Defend your tower solo

Siege of Valeria is one of our newest acquisitions. As it is a quicker solo game, it was the easiest to get to the table, even on a weekday after work. ✌️ I have been wanting to try this game for some time now, so when I saw it in the store I couldn't leave it. 😄
You play as the defenders of a stronghold, trying to hold out against a seemingly endless horde of monsters and deadly siege engines. ⚔️ Your task is to destroy every one of these siege engines, so the rest of the hordes are routed.
Maybe easier said than done, though I've won my first game now. 💪

To fight the monsters, you have dice 🎲 at your disposal. During each round you will roll these (the dice pool might grow or shrink as the game goes on), then it's up to you to allocate them in the best way. To defeat a monster, the die value has to be higher than its strength, and for certain monsters you need to assign magic dice as well. Monsters come in 5 columns and you can only ever fight the ones in the front, plus siege engines that are in range.

For now this might sound quite basic, but here's a brilliant mechanic of the game: 🧐 you get the monster cards you defeat and can use their ability - mostly to modify dice in all kinds of ways. So monsters aren't just the baddies banging on your walls, but are also ability cards to obtain at the same time! This really adds to the puzzle element of the game. 🙃 Choosing which enemies to attack, which dice to use, in what order to defeat them and when to use cards is awesome. There are also Champions cards you can get during the game that have additional useful effects. 🛡️

You can only win by destroying every siege engine, but of course there are multiple loss conditions, like the monster deck running out (which caps the game at 7 rounds), or if a siege engine is too close, or one of your towers getting too much damage. ☠️ Event cards you have to draw each round make your life harder too.

My first impressions are really positive. ☺️ I love how this 5x5 grid of monsters keeps moving towards your walls and getting refilled as you frantically try to slay them. The puzzle of dealing with all of this and trying to win in time is really engaging!