Game Review: River Valley Glassworks

Sometimes all you are looking for in a game is aesthetics and solid gameplay, a smooth experience on the table in every aspect. Today we are going to jump into a game that I think does just that as we take a slow trip down the river together.

River Valley Glassworks is designed by Ben Pinchback, Matt Riddle and Adam Hill with art by Matt Paquette & Co. It is published by Allplay and plays 1-5 players in under 30 mins.

Overview:

In River Valley Glassworks, players attempt to fill their glassworks with the most colorful river glass they can find. Adding the right pieces in the right places will give you more points as you gather glass. The player with the most points wins!

Gameplay:

In River Valley, players take their turns in clockwise order one at a time. The turn sequence is pretty simple, you must either Place & Gather or Draw.

In Place & Gather, players will take glass from their person pan and place it in a matching tile on the river. When you add in this way, you can gather all the glass from an adjacent river tile to your board. The empty tile moves to the back and the other tiles from forward.

When you take pieces you add them to your glassworks you place them in the columns based on color and if you can’t fit a piece you place it in your overflow. These will be negative points at the end of the game.

In Draw, players will choose 4 pieces from the lake and add them to their pan. This gives you new options to add to the river on future turns for the Place & Gather turn.

The game continues until someone reaches 17 or more glass in their inventory, in which the end game is triggered. Points are scored for all rows and your two tallest columns. The player with the most points wins!

Impressions:

I love being surprised by board games and River Valley did just that in a few different ways. The first big surprise was the aesthetics and overall feel of the game. I love the river tiles, the glass pieces and how well they did with the whole production. It is a game that shines right out of the box-the characters are super cute and have a great whimsical quality to them. 

Second, I was surprised on the time it took to play this. The game does not overstay its welcome and actually plays at a very quick pace on turns and overall is less than 30 mins to play an average game once you know the boards and components. It never felt like too long of a game, and conversely never felt too short either which can be the downfall of a game that plays quick. It’s a strategic experience but does not feel overwhelming so it’s a perfect experience for a variety of different experience levels in players. 

The player count didn’t change the experience in this one, it plays well regardless of the number of us we had playing it. We taught it to some newer gamers who caught on very quickly and enjoyed it as well. Overall the game has been an enjoyable experience for all and one that is constantly finding its way onto our game table at home. So if you love a game that gives you some thoughtful decision-making but doesn’t break your brain take a trip down the river for your next game night!

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