Darksworn introduces cooperative play to Valeria: Card Kingdoms through a story-driven narrative in which your game group are Dukes or Duchesses working together to push back an ancient darkness that threatens the land. During the game, you will be slaying Monsters, recruiting Citizens, praying to Aquila for Blessings, and completing Tasks from a series of Books that reveal the saga of your adventures.

Books
Each of the 6 Books in the Darksworn Saga is a structured deck of cards and punchboards that introduce new rules that change Valeria: Card Kingdoms into a fully cooperative game. Your game group will set out on a Holy Quest to expand the Kingdom westward and defeat a growing darkness threatening the land and people of Valeria. Every Book starts out with new rules and sets your group against new Monsters, then spins out an expanding storyline that ties your rolls and Citizenry into the tasks and threats awaiting you. Most of the Books include punchboard tokens to represent certain special Monsters, deadly effects, looming terrors, or magical benefits. You’ll discover all of these and more as you progress through the Books.

The Story Board
Sitting above the Monster Row, this board displays the current Book, shows the Book’s new rules, and has an oubliette to hold captured Citizen cards.

Column Tiles
Set between the Story board and the Monster Row, these tiles define the Monster attack columns. When your roll matches any of these numbers the Monster card in that column attacks your Citizen stacks.

Monster Deck
There are 9 new Monster cards that get added to an assortment of Monsters from the base game and expansions. Together they form the Monster deck with only 5 Monsters active at any one time. If you slay a Monster, that column can’t attack this turn, buying your Citizens a brief respite from the carnage.

Wall Tiles
Between the Monster Row and the Citizens are the Walls. They offer some protection from most of the Monsters but walls get damaged, walls fail, and then the screaming starts. Luckily, there are ways you can re-build the walls...if you have any Actions left.

Citizen Stacks
Actually, there are no new Citizens in this expansion. Instead, you can use any of the Citizens in the base game or any other VCK expansion to outfit your Citizen Stacks. Don’t get too attached to them, though; Monsters love to capture or banish Citizens.

Blessings and the Aquila Board
Below the Citizen Stacks, you’ll find the Aquila Board. Here you can use a Prayer Action and spend Victory Points to activate one of Aquila's Blessings on display. These useful boons will ease your efforts to push back the darkness. You may have noticed that there is one permanent Blessing on the Aquila Board...Spend 8VP to Rebuild 1 Wall. Along with that, there is also a deck of 12 Blessings with a 3-card draft line to give you a variety of other useful Blessings to assist you.

Starting Citizen
Each player receives a special Starting Card – Explorer. This Citizen card will reward players when all seems bleak (none of your Citizens match the rolled dice) and in times of celebration (rolled doubles). No one should be without an Explorer.