Valeria: Card Kingdoms (2016)

About this game

The land of Valeria is under siege by hordes of monsters. You and your fellow Dukes must recruit citizens and buy domains to build up your kingdoms and slay the foul creatures that lurk in the surrounding lands. Valeria: Card Kingdoms is a tableau-building game for 1-5 players and will feel familiar to deck-building fans. The cards you buy can work for you on your turn and on all the other player turns, as well. On your turn, roll two dice and activate citizen cards with the result of each individual die and the sum of both dice. Other players will simultaneously activate their citizen cards based on the roll. Next, take two actions from the following: slay a monster, recruit a citizen, buy a domain, or take 1 of any resource. The player with the most victory points at the end wins the game.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 1 to 5. It has a designed solo mode.
• Rules load. At 2.0/5 this is a light game — explain it in a few minutes, good for a table that has not played much.
• Age. The publisher suggests 13 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.