Rolling Realms Redux Review

We wrote about Rolling Realms as a game a few years ago, and you can reread that review by clicking this link part of what we wrote then I will copy below, but honestly what we are talking about here is whether this is a good additional purchase for those who already own the original Rolling Realms. Wink wink, nudge nudge…it is.

Here is a bit from our original review:

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 themselves 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.

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.

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, 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.

As a relatively 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. 

So ya, Rolling Realms is a good game, and since the original launch brand new cards have been launching at a pretty steady pace, featuring some of the most popular titles in the hobby, regardless if they are a Stonemaier game or not!

In this Redux bundle, not only do you get more cards to play, but you also get a nice box for storing everything you’ve collected so far. Plus, more ways to play solo, brand new dice, and dividers! Yes, dividers, and that is a big deal. Now everything can be nicely divided which means getting a game of Rolling Realms up and running takes WAY less time than it did before.

This entire package is a fantastic release – I’ve heard rumblings that this is a “money grab” but knowing what I know about Jamey and Stonemaier Games, that is nowhere near the truth. This is a great product, and you are doing yourself a disservice if you don’t pick it up, especially if you were a fan of the original release.