Bear Valley is an odd one. With <PERSON> at the helm this shouldn't really come as a surprise. What is surprising is that this game is relatively simple and straightforward in structure. On the Red7 to Mottainai graph, this lays just a couple notches to the right of the former. It's direct and easy to teach, but it's still full of the <PERSON> as we say.
At its heart this is a combination of push your luck and exploration with a dash of race. That sounds intriguing and more importantly, it actually works quite well. Players take on the role of campers trying to navigate their way through the titular bear infested valley and make it back to a cabin up river. You do this by exploring the surrounding forest and utilizing guile to push through navigational challenges.
Meet the cast.
Whoever makes it to the cabin first wins immediately, a task which typically takes around 20 minutes.
One of the first elements to draw your eye is the odd board layout of wonderfully illustrated cards. They take a unique approach of connecting on their corners to form branching paths. On your turn you point to an exit path off your current card that you intend to explore from and verbally initiate a count with a clock structure. Your first exploration is 1 o'clock, then 2 o'clock, 3 o'clock and so on.
With each beat of the timepiece you reveal a card, apply any effects, and then may continue your count or stop where you are. If nothing has impeded your progress you move your little hiker meeple to the current card and are hopefully closer to camp.
Ugh, run!
In typical <PERSON> fashion the rub is multitudinal. For starters, if the card you reveal has a number of exits equal to the clock stroke you're currently positioned at then you've stumbled and don’t progress. Without fail, every turn <PERSON> leans over your shoulder and starts yodeling like that Price Is Right Bavarian dude, only to loudly exclaim "WOMP WOMP" when you fall over the edge from pushing your luck too far. I love <PERSON>.
1 o'clock works slightly different in that if you hit a bear card, you may continue exploring for one additional space. Typically hitting a bear card will ground you but this little bump allows you to avoid failure on your initial explore.
Likewise 2 o'clock has its own special rule. 755
Normally if you reveal a card that doesn't have a connecting path to your previous position, you're SOL, everyone laughs, and your turn ends without moving. However, at 2 o'clock you can still reposition your character onto this new card.
At 7+ o'clock things get dicey. This is where that ferocious beast on the cover of the box rears its head as you’re instantly eaten and die if you hit a bear card. This is interesting because it adds a spice of danger to long gambits, yet it's not common so player elimination never becomes a problem. You can see how well thought out and curated these ideas were as they work hand in hand to propel the exploration system with that push your luck nuance.
The other aspect of exploration is all the different terrain types. You can hit mountains, caves that can be navigated, trading posts, and even find special equipment. The sheer variety using the advanced game with all of the content is great for such a modestly sized game and it adds oomph and replayability to the title.
Who's up for a cave dive?
The combination of a sense of danger from pushing too hard, coupled with the uncertainty of exploration is a really satisfying mix that provides the heart of this design. This is the reason to pick it up and bring it out to the table. It's worth noting, however, that the game plays best with 4-6 as more players equals more chaos. Other characters block your path and force you to go around, adding strategy and sophistication to the decision process. The game certainly works at two or three players but it's less tumultuous and lacks truculence.
Getting to that comfort zone where everything clicks will be a challenge for some. The 40 page rulebook is intimidating upon first blush, although it's relatively easy to work through. Plenty of examples are offered and it's laid out pretty well from a learn how to play perspective. Once someone has a firm understanding of the game you can explain the core process in less than five minutes. It's very much a "get up and go" type of game that’s easy to engage.
The main stumbling block for new players will be the lack of player references. Those special o'clock rules are easily internalized after your first game but people will often forget on their first few attempts at exploration.
The issue is exacerbated when players want to know how a mountain or cave works. 884