Which dragons will you train in The Vale of Eternity card game?

What is the card game? The Vale of Eternity?

You are a trainer of creatures, and to be respected, you must capture and master the most powerful of them: dragons! But don’t get carried away too quickly either. Because beyond the pretty illustrations, the theme leaves room for pure mechanics.

Accessible from 10 years old, for 2 to 4 players, and games lasting around forty minutes, it is a delight for fans of card combos, insensitive to the chance of the draw.

Published by Mandoo Games, The Vale of Eternity is a game by Eric Hong, illustrated by many people, and sold at the price of €26.90 at Philibert.

How do you play it?

Set up

The installation is really simple and quick.

Each player takes the two pawns of their color. The rest of the materials (the two boards, the magic stones and the pile of creature cards) are placed in the center of the table.

The game can already begin!

Progress of a game

Each round begins with the provision of several creature cards: twice the number of players. Four creatures for two, two more for three players, etc.

Then, each player captures two using his pawns, through a system of draft open (so all cards are visible from the start) rather clever depending on the order of the turn.

Next comes the action phase, the heart of the game, where players act with the cards thus selected.

They can exchange these creatures for magic stones, more or less depending on the type (water, fire, dragon, etc.). But be careful, because we are limited, not in terms of the value of magic stones, but in number. You can only have four at a time, and you cannot group them together. It’s up to you to juggle your stones of value 1, 3 and 6.

You can also tame them, that is to say take them in hand, in order, during this round or later, to summon them.

Summoning a creature costs magic stones. But no change is given. If you spend a stone of value 6 to summon a creature of cost 3, you lose the rest.

Some creatures have an instant effect, which triggers when summoned. Others, a permanent effect, working continuously. Still others have an effect that activates at the end of each round.

Finally, you can banish a previously summoned creature. This is not trivial, because you are limited in the number of creatures summoned: as many as the current round. Only one creature in the first round, two in the second, etc.

A new round then begins, in exactly the same way, until one of the two end-of-game conditions is triggered: either after the tenth round, or if a player has at least 60 points. The highest score then wins.

Why play The Vale of Eternity ?

The Vale of Eternity was the big end-of-year release, as the game was so praised by the lucky few who were able to try it in advance.

And it is clear that this reputation has not been usurped.

It’s not so much the gameplay which makes this game so captivating. It’s even rather simple. Capturing two creatures, exchanging them for magic stones, summoning them to apply their effects, keeping them in hand… in short, nothing very innovative.

No, what makes it particularly pleasant and addictive is the combos that can be put into place.

The first rounds start slowly. Even more so in the first parts, where we discover the cards. Then, little by little, we notice that certain creatures work well with others. Often within the same family, but sometimes also between different families.

Then comes a turning point, usually around rounds 5 or 6, where everything speeds up, our engine revs and the score track moves much faster than before.

Be careful though, because all this is very dependent on the draw. If the combo cards don’t arrive in the right order, or your opponents take them before you, because they also need them, or just to annoy you, this beautiful mechanic tends to seize up.

This is less true with two players, where you have more control, but where you see fewer cards, than with three or four, where the possibilities are more numerous, but where you have less control over the game. Depending on your preferences, therefore prefer one game mode over another. As far as we are concerned, we prefer to play it with just two people.

If this hazard of the draw doesn’t bother you, the game is a pure delight. He’s full of good ideas.

The different constraints to begin with, whether on the number and value of magic stones, or on the number of creatures that can be summoned. You must constantly find the best option among the different possibilities. It’s sometimes frustrating, but that frustration that makes you want to come back to it.

The different creatures and their families as well. Not all are equal, obviously, but not all have the same cost either. It even happens that several small, less expensive creatures bring in more points than larger, seemingly stronger ones.

Finally, let’s mention the quality of the edition. First of all, illustrations, but also equipment, with pretty thick and engraved wooden pawns. Leaving aside the superb dragon silhouette… which serves no purpose other than to take beautiful photos. And the funny idea of ​​making a circular tray to place the creatures to be captured, that way they don’t face the right way for anyone at the table.

Despite these few pitfalls, it must be admitted that The Vale of Eternity is particularly gripping, and we really want to play one after another to discover all the cards and set up devastating combos. We also hope for the upcoming arrival of an extension, offering new creatures, to bring a little something new.

If you liked recent games like Ancient Knowledge(more complicated), Faraway, Challengersor the oldest, but unsurpassed Seasonsyou should take a look at The Vale of Eternity. If you don’t mind the randomness of the draw, and you like combining cards with each other, you’ll love it. Especially since it is very accessible and its games are fast.

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