute and fun, and I like the muted bright color scheme. That feels so weird to say/type, but the colors are vibrant hues, but muted so they stay out of the way. It’s strange and I love it.
Speaking of I love it, I love this game! It is quickly becoming one of my favorite roll-and-write games, and I can play it solo. In about 15 minutes. These are all positives, and I haven’t even really touched on the gameplay. Being able to get through a light solo game in 15 minutes while having a great time throughout is an achievement, and one I would like to applaud here. I wasn’t really sure going into this if I was going to enjoy it, but it has blown me away. Trying to evaluate the best path through the Dungeon while keeping track of how the Health and Mana is always in flux gives my brain a welcomed workout that is just a breath of fresh air for me. I love the art style and the theme, and the simple but easy to understand iconography on the dice is much appreciated.
I think that if you are looking for or lacking a similar type game in your collection you should do yourself a favor and check out Dungeon Academy. It is super quick, easy to grasp and play, requires little table space, and is simply a great time alone or with your gamer friends and family. I know I am going to be tracking lots of plays with this one. I am going to have to find a place on my shelves at eye-level because I don’t want it to be overshadowed down at foot-level.
If you already enjoy roll-and-write games and want something a little different with a great theme, or you don’t have any roll-and-writes and want to check one out for the first time, or you simply cannot get enough games featuring great art about wizards in school check this one out. I recommend it.
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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Villages of Valeria in Tabletop Games
Jun 12, 2019
Oh, Valeria. How I do love thee! I have reviewed Valeria: Card Kingdoms (VCK) in the past and if you read that review you learned that it is my favorite game of all time (as of the date of this composition). I actually Kickstarted Villages of Valeria (VoV) before even playing VCK so this game was my introduction into the Valeriaverse. I feel obligated to publicly thank VoV for bringing me into one of my favorite gaming universes. But, how good IS this one?
In VoV you are a Duke/Duchess being charged by the King to found a new Capital City to replace the previous one that has been ravaged by the wars played out in VCK. The King has assigned you a castle to use as your HQ and expects the most enterprising Duke/Duchess to win the day by building the most flourishing village. Will you be able to create the resources necessary to build the most attractive buildings that adventurers will want to frequent? Or will you spend your time taxing your constituents to death?
DISCLAIMER: This review focuses on vanilla Villages of Valeria. We have all the released expansions and may do a review of them in the future. If we do, we will edit this review or link to the new review here. -T
VoV uses a handful of really great game mechanics that will be familiar to some gamers, but not intimidating enough to scare off new gamers, that really work well together to create an excellent gaming experience. I will address most of them here, but please do not use this review as a replacement for the rulebook, as I will not be addressing every single rule.
VoV is played over several rounds where every player will be taking a turn as the active player until someone has built the requisite number of buildings prescribed in the rulebook to trigger the end of the game. Each player starts with a castle card that provides a wild resource of your choice when you need to pay resources to build buildings on future turns. You are also given gold and a starting hand of cards in accordance with setup rules. Setup the decks of cards and create the offer rows for each and you are ready to play!
When you are the active player you will take an action from a list of five available actions: Harvest, Develop, Build, Recruit, and Tax. If you choose to Harvest on your turn you will draw three cards from either the face-up green building cards on the offer or blindly from the deck of green building cards. To Develop you will play a building card from your hand to the back of your castle, tucked underneath and upside down, to be used as the resources printed at the bottom of the card (wood, magic, stone, food). These resources are now available to be used for the build action (think of the brown and gray cards in 7 Wonders, if you’re familiar). When you take the Build action, you will be playing a building card from your hand to be built in the tableau in front of you. Since number of buildings is the end game trigger condition, you will be trying to build buildings as much as possible. All building cards have a cost printed on the left side of the card, and those costs will need to be paid for by using the gold you possess. You can use one gold on your own castle card as it provides a wild resource to you, and you can use one gold per card you have Developed previously for their resource benefit. You may even spend your gold to use an opponent’s resources (not their castle! – also akin to 7 Wonders neighbor resource purchasing). The catch here is that you lose that gold piece to your opponent, but they will not be able to use that resource until the beginning of their turn as active player. Most buildings will have benefits printed on them that either take effect immediately or when triggered by another action. When you Recruit an Adventurer, you are using your village’s buildings to attract them to your cause. Each Adventurer’s cost to recruit is printed on the side of the card, and these costs are paid by having the matching symbols on building cards in your village. Once recruited, these Adventurers can also enact conditional abilities similar to building cards, but usually will be advantages to final VP scores. By taking the Tax action you will take one gold from the bank and draw a building card from the offer or the deck.
Now this all seems pretty easy and I have only really mentioned one form of tension by blocking opponents’ use of their own resources if you spend a gold to use it on your turn. Since you reclaim all gold on your castle and resource cards in your village at the beginning of your turn this should cause no problems, right? Well, VoV also uses the follow mechanic that has been employed by other games previously. When you are the active player you choose which action you want to take on your turn, complete that action, and then the same action is offered to your opponents for them to take at a disadvantage. Example: I choose Tax as my action, so I take my gold and my card and my turn is over. Then, going around the table, each player can decide to follow my action but are only able to take a building card as a follow action. No gold. Each action has a Lead and Follow benefit, so you are always paying attention during the game, even on others’ turns because you might still benefit from the chosen actions.
Play continues like this with active player Lead actions and possible others’ Follow actions until someone triggers the end game condition. Then everyone completes the turn and VPs from all cards in your tableau are added (including gold pieces you collected). Most VPs wins the game of Villages of Valeria!
Components. Okay, I have to admit that I have the Kickstarter Deluxe version of this game so I am only speaking from experience with that version. The cards are of really good quality. The gold tokens and active player castle token are great, but the action tracker we found a bit cumbersome to use so we just, like, didn’t. The building tracker and castleeples are great as well. The art is by The Mico, and I just love his art style, so that’s a big positive for me. Overall, the components are really really nice.
So why do I love this game? Well, it’s really a mashup of mechanics that work well for me. I love the Lead/Follow mechanic. I love 7 Wonders, so borrowing some of those mechanics and nuances is a great fit for me. I absolutely LOVE The Mico’s artwork on every Valeria game. No two games of VoV will be alike because the amount of cards that come inside the box (and growing with every expansion) gives such a diverse gaming experience that I love playing. If you like any of the Valeria games and you have yet to try Villages of Valeria you MUST find a copy. You will be drawn in by the familiar feel of Valeria and mechanics from classic games that will surely delight. We at Purple Phoenix Games give this gem a bustling 20 / 24. Long live Valeria!
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/04/05/villages-of-valeria-review/
In VoV you are a Duke/Duchess being charged by the King to found a new Capital City to replace the previous one that has been ravaged by the wars played out in VCK. The King has assigned you a castle to use as your HQ and expects the most enterprising Duke/Duchess to win the day by building the most flourishing village. Will you be able to create the resources necessary to build the most attractive buildings that adventurers will want to frequent? Or will you spend your time taxing your constituents to death?
DISCLAIMER: This review focuses on vanilla Villages of Valeria. We have all the released expansions and may do a review of them in the future. If we do, we will edit this review or link to the new review here. -T
VoV uses a handful of really great game mechanics that will be familiar to some gamers, but not intimidating enough to scare off new gamers, that really work well together to create an excellent gaming experience. I will address most of them here, but please do not use this review as a replacement for the rulebook, as I will not be addressing every single rule.
VoV is played over several rounds where every player will be taking a turn as the active player until someone has built the requisite number of buildings prescribed in the rulebook to trigger the end of the game. Each player starts with a castle card that provides a wild resource of your choice when you need to pay resources to build buildings on future turns. You are also given gold and a starting hand of cards in accordance with setup rules. Setup the decks of cards and create the offer rows for each and you are ready to play!
When you are the active player you will take an action from a list of five available actions: Harvest, Develop, Build, Recruit, and Tax. If you choose to Harvest on your turn you will draw three cards from either the face-up green building cards on the offer or blindly from the deck of green building cards. To Develop you will play a building card from your hand to the back of your castle, tucked underneath and upside down, to be used as the resources printed at the bottom of the card (wood, magic, stone, food). These resources are now available to be used for the build action (think of the brown and gray cards in 7 Wonders, if you’re familiar). When you take the Build action, you will be playing a building card from your hand to be built in the tableau in front of you. Since number of buildings is the end game trigger condition, you will be trying to build buildings as much as possible. All building cards have a cost printed on the left side of the card, and those costs will need to be paid for by using the gold you possess. You can use one gold on your own castle card as it provides a wild resource to you, and you can use one gold per card you have Developed previously for their resource benefit. You may even spend your gold to use an opponent’s resources (not their castle! – also akin to 7 Wonders neighbor resource purchasing). The catch here is that you lose that gold piece to your opponent, but they will not be able to use that resource until the beginning of their turn as active player. Most buildings will have benefits printed on them that either take effect immediately or when triggered by another action. When you Recruit an Adventurer, you are using your village’s buildings to attract them to your cause. Each Adventurer’s cost to recruit is printed on the side of the card, and these costs are paid by having the matching symbols on building cards in your village. Once recruited, these Adventurers can also enact conditional abilities similar to building cards, but usually will be advantages to final VP scores. By taking the Tax action you will take one gold from the bank and draw a building card from the offer or the deck.
Now this all seems pretty easy and I have only really mentioned one form of tension by blocking opponents’ use of their own resources if you spend a gold to use it on your turn. Since you reclaim all gold on your castle and resource cards in your village at the beginning of your turn this should cause no problems, right? Well, VoV also uses the follow mechanic that has been employed by other games previously. When you are the active player you choose which action you want to take on your turn, complete that action, and then the same action is offered to your opponents for them to take at a disadvantage. Example: I choose Tax as my action, so I take my gold and my card and my turn is over. Then, going around the table, each player can decide to follow my action but are only able to take a building card as a follow action. No gold. Each action has a Lead and Follow benefit, so you are always paying attention during the game, even on others’ turns because you might still benefit from the chosen actions.
Play continues like this with active player Lead actions and possible others’ Follow actions until someone triggers the end game condition. Then everyone completes the turn and VPs from all cards in your tableau are added (including gold pieces you collected). Most VPs wins the game of Villages of Valeria!
Components. Okay, I have to admit that I have the Kickstarter Deluxe version of this game so I am only speaking from experience with that version. The cards are of really good quality. The gold tokens and active player castle token are great, but the action tracker we found a bit cumbersome to use so we just, like, didn’t. The building tracker and castleeples are great as well. The art is by The Mico, and I just love his art style, so that’s a big positive for me. Overall, the components are really really nice.
So why do I love this game? Well, it’s really a mashup of mechanics that work well for me. I love the Lead/Follow mechanic. I love 7 Wonders, so borrowing some of those mechanics and nuances is a great fit for me. I absolutely LOVE The Mico’s artwork on every Valeria game. No two games of VoV will be alike because the amount of cards that come inside the box (and growing with every expansion) gives such a diverse gaming experience that I love playing. If you like any of the Valeria games and you have yet to try Villages of Valeria you MUST find a copy. You will be drawn in by the familiar feel of Valeria and mechanics from classic games that will surely delight. We at Purple Phoenix Games give this gem a bustling 20 / 24. Long live Valeria!
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/04/05/villages-of-valeria-review/