The Secret Valley
The Secret Valley Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 20 Territory cards
- 24 Clan Settlements (6 per color)
- 1 Score Sheet
Territory Cards
Territory cards have:
- A number (from 1 to 5)
- A territory icon (there are 4 different)
- A scoring criteria (each card has a different one)
- A territory illustration (there are 4 different)
When placing a card on the grid the player must try to put it in the best possible position considering its scoring criteria.
Setup
For 4/3/2 players each one receives 4/5/6 Clan Settlements of the same color. The last player who has visited a new place will begin the first round.
Game Round
The Secret Valley is played in three rounds, each consisting of a series of turns per player that varies according to the number of players (6/5/4 turns for 2/3/4 players respectively).
At the beginning of each round, players must first form their territories hand. The 20 cards are shuffled and each player must receive 5/6/7 cards if there are 4/3/2 players; the leftover cards are removed from the round.
If this is your first game, you can start playing with the cards received and read "Game Turn" directly, if not continue reading the paragraph that follows.
Each player must observe his hand of cards, select one and place it face down in front of him and pass the others to the player to his right. Once each player has their new card hand, they must repeat the process (now they have one less card in hand) until all cards are on the table. At that time everyone collects the cards that were left face down; this will be the hand with which they will play the round. At all times a player can observe the cards that he left on the table.
Game Turn
A player's turn consists in playing a card on the table and placing one of his Clan Settlements on it.
To place a card on the table the following restrictions must be followed:
- When placing a card on the table, it must connect by one or more of its sides with cards previously placed (except the first player of each round).
The play area is limited to a grid according to the number of players:
- 2 players: 12 cards on a 4x3 or 3x4 grid
- 3 players: 15 cards on a 5x3 or 3x5 grid
- 4 players: 16 cards on a 4x4 grid
You can never place a card that extends the grid beyond the limits.
At the moment the grid is complete, the cards in hand are discarded and the players proceed to the scoring phase.
Scoring and End of Round
At the end of the round, each player must review their cards one by one, counting how many points each one awards and these must be registered in the score sheet.
At the end of the scoring phase all cards must be shuffled (including those that were left out of the round) and each player must recover their Clan Settlements. The initial player of the second and third round will be the one who has obtained more points in the previous round (in case of a tie, it is defined by the closest to the one who was previously the initial player).
Clarifications
- The effects of the cards are never applied at the time of playing them, but at the end of the round in the scoring phase.
- "Adjacent" refers to a card that shares one side with the card played; a card placed diagonally is not considered adjacent.
- "Around" includes both adjacent and diagonal cards.
- "Row" refers to the cards connected by the long side.
- "Column" refers to the cards connected by the short side.
Card Notes
The Thousand Steps: This card scores for each unrepeated terrain that is adjacent. This means that if a terrain is repeated (for example it has two adjacent blue cards) NONE counts for the score.
Western Torrent: This card scores for each different number around it. This means that if a number is repeated (for example, it has two adjacent 4s), NONE counts for the score.
Sun Stone: Free sides means that they are not connected to any card, that is, they face the outside of the grid.
Fist of Giants: In case another card equals its value, the score is lost. The same happens in Mountain Mouth.
Credits
- Game Design: Martín Oddino
- Illustrations: Marcos Lescano
- Graphic design: Marcos Lescano and María Luz Cantisani Rovasio
- Edition: runDOS studio