Centuries ago, a wicked king, on his deathbed, begged the Druids of Gaia for aid. They refused, knowing his survival would bring only calamity to the world. Enraged, the king, with his dying breath, uttered a terrible curse that ravaged the fertile Valley of Life. Fueled by the vengeful wrath of a dark lord, the curse unleashed plague and disease upon the land.

Players take on the roles of druids tasked with restoring life to these cursed lands. The cards in your deck represent parts of the valley you must revive, and each enhancement symbolizes new life and vital energy you bring to the earth. Your power is deeply tied to the land—so the more life flourishes in the valleys and thickets, the greater your strength grows to join nature’s spirits in restoring the enchanted valley.

About the Board Game Mystic Vale

This is a deck-building card game with a unique Card Crafting System, where 2 to 4 players play cards onto their field each turn to gain powerful enhancements and valuable valley cards.

During the game, you’ll upgrade your cards with potent enhancements. Timely crafting of enhanced cards and purchasing valley cards will help you breathe life back into the wondrous Mystic Vale and lead you to victory!

Game Setup

Before starting, each player receives a starting deck of 20 cards. These are the cards you’ll enhance using the Card Crafting System. Next, create a shared reserve with 9 “enhancements” available for purchase during the game, divided into three decks by level. Also, split the valley cards into two decks—Level 1 and Level 2. Shuffle the Level 1 deck and reveal 4 cards face-up, then do the same with the Level 2 deck.

The final setup step is preparing your field. Draw cards from your deck and lay them out in front of you until two “Cursed Land” cards appear on your field, with a third becoming your card-on-deck. Throughout the game, you’ll always have a card-on-deck—the top card of your deck, face-up.

Gameplay Overview

Each player’s turn consists of 4 phases. After completing the discard phase, the next player clockwise takes their turn. Play continues in turns until the game ends.

Planting Phase

First, play your card-on-deck. Place it on your field next to your played cards, apply its “When Played” ability, and flip the top card of your deck to become your new card-on-deck.

After playing, check if decay has begun (four cards with a red tree symbol are in play). If you pass the check, you may play your card-on-deck again. This cycle continues until you choose to pass instead of playing.

Harvest Phase

This phase begins only if you haven’t triggered decay.

Here, you can buy valley cards and enhancements, activate “Harvest” abilities from cards on your field, and tally victory points—all in any order.

Discard Phase

In this phase, you’ll primarily craft cards—upgrading them with enhancements bought in the previous phase.

For each enhancement purchased, choose a card on your field and slide it into its sleeve. Enhancements can’t overlap existing ones, except for properties along the card’s edges.

After upgrading, move your field cards to your discard pile face-down.

Then, refresh the shared reserve by adding missing cards and pass the turn to the next player.

Preparation Phase

While your opponent takes their turn, prepare your field. Draw cards starting with your card-on-deck until three or more cards with red tree symbols appear, including the card-on-deck.

End of Game

When the supply of victory point tokens runs out, the round ends, and scoring begins. The player with the most victory points wins.

We recommend watching the video rules in the “Video” section and, if desired, exploring the illustrated PDF rules in more detail in the “Files” section.

One Last Note

If you’re seeking a board game with a unique play experience, love deck-building mechanics, or can’t get enough of games with tons of diverse combinations, Gallu the Rooster suggests picking up "Mystic Vale" to enjoy fresh strategies time and again!