Rolling Realms Review
Rolling Realms
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Being able to review a Stonemaier game is always a treat. Even if the game concept isn’t resonating with you, the components are always top notch and make playing any game enjoyable. Rolling Realms doesn’t have that same component flair, so could a few dry erase cards, markers, and and an oversized die create what I needed in a board game experience? Yes, yes it did!
Rolling Realms was born out of a desire to play board games remotely with friends, inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic and everyone being required to isolate with their immediate families. COVID wreaked havoc on board game nights around the globe, mine included. So Rolling Realms was originally developed as a print and play, no in-person interactions required. That meant person A in House A, person B in house B, and person C in house C could theoretically download rolling realms, print it out, and play together over a Zoom call, conference call, or whatever.
And the demand was high, so high in fact that some fans even requested a boxed copy of the game – and Stonemaier delivered.
In the box comes 4 sets of dry erase boards, featuring various “realms” based on games in the Stonemaier catalogue. There are also dry erase markers, wipes, and and two oversized dice. So what’s the concept? Check this out…
Rolling Realms is a combination of many previous Stonemaier titles, such as Wingspan, Tapestry, Between Two Cities, and more. Each card has their own unique requirements and gameplay mechanics, but ultimately you are working to score stars on the bottom of stars as you play through three rounds, with three cards per round.
9 times each round, both dice will be rolled, providing players with two numbers to use in two different realms. While resources – collected in a variety of ways – can be used to add a virtual die, or change the number on a die, generally each round players will get to use two numbers in two realms.
Let use the above cards as an example. Follow with me – it might seem complicated but it’s pretty straightforward. Remember, each round players will randomly choose 3 realms to play in randomly from the 11 available (and 8 available after round 1, and the final 5 available after round 2). All players will play the same realms each round. Let’s take a look at this specific round:
Tapestry – Using this card, players will use one of the numbers rolled to place the corresponding shape onto the grid. Filling an entire square within a grid will net you the corresponding resources, while finishing a big row / column will get you those victory stars!
Pendulum – Using this card, players can use ANY number to outline one of the octagons surrounding resources at the top of the card, or they can use the number of cross off a corresponding number within an hourglass. Once all the numbers in an hourglass have been crossed out, players obtain all the resources from the octagons that have been outlined. Stars are scored if outlined when a hourglass is filled.
The Society – This is one of the more straightforward realms. Players will place numbers in the spots, noting that the numbers must be lower than the number above it. Finishing an entire row will net you the resources at the end of the row, and stars are earned by creating a “triangle” of numbers.
This game isn’t completely based on luck, as some might think because of the dice rolls. The hearts, pumpkins and coins earned can be used to manipulate the dice and the boards in your favour, but using them wisely is key to winning. It’s a really great mechanic that potentially takes the luck of the roll out of the equation. That being said, the luck is the same for all, so is it really…luck?
Players will roll 9 times per round, and scores will be tailed by adding up the number of stars earned, scoring one point per, and the number of leftover resources from that round, socring 0.1 point per. After 3 rounds, players tally their scores and the highest score wins.
Is It Worth It
As a relativley inexpensive product – and one I think you can still download and play for free – Rolling Realms is a love letter to the entire Stonemaier collection, and my only wish is that they continue to release card packs for future games they develop and publish. The game is so versatile, easy to understand, and expandable almost infinitely. My only complaint is that enough cards for 6 people wasn’t included in the box, but as a downloadable title as well, adding in players 5 and 6 is pretty easy.
The game just works. The concepts for each card are unique, and since cards are randomly drawn two games are likely never to be the same. And that’s really why I like Rolling Realms. Over the past month that we have had the game, we have easily played over a dozen times, with new people unfamiliar with board games, and long time veterans. And it’s always enjoyable.
I like that resources have been mixed into the game to remove the luck of the roll and to give players more creativity and freedom on their cards.
If you are looking for a light, quick and easy experience, with deep strategy accessible to all, than Rolling Realms might be the perfect next game to pick up for your collection.
Article By Adam Roffel
Adam Roffel has only been writing about video games for a short time, but has honed his skills completing a Master's Degree. He loves Nintendo, and almost anything they have released...even Tomodachi Life.
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