Vaalbara

2022

Lead a tribe across uncharted lands, balancing character powers, initiative, and territory scoring over nine tense rounds.

20
minutes

2 - 5
player(s)

10+

Medium Light

Download official rules (EN) Buy on Amazon

About this board game

Vaalbara is a strategy game for 2–5 players, played in about 20 minutes, in which clan leaders compete to establish villages and unite the tribes of a prehistoric continent.

Set in the Neolithic subcontinent of Vaalbara, the game challenges each player to explore uncharted lands, expand their territory, and build the most successful tribe. Every player has the same deck of 12 cards, with each card representing a member of their tribe.

Each round, players secretly choose one character card from their hand. Once the cards are revealed, the characters’ initiative values determine the order in which players act. In that order, players can activate their character’s power and take over one of the available territories.

Secret card selection: Choose when to commit each member of your tribe.
Initiative-based play: Balance acting early against using the character power you need most.
Varied territory scoring: Pursue collections, pairs, diversity, risk, and other scoring opportunities.
Nine-round competition: Develop your tribe and accumulate the most points before the game ends.

Timing is central to every decision in Vaalbara. A powerful ability may be tempting, but a high initiative can be just as valuable when a crucial territory is available. Because every player uses the same set of characters, reading the moment and choosing the right card can make the difference.

After nine rounds, the player with the most points wins and brings the tribes of Vaalbara together under their banner. With its compact play time and focus on hand management, territory control, and tactical timing, the game offers a focused contest of development and expansion.

Board Game Rules for
Vaalbara

Download official rules (EN)

Olivier CIPIÈRE
Félix DONADIO, Jocelin CARMES, Alexandre REYNAUD

Vaalbara, this fabulous continent, vast and abundant, wild and fertile. No one has ever landed there. But soon, the first step on this uncharted land will mark the dawn of a new era. You are the leader of one of the five mythical clans that have set out to discover Vaalbara. Make good use of the talents of your community members to expand your Realm, harmonize your development and strengthen your influence to unite all clans under your banner.

Aim of the Game

At the end of the 9th round, the player with the most (Victory Points) wins the game.

Components

51 Land cards
60 Character cards (5 x 12)
75 tokens (value 1, 5, 10 and 25)

Land Cards

There are 51 Land cards of 6 different types. Throughout the game, players explore Lands to expand their Realm. Each Land type has its own way to reward the players. The Land cards’ backs depict the Omens. Each card back is different.

Character Cards

There are 12 different character cards. Each player starts the game with one copy of each card. Character cards determine the turn order based on their initiative value, and trigger effects, as well.

The Clan Omens

Omens may be good, or bad. How your Clan’s Omens rank compared to the others changes each round. The card on the top of the Lands deck depicts the Clans’ Omens for the round. During the game, you will use them to resolve ties when determining the turn order.

A. Sort the Land cards by the number of players indicated and keep only the cards with a number less than or equal to the number of players. Put the other cards back in the box, they will not be used during the game.
EXAMPLE : for a 2-player game, keep the 2+ cards, and return the 3+ and 4+ cards to the box.
B. Each player chooses a clan and the corresponding 12-card Clan deck.
C. Give 2 Victory Point tokens to each player to place them in their Realm (the area of the table in front of them). Place the remaining tokens in the center of the table.
D. Each player shuffles their Clan deck, placing it face down in their Realm, and draws 5 cards as their starting hand.
E. Shuffle the Land cards and place the deck face down on the table to create the LAND DECK. Draw cards face up to create 2 Land rows below the Land deck. Each Land row must contain as many Lands as there are players. The Land row furthest from the Land deck is considered the first.

The game is played over 9 rounds and ends when all players have 9 Land cards in their Realm. Each round is divided into 3 Phases: ASSIGNMENT, RESOLUTION and END OF ROUND.

Phase 1: Assignment

Each player simultaneously selects a character card from their hand and places it face down in their Realm. When all players have selected a character card, reveal them.

Phase 2: Resolution

The turn order for that phase is determined by the initiative value of the revealed cards. The player who played the lowest initiative value plays first, and other players proceed in ascending initiative order.

Resolve ties using the clans’ Omens. The clan that ranks the highest plays first.

During their turn, each player must perform the two following actions in this order:

CHARACTER ACTION: You must apply the effect of the character card you played this round (even if it is not beneficial to you). Then, discard it face up next to your Clan deck, making sure that all the Character cards you played so far are visible to the other players.
LAND ACTION: Select a Land card from the first Land row and add it to your Realm. Immediately gain the corresponding Reward. You must keep your victory points face down until the end of the game.

NOTE: Do not fill the first Land row’s empty slots before the end of the round. The later you play in the turn order, the fewer choices you have when it is your turn to add a Land to your Realm.

Phase 3: End of Round

When all players have performed their two actions:

Slide the second Land row down to replace the first Land row.
Draw Lands from the Land deck to create a new second Land row.
Then, each player draws cards from their Clan deck until they have 5 cards in hand, or their Clan deck is empty.

Round Example (Round 2)

The available Lands are set up. Players simultaneously reveal their selected Character cards: YELLOW (10), RED (12), BLUE (3), PURPLE (3).

BLUE and PURPLE are tied. The Clans’ Omens give the initiative to BLUE.

So, the turn order for the round is: BLUE > PURPLE > YELLOW > RED

BLUE
- CHARACTER: The Hunter’s effect applies, Blue gains 3 , because Blue is the first player.
- LAND: Blue takes the Meadow and gains 2 (1 for this Meadow and 1 for Meadow owned by Red).
PURPLE
- CHARACTER: The Hunter’s effect does not apply, because Blue is a neighbor who played before Purple.
- LAND: Purple takes the Field and gains 4 (2 for each Field in their Realm).
YELLOW
- CHARACTER: The Crafter’s effect does not apply, because Yellow plays before Red, who is a neighbor.
- LAND: Yellow adds the River to their Realm and gains 12 (6 multiplied by 2 Rivers in their Realm).
RED
- CHARACTER: The Farmer will double the Land reward this round.
- LAND: Red has to pick the last card, the Field. They gain 4 (2 multiplied by 2 because of the Farmer).

The game ends when all players have 9 Land cards in their Realm. Players reveal their tokens, and gain an additional 5 bonus if their Realm contains 5 different Land types, or 10 if their Realm contains 6 different Land types.

The player with the most Victory Points wins the game. In case of a tie, the tied player who ranks the highest in the Clan’s Omens is the winner.

Scoring Example

EXAMPLE: When the game ends, Marie has 57 , 3 Fields, 2 Meadows, 2 Forests, 1 Village, and 1 River in her Realm. Because she has 5 different Land types, she gains an additional 5 bonus. Total: 57 + 5 = 62

Meadow

Gain 1 per Meadow in your Realm and your neighbors’ Realms, including this one.

Field

Gain 2 per Field in your Realm, including this one.

Forest

Gain a number of as indicated on the Forest card (ranging from 3 to 6).

Village

Gain 2 per different Land type in your Realm, including this Village.

Mountain

Gain 10 if this is the 2nd Mountain in your Realm. Gain 20 additional if this is the 4th Mountain in your Realm.

River

Gain a reward equal to the initiative value of the character you played this round (max. 6) multiplied by the number of Rivers in your Realm, including this one.

1 • Fighter

1 • FIGHTER
All players with a Fighter in hand may reveal her to gain 1 .
To gain 1 , players must show their Fighter to the other players.

2 • Bard

2 • BARD
Another player of your choice gains 2 .
You cannot count other players’ . If you ask them, they can refuse to tell, tell the truth, or even lie about it.

3 • Hunter

3 • HUNTER
If you play before your neighbors this round, gain 3 .
In case of a tie, only the player that ranks the highest in the Clans’ Omens gains 3 .

4 • Oracle

4 • ORACLE
Gain 2 for each of your neighbors who played an odd initiative value.
In a 2-player game, you have only one neighbor and gain either 2 , or 0.

5 • Carpenter

5 • CARPENTER
Gain 3 per Forest in your Realm.
You must apply the effect before selecting a Land. So if you select a Forest during the same turn as you play the Carpenter, it does not count when applying the Carpenter’s effect.

6 • Falconer

6 • FALCONER
Steal 2 from the player who played before you this round.
If you play first, gain 0 .

7 • Tracker

7 • TRACKER
Swap a Land from the first or second Land row with the top card from the Land deck. The new card is placed face up, and the previous card is placed face down on the top of the Lands deck. This effect changes the Omens for the rest of the round.

8 • Midwife

8 • MIDWIFE
Take a character back from your Discard Pile to your hand.
You cannot take the Midwife back into your hand.

9 • Rider

9 • RIDER
Swap a Land from the first Land row with a Land from the second Land row.
You can select 2 Lands of the same type to effectively nullify the effect.

10 • Crafter

10 • CRAFTER
If you play after your neighbors this round, gain 5 .
In case of a tie, only the player that ranks the lowest in the Clans’ Omens gains 5 .

11 • Pioneer

11 • PIONEER
Swap a Land from your Realm with the bottom card from the Land deck. Gain the reward for this Land.

12 • Farmer

12 • FARMER
Double the reward for the Land you add to your Realm this round.