Canis lupus was mentioned to be the first animal to be domesticated by nomadic hunters over 15 thousands years ago. So, it was at least around Mesolithic period. And ever since then, humankind has shown a natural fondness toward taming the wild. It’s a tendency that’s deeply ingrained.
By now, it’s becoming no surprise that this impulse has found its way into the world of games, where we capture Pokémon — or even commanding the mythical beasts. An attempt to mimic a fraction of the thrill from the past. And then we have The Vale of Eternity from Mandoo Games, a title that taps directly into this timeless inclination.
There’s a reason Mandoo Games and their titles have become a fixture on this blog. The Vale of Eternity is another brilliant example of those whys. Bear with me for a while — you’ll know it, too, in just another few lines of my writing.
Taming the mythical creatures…
The Vale of Eternity penetrates the market as a lighter side of euro game. Belonging to this category, I see it tailored as a family game, thanks to the integration of familiar mechanics, such as engine building and open drafting. The gameplay is straightforward, too. Thus, making it accessible and approachable, an easy choice to get to the table.
I must say the premise itself might not be entirely groundbreaking. It brings a familiar tale of fantasy creatures, sorted into several classes with dragons at the top. Yes, the dragons are once again the apex. Each creature comes with its unique traits and abilities, and taming them grants their powers. Naturally, the more powerful the creature, the steeper the cost we must pay to summon it.
In The Vale of Eternity, the mythical creatures form the core of the engine building, as they are the parts all players aim to get to build their tableau. The Hunting phase serves as the open drafting ground. Each player drafts twice — first in turn order, and then in reverse. I personally like this setup. While it does not completely eliminate the handicap of going last, it still provides a decent incentive for the last player to catch up.
With that being said, hate drafting is still a thing. It remains frequent in the game. I personally do not dislike it, as it’s actually a strategic occurrence to disrupt the opponents’ plans. Yet, I do understand if others find this a pet peeve.
Nevertheless, the game offers a way out if we fall prey to that classic hate drafting move. Any Creature card we draft on the game board, it’s not really a one way highway to our hands. Instead, it can be sold as well. For the Magic Stones, this is the in-game currency to summon the creatures. A perfect fallback plan. The Valley of Eternity provides a way to salvage value from an unfavourable scenario.
At this point, we understand that the drafted cards are not directly added to our hands. Or, in this game is called Taming the beast. Instead, we still have enough playing room to decide how best to use them. Adding the card in our hands and Summoning them to our tableau are two separate actions. We would not be forced to spend, if not waste, resources to summon something we don’t need. I really appreciate this extended flexibility in The Vale of Eternity. For real, it’s not just an escape pod from the hate drafting. There are multiple cases where it gives vast possibilities to adapt and steer our gameplay.
The non-greedy pact with Magic Stones
Now circling back to the currency topic… The Vale of Eternity utilises Magic stones in three denominations: 1, 2, and 3. It sounds like the typical in-game fantasy currency, right? Well, yes, it is. Except that we cannot hold more than four Magic Stones at once. What makes it more complicated is the fact that the denominations are not interchangeable, unless we have a Creature with that specific ability on the tableau. Paying the Summon cost gives no change when we overpay either.
Those imposed limitations can be frustrating, if. not annoying. Especially with the steep Summon cost for various Creatures. I still remember one Dragon in the card pool making a hole in my pocket with its solid 10 Magic Stones to bring it into my tableau. But that’s how it is. The thing is, such restraint serves a practical purpose in The Vale of Eternity.
I see it personally as a necessity. Especially when the engine we build on our tableau brings quite an efficiency at generating this resources. Thus, capping the Magic Stones we can have in our hands seems like a smart way from the publishers to put a leash in the possible hoarding mentality.
The Vale of Eternity, better for groups
The game scales well with higher player counts where I find it shines with at least three players. Personally, the more, the merrier. Despite technically works with two, I did not really enjoy the game that way. With fewer players, the drafting pool narrows to just a handful of cards. An issue because the number of cards available is bound to the number of players — and it can feel pretty restrictive and limiting.
Yet, The Vale of Eternity still truly excels in terms of replay value. It invites itself back easily to the table, thanks to a blend of smooth, intuitive gameplay and those gorgeous, vibrant artworks. They are simply hard to resist.
It is, however, unfair to say that Mandoo Games has created only a pretty face. The mechanics in this game are polished and built in a way where the game flows without feeling clunky. I can’t wait for the expansion. With this, I think my expectation would even be higher to see how it enriches my gaming experience with The Vale of Eternity.
I am a full-time food technologist during weekdays. However, when the calendar hits weekends, I transform into an avid board gamer. I am a hardcore Legend of the Five Rings (L5R) LCG player from Fantasy Flight Games (FFG). Current hobby: buying board games. My shelf of shame’s list is getting longer, thanks to you, Kickstarter.
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