PC/Mac
If you need proof that we’re living in a Golden Age of digital board games, I offer up Mystic Vale as evidence. Releasing less than a month ago, I’m guessing many of us have already moved on to other games like Evolution or the latest darling, Castles of Burgundy. If a game with the name recognition and polish of Mystic Vale had appeared back in 2013 our heads would have exploded.
To bring Mystic Vale back to our collective subconscious, today Nomad Games released its first expansion: Vale of Magic.
Vale of Magic does what any good card game expansion must: adds a slew of new cards. Over 70, if you’re counting. What’s the story? Glad you asked:
‘The forces of nature and Gaia’s blessings are not enough to stop the curse from spreading throughout the Valley of Life. The druidic clans are now harnessing the power of arcane magic to repel the blight and heal the land. While arcane magic offers tremendous power, it can quickly overwhelm those who are unable to control it.‘
Mystic Vale – Vale of Magic introduces 54 new advancement cards and 18 vale cards to the Mystic Vale base game, expanding players’ options and opening up new crafting combinations.
This expansion is designed to be mixed straight into the base game.
Of course, it would probably get a little more play at my house if it was on mobile. Luckily, it’s coming to our tablets soon. Anyway, today you need to put down Castles of Burgundy and go back and give Mystic Vale another go. CoB will be waiting for you.
You can nab the new content for PC/Mac right now for a fiver.
I feel like I need to dip my toes into PC board gaming. For some reason, I haven’t.
That said, Armello has done a little revamp re-release that has sucked me back
I wish armello was a premium game on iOS.
I jumped on the season pass, which basically amounts to a free expansion.
Haven’t tried it out yet.
I played a bunch of AI games tonight so I could write my review of it (coming Monday!). One spoiler from my review: no asynchronous multiplayer! Come on, Nomad, this game is calling for asynchronous. There is literally nothing happening for other players on your turn.
I tried to start a live game twice and there’s just nobody there (or at least no open games, no way to tell if there is anybody in the lobby waiting).
Oh well.
Does Cat Lady have asynchronous?
I’m not sure any Nomad game does. With Talisman it makes sense (although it would be easy to do a Galaxy Trucker-like workaround, bending the interrupt rules a bit to make it happen), but I don’t get it with Mystic Vale.
Unless it has updated, Cat Lady doesn’t have asynchronous. I don’t remember now, but it may not even have online multiplayer of any kind.
Was Smash Up also made by Nomad? I know Asmodee has it now, but I recall them being involved with that at some point as well. Or I’m crazy. The latter is usually more likely.
It was. I didn’t include it because I’m an idiot.
I don’t think any of the Nomad games do, and for most of them I can see it.
Cat Lady would be pretty boring and it’s so fast (I don’t even know if it has online multiplayer at all, does it?). That being said, Morels was the same way and it did. So if that company can do it, why not Nomad?
The others I can understand, though like you said, they could do a workaround. Smash Up and Talisman have interrupts that could make async difficult.