Thrones of Valeria was the game of the 3 (Dice Kingdoms of Valeria & Siege of Valeria) I was most excited for. As I hate to admit it, I love Trick Taking Games…. Well unless I’m getting beaten & I hate them.

Trick Taking games are always great games that I love playing at the start of a gaming night. As they are amazing icebreakers & you get to learn a lot about a player by how they play a Trick Taking Game.

So will Thrones of Valeria Reign Supreme or lose their kingdom?

Setup

• Place the Standings Board in the centre of the play area. Put the 6 House tiles into the draw bag, mix them up, then randomly draw House tiles to the Standings Board.
• Shuffle the 48 Game Cards and deal cards to the players depending on the number of players present.
  • 3 Players: Deal 13 cards to each player.
  • 4 Players: Deal 10 cards to each player.
  • 5 Players: Deal 8 cards to each player.
  • 6 Players: Deal 7 cards to each player.
• Thrones of Valeria can be played competitively at any player count from 2 to 6. With 4 or 6 players, it is recommended that players form 2-person teams with the player sitting opposite them at the table. Select one person on each team to be the team banker.
• Place the undealt cards near the Standings Board as the Draw Deck.
• Give each player 2 silver coins (or 4 silver coins for each team), then place the silver and gold coins where players can reach them. 1 Gold = 5 Silver

How to Play

• At the start of a hand, the player holding the highest rank card of the House highest on the Standings Board will lead the first trick. This is accomplished by calling out “Does any player have the 9 of House _______?” with the called rank decreasing until someone confirms they have the called card. That player then selects any one card from their hand (except a Jester card) and plays it face up to the table. The player performs the instructions on the card, then play continues clockwise.
• Each subsequent player must play one card from their hand of the same House as the lead card, if possible. If they do not have any cards of that House, they play any other card from their hand. The player performs the instructions on the card, then play continues clockwise. Repeat as needed until all players have played one card to the trick.
• The player who played the highest rank card of the House with the highest Standing wins the trick.
• NOTE: A House’s Standing can change during the course of a trick. Only the Standings in place at the end of the trick are valid for determining the trick’s winner.
• The player who won the trick gains a reward or pays a penalty as noted next to the position of their played card’s House on the Standings Board.
  • If an Alchemist (6) wins the trick, the reward is a flat 6 silver coins instead of the House reward.
  • If a Jester wins the trick, the reward is a flat 5 silver coins.
• Discard all of the cards played in the trick; they will not be needed for scoring.
• The discard pile is not open to examination during the game.
• Because some card powers let you discard cards from your hand and some let you gain cards, players may not always have the same number of cards in their hands.
• If all players still have cards in their hands, the player who just won the trick leads for the next trick.
• If any player has no cards remaining in their hand, this round is over and any cards left over in player hands are discarded.
• After 2 complete rounds, the game is over and the player or team with the most money is the winner.

End Game

After playing two rounds completely through, players/teams total up their earned coins and the player or team with the most money is the winner.

If there is a tie for “most money”, the players share their glorious victory…and play again

Game Play

Thrones of Valeria is the first game of the first post lockdown games night of this year I’d been invited too. And with a completely new gaming group. Dave invited me to his house with several of his friends & I brought this along. As Trick taking games are a great way to gauge how people play games & I’m also a massive fan of them, so like to always have one in my bag.

Thrones of Valeria is a very easy game to learn. Match a colour, play the highest number, win & get money. Easy enough, right? Yet, each card has abilities & sometimes the best card is not the highest card. Sometimes the winning is not actually winning. That is where Thrones of Valeria starts to excel, as the different abilities mixed in with the randomization of the houses & scoring makes for a really fun & enjoyable Trick taking game.

After winning the first few games, I was praising the game & how awesome it was…… then they got the hang of it & I didn’t win a single game after it. I came so close on so many occasions, but it wasn’t to be. The last game we played I was so excited, I had a 9 in hand, Pink was in the 5 spot. I was going out with a win….. and it wasn’t to be, stoopid Mercenary & assassin. That is the beauty of Thrones of Valeria, it can flip & turn on a dime; this is because of its beautifully designed & balanced game play.

Also, a nice touch & something I often forget or overlook is colour-blindness. We had one person at the table that suffers from colour blindness. She loved that Thrones of Valeria had different symbols for ‘All the Grey houses’ pieces

Art

As I said in the Dice Kingdoms of Valeria article, Art is by The Mico. That is really all your need to know.

If you have ever played a Valeria game, you have seen & love his artwork. He is an absolute maestro & unlike Dice Kingdoms; Daily Magic Games have let The Mico does what he does best. Create amazingly detailed characters that enrich an already beautiful diverse universe.

And create is exactly what he did. This has to be some of his work. Each card is technically the same card, an assassin or a rogue, yet his ability to give them their own light & own soul is amazing. As each cards has its own life, tells it’s own story & yet are cohesive with the other members of their house. It isn’t an easy thing to do.

Every time I think that is it, we have seen The Mico’s best & both him & Daily Magic Games can’t build anymore in the Valeria universe. We get a game like Thrones of Valeria.

Final Thoughts

I said it once & I’ll say it again, I love Trick taking games. Probably more than I should. Yet there is just something that I find so much fun with them. But you add breath-taking art, a beloved, immersive universe & super enjoyable game play with heaps of replay value. That is exactly what you get when you please Thrones of Valeria. This was the one I was most excited about & I was not let down. This is a game that will no be an instant include in my boardgame night go bag.

If you love Trick Taking games, this game is for you. If you love Valeria, this game is for you. If you like to have fun, then just trust me, just add Thrones of Valeria to your collection, I plan too!

If you would like a copy of Thrones of Valeria or one of the other two games, you can back them on Kickstarter here