Description

Square Valley is a relaxing strategy and puzzle game where you place tiles and draw borders to create a one of a kind city. Each level is comprised of a different set of tiles and borders with unique challenges to overcome. The key difference to this city-builder is that every turn the player will only be allowed to place their tiles in alternating random places, forcing non-optimal placements which forces the player to think ahead for the benefit of future turns. At the end of every level the player will ideally end up with a beautiful little city guided by the scoring system.

The players are not limited to just buildings, but are also in charge of changing the landscape and placing tiles such as animals, trees, and farms. The player begins by crafting small towns with roads, fences, and city walls but will soon progress to creating the more challenging lakes and plateaus. Before long the player will even begin to create their own islands and coastal cities. Due to the random nature of the game, the player is guaranteed to always end up with a new distinct and appealing city.

History

The roots of this game stem from my family's and my enjoyment of board games, especially tile-laying games like Carcassonne. What I always enjoyed about Carcassonne was that you had to make strategic decisions during the game, and you got a little work of art at the end. Another reason why a game like this is so great is that it offers a new experience and new challenges every time due to the randomness involved. This new experience was one of the main goals in the development of Square Valley — to make a game that is still fun and challenging even if I have played it many times. Thus, the first prototypes were created in late 2020, which consisted of tile sets that could be used to build small cities with strategic rules.

Features