Stats:
No. of players: 3-5
Amount of time to play: 60 min
Age requirements: 10+
Set-up time: 10minutes

Valdora Rules Description:

Valdora is a pick up and deliver game that looks great and plays fast. You must gather gems and deliver them to patrons’ houses to score points.

The board is made up of five different types of spaces. They are gem, city, patron house, silver mine and harbor. On your turn you may take one of the following actions depending on the space you are on. On a gem space you can load any gems there you can carry. In a city you can buy equipment or commissions or gain provisions. Once you have the gems you need to complete your commissions you may deliver them to a patron’s house. At a silver mine you can replenish your coins to six coins. The harbor spaces allow you to you may load gems that have already been turned in to complete commissions.

You can move to any space as long as you don’t pass through a city. That is unless you have provisions. Then you may pass through one city. If you end your turn on a space with other players, you pay them one silver.

When you go to a city to purchase equipment or commissions the cards are displayed in “books”. You may flip through the pages of the “books” for a silver per page. Equipment costs gold and is needed to haul other gem types. Commissions cost one silver each but you may only have up to three incomplete commissions.

When you complete a commission you put the card under you character card. That keeps the score hidden. You also take a craftsman that matches the patron you completed the commission for. If you are the first to complete enough commissions for one patron you get a workshop. Most workshops are worth points. You also get 10 bonus points for every commission you complete for the same patron that you have a workshop for.

The game ends once only one color of craftsmen remains. You calculate your final score by tallying the score printed on each completed commission and workshop, each different color craftsman you have is worth 10 points, each bonus tile is worth 10 points and each gem you have on your equipment card is worth one point. Highest score wins the game.

Quick Review of Valdora:

Valdora is a quick-paced pick up and delivery game. You will need to think a few moves ahead in order to be as efficient as possible. You must especially take note of where other players are when you are low on silver. Or where you are when you need to get to a space on the other side of a city and you lack provisions.

The game is beautiful. The components are high quality and everything just looks great. It is bright and looks great on the table. The rulebook is straightforward and easy to follow.

The equipment and commissions “books” are a fun mechanic. They are made up of cards and are randomly set at the beginning of the game. But looking for something you need, will cost you silver and that might be too steep a price.

There is not a lot of player interaction in Valdora. But it makes an excellent introduction to pick up and delivery games. You can make quick decisions which leads to a fast play time. Everything you need to do is easy to understand so this game is easy to teach and learn.
If you enjoy pick up and delivery games or want to try one out I highly recommend Valdora.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 4 out of 6
Luck 3 out of 6
Player Interaction 3 out of 6
Replay Value 4 out of 6
Complexity 4 out of 6
Fun 5 out of 6
Overall 5 out of 6