Designer: Isaias Vallejo (Chocolatiers, Valeria: Card Kingdoms, Villages of Valeria)

Artist: Mihajlo Dimitrievski (Architects of the West Kingdom, Coloma, Dice Settlers, Dig Your Way Out, Dragon Keepers, Explorers of the North Sea, Imperium, March of the Ants: Empires of the Earth, The North Sea Runesaga, Paladins of the West Kingdom, Raiders of the North Sea, Rise to Nobility, Robin Hood and the Merry Men, Shipwrights of the North Sea, Valeria: Card Kingdoms, Villages of Valeria, Viral, Zoocracy)

Publisher: Daily Magic Games (Quests of Valeria, Valeria: Card Kingdoms, Villages of Valeria)

Genre/Mechanisms: area movement, deck building, hand management, resource management, worker placement

Funding Status: At the time of this posting, Margraves of Valeria is already fully-funded.  In fact, pledges currently total over 2.5x the initial funding goal, with 12 days left to go on the campaign.

Player Count: 1-5

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

What It’s About:  The fifth game set in the Valeria universe, featuring hand management and worker placement.

How It Works: Margraves takes place over several turn, beginning with the player with the first player token. On a player’s turn, they must play a Citizen card from their hand into the pile to the right of their player board. Then they may evaluate one of the four following actions: Activate the Pennant, Activate the Citizen Power Text, Active the Recall Power, or Activate the Build Power. The Pennant Icons are the 3 icons on the top left of the card, and should be activated in order from top to bottom. They may include icons to: gain gold, gain resources, gain Strength, move your Margrave, or Deploy a Knight. Activating the Citizen Power Text simply allows the player to take the actions/conversions written on the bottom of the card. Activating the Recall Power means the player places their citizen face down into the pile of Citizens to the right of their player board. They then perform the actions indicated by the icons on their player board, pick up all played Citizen cards from the pile back into their hand for use in future turns; and finally, they may purchase one of the Citizen cards from the market for the required amount of Gold. Activating the Build Power means the player places their citizen face down into the pile of Citizens to the right of their player board. They then perform the actions indicated by the icons on their player board, pay the required resources for the building they wish to build, and place it into one of the three slots in the area currently occupied on the main board by their Margrave. At the end of a player’s turn, the player should check the Hero Tomb if they’ve played a Knight there. If they’ve completed a column or row, they take the associated resources. Privilege Tile Slots, Monster Stacks, and the Citizen Line are all refilled.

The game ends when any of the 3 following conditions are met: a player has built their last Ward Tower, there aren’t enough Citizens left in the deck to replenish the Citizen Line at the end of their turn, or there aren’t enough Prestige Tiles to refill either of the two Prestige I or Prestige II Tiles. Any players who haven’t yet taken a turn that round take one final turn. Players score Victory Points for Guild Icons located a) where they’ve built Ward Towers, b) on their Citizen cards both in their hand and to the right of their player boards, and c) for end of game Level I & II Privilege Cards. The player with the most Influence, according to the various Influence Tracks, wins the game.

Comparisons:  The other Valeria games are full of similar art & iconography, and some similar mechanics. Also, the player mat that can store resources, opening up more spots as you build buildings, is taken directly from Concordia.

What Should I Pledge?:
$49 Margraves (English): a copy of Margraves of Valeria and 4 Bonus Packs.

Add-Ons:
$49 additional copies of Margraves of Valeria
$16 50 metal coins
$6 Solo Play Pack
$5 Knoll Pack for Valeria: Card Kingdoms
$5 Margrave Pack for Valeria: Card Kingdoms

KS Exclusives:
None.

All-In Total: In the continental U.S. you’re looking at $49 for the Margraves (English) pledge, $6 for the Solo Play Pack, and $5 in shipping for a total of $60. If you want the metal coins, it’s $76.

Margraves of Valeria completes its Kickstarter on Wednesday, August 7th and tentatively ships in April 2020.