The Vale of Eternity rules: how to play and how to score

The Vale of Eternity quick rules

The goal

You are tamers of magical creatures. You hunt creatures, then summon them in front of you to benefit from their effects, which mostly earn points. The game ends at the end of a round in which someone has 60 points or more, or at the end of the tenth round.

Cards and stones

Each creature belongs to a family: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind or Dragon. Its instant effect works once, when summoned; its permanent effect, as long as it’s in front of you; its active effect, with an hourglass, once per round. You pay with magic stones: red 1, blue 3, purple 6. You never hold more than four stones, and you never get change.

The Hunting phase

Two cards per player are revealed, sorted by family around the board. The first player puts one of their two markers on a card, then everyone does the same clockwise. Then you go back the other way for the second marker: the last player picks two cards in a row.

The Action phase

On your turn, take as many actions as you like: sell a hunted card for stones based on its family, tame it into your hand, summon a card from your hand by paying its cost, or remove one of your summoned cards for as many stones as the round number. Your turn doesn’t end until both hunted cards are sold or tamed.

The area

Summoned cards go into your area. You have as many spaces as the round number: one in the first round, five in the fifth. When your area is full, you can’t summon, unless you remove a card.

Resolution and end of round

Everyone, starting with the first player, uses each active effect in their area once, in any order; these effects are mandatory. If nobody has 60 points and it wasn’t the tenth round, advance the round marker, and the player on the left becomes first player.

The end of the game

The game ends at the end of a round, never in the middle, if someone has at least 60 points, or after the tenth round. The most points wins, and your score never drops below zero. On a tie, the most summoned cards wins; otherwise, the victory is shared.

Beginner traps

Forgetting the four-stone limit: selling an Earth card gives four red stones at once. Overpaying: a purple stone for a cost of two wastes four. Forgetting that your area is small at the start. And a card can’t be summoned if its instant effect can’t be fully applied.

How to score The Vale of Eternity

Points

The space of your marker on the score track at the end of the game, starting points included. The score never drops below zero.

Active seals (Curse)

1 point per seal still active at the end.

Appeased cards (Curse)

1 point per appeased card, kept under your Summoner tile.

Curses (Curse)

−2 points per Curse token on you or on a card in your area.

Summoned cards (tie-breaker)

No points: on a tie, the player with the most summoned cards in their area wins.

With Artifacts

The game ends at 80 points instead of 60.

Worked example

With Curse, Emma ends at 63 on the score track. She has 2 active seals (2), 3 appeased cards (3) and 1 Curse (−2): 63 + 2 + 3 − 2 = 66 points.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting starting points: 1 for the first player, 2 for the second, and so on.
• Stopping mid-round when someone reaches 60: you always finish the round.
• Scoring a negative total: the score never drops below zero.
• With Curse, forgetting Curses on cards in your area: −2 each.
• With Artifacts, stopping at 60: the end is at 80 points.

How to set up The Vale of Eternity

Setup is the same for 2 to 4 players. The person who most recently saw a reptile goes first; each round, the first player passes to the left.