Welcome to River Valley! The beautiful pieces of glass that can be found along the river here have attracted the most entrepreneurial of woodland creatures to set up shop.
In River Valley Glassworks, you play as one of these pioneers, drafting glass from the market of river tiles. To do so, you have to play a piece from your inventory into the river. Each river tile can take only a specific shape, and you must play into a space adjacent to where you want to draft from. After you pick up your glass, the river shifts forward, revealing new pieces and new opportunities.
Store the glass you pick up strategically in your shop. Depending on how the glass pieces are placed, your score will change drastically. Fill in rows and columns to gain bonus points, but don't draft too many of one type to avoid negative points!
Why We Love It:
Uneven Glass Rarity
The glass colors aren't evenly distributed in the bag. Use that to your advantage—plan around the different rarities, or swoop in when an uncommon color shows up. Can you cause your opponent to take too many of one of the common colors, giving them negative points?
Rows Vs. Columns Puzzle
River Valley Glassworks draws players in with approachable rules, beautiful artwork, and satisfyingly tactile components. But, once you start wrestling with the way your board scores, you'll notice how clever things get just below the surface! Adding complexity with the stretch goal expansions create an even more complex puzzle to solve!
“Let’s Play Again” Factor
With a 20-minute play time (and a board that can reset in 30 seconds), River Valley Glassworks practically invites you to play again and attempt to beat your high score. Try new tactics, experiment with the tempo of your turns, or focus more on drafting around your opponents the next time around!
Strategy:
Consider Your Options
Just because you have a plan, doesn't mean you should ignore interesting opportunities that show up. Because of the way other players are playing, how the river's moving, and how close to end game trigger you are, you might be able to make a clever play!
Manipulate The Glass Rarity
Not every piece color is distributed evenly in the game. Plan accordingly, or even incorporate some table talk to get what you want!
Sometimes, The Overflow Is The Play
Yes, you get a big penalty if you put pieces in the overflow area. Do some quick math or planning to see if you can make it worth it!
1–5 Players
25–45 Min Playing Time
Game Complexity (1=straightforward; 5=complex): 1.49
