Image taken from https://boardgamegeek.com/image/7796391/windmill-valley

Designer: Dani Garcia
Publishers: Board&Dice
Artists: Pedro Codeco, Zbigniew Umgelter

This is such a lovely game. I was super excited to finally get my hands on it, and the game really lived up to the hype and my expectations – it’s amazing! One of my favorite aspects of a board game (not a deal breaker by any stretch, just a nice bonus) is when the game feels “complete”. For me, this means the theme and the mechanics are integrated expertly and flow so smoothly that they don’t feel like two separate entities. This is how I feel about Windmill Valley – the mechanics fit so perfectly with the theme, playing it is a really enjoyable experience.

Another really impressive aspect of this game is the game length/timing. It doesn’t overstay it’s welcome, but it’s also long enough to feel productive in the game. Interestingly, the players are in control of the game length, which adds a whole other layer of decision making. The endgame is triggered when a player has completed (or exceeded) four revolutions of their windmill. So, players can choose to go slowly to get more actions, or they can go quickly to sabotage their opponents or ensure they surpass them on the calendar (how rounds are measured timewise) to get first pick at the bonuses.

In Windmill Valley, you start your turn by adjusting (or it can stay the same) the floodgate. The floodgate level is directly related to how many sections you spin your windmill board. If the floodgate is open and at a high level, you skip more sections on your board. If the floodgate is closed, you only move to the next section. It is free to close the floodgate, but you have to pay guilder (the currency in this game) to open it. This increase in water does provide victory points, though. The only other way to influence the movement of your windmill board is to use tools, which you can acquire throughout the game.

Besides movement on your windmill board, the other major implication from the floodgate is the water level. When the floodgate is closed, the water level doesn’t change. At the middle level (or when it’s partially open), the water level increases by one. When the floodgate is fully open, the water level increases by two. The water level can never exceed the highest value on the track. I’ll go over all the actions momentarily, but the right wheel of your windmill board, initially, has all “lower the water level two” actions. Anytime you choose that action, you gain guilder or victory points for each water level decrease.

After the floodgate and water level have been determined, and you’ve rotated your board accordingly, you have two actions to choose from (there’s one on the left wheel and one on the right wheel). Eventually, it’s possible to be able to do both (there are enhancements you can get that allow this), but most turns you must decide which action to perform.

There are quite a few actions on each windmill board: lower the water level (as aforementioned), get enhancements for your wheel (they replace actions on your wheel and provide stronger options), gain a farm enhancement (either a Helper which gives you bonuses during the game or a Contract which provides end game points), build a windmill (place it on the board and gain the adjacent benefits), visit the market (gain bulbs and/or plant tulips), plant bulbs (there’s a separate action not associated with the market), and/or conduct foreign trade (either place a bulb to gain actions/items or take all the bulbs off the card and place them in your Storage section).

This seems like a lot, and it can be a little overwhelming initially, but after the first few rounds, it all clicks together (pun-intended). Over the course of the game, the puzzle unfolds, and you see how interconnected the actions are and how each decision can significantly impact the game. It’s phenomenal. It’s thinky without being a major brain burner, and it has quick turns so there’s not too much downtime. The board is also really colorful and beautiful to look at.

In the solo mode, you play against “the Gardener” who has their own board, tulip patch, windmills, etc. In that regard, it’s very similar to an actual opponent. Truthfully, I have mixed feelings about the Gardener. I appreciate that they take actions like a normal player would; that helps keep it interesting since they take items you might want, steal a space with their windmill you were eyeing, and/or change the water level and speed of rotation for your windmill board. My biggest qualm with the solo version is that the Gardener moves significantly faster on their windmill board than an actual player would (at least from my experiences thus far), so it’s challenging to get done everything you want to, and you’re always behind on the calendar. Maybe I’m just terrible at this game, but I feel like the Gardener is tough to beat. There are multiple difficulty levels, which is nice, but even on the easiest one I still don’t win! I don’t mind losing a solo game, but the feeling of always being behind with no real way to catch up can be frustrating.

The solo game also doesn’t particularly help me discover anything new about the game. I have played many solo games against a bot that shows me some tricks, deepens my understanding of the game, and/or helps me discover unique tactics and strategies, but I feel the Gardner doesn’t really do that. It’s basically the same game (for better or worse) as a multiplayer game. And if I’m going to play multiplayer, I might as well play with an actual human!

Overall, I wheel-y love this game! For me, Windmill Valley is a superior multiplayer gaming experience than a solo gaming experience. I’m not saying I won’t ever play this solo again, because I love solo gaming and I adore this game, but if I have a choice (key word is if 😉), the fiancée and/or friends will be playing with me.