🏗️ Via Nebula — Misty Valleys, Clear Routes, and a Faint Spark

⭐ Rating: 3/10

Players: 2–4
Playtime: 45–60 min
Difficulty: Medium (Planning & Logistics)
Type: Euro / Resource Management / Route Building / Low Interaction
Mechanics: route building, resource management, contract fulfillment, spatial planning, shared board

🌫️ First Impressions

Via Nebula by Martin Wallace (published by Asmodee / Space Cowboys) looks like a calm euro set in a foggy valley — charming fields, pastel tones, little wooden workers, and the promise of rebuilding civilization. And it is interesting. It’s smooth, elegant, clever in design — but despite that, it never quite lights a spark.

🎯 Goal of the Game

Each player leads a guild of craftsmen restoring the Valley of Nebula.
You explore the mist, open resource sites, and use materials to build structures on ancient ruins.

The game ends when one player builds their fifth building (four in a two-player game). Every other player takes one final turn before scoring:

• Victory points from completed contracts (buildings)

• Exploration tokens (+2 points each)

• Guild tokens discovered (+value shown)

• Bonus +2 points for the player who ended the game

• −1 point per unused resource left in storage

🃏 How a Turn Works

On your turn, you perform two actions (chosen from six options):

1. Open a resource site – place a craftsman meeple on a deposit.

2. Place a building site – claim a ruin space for construction.

3. Explore the mist – lay a meadow tile on an adjacent fog hex.

4. Explore a petrified forest – costs two actions.

5. Transport a resource – move it through connected meadow paths.

6. Erect a building – spend required resources to complete a contract.

Each player begins with two private contracts, while four neutral contracts lie open for everyone.After you finish a building, draw a new contract to replace it.

The clever part is that paths and resources are shared — everyone can use the routes you clear and the materials you uncover. Helping yourself often means helping someone else.

🧩 What Makes It Interesting

✅ Simple rules, real planning. Two actions per turn feel easy but can make or break your strategy.
✅ Shared board concept. Everything is interconnected — a path you create might become your opponent’s shortcut.
✅ Clean euro logic. No luck, no chaos — just efficiency and timing.
✅ Smooth rhythm. Turns are quick and satisfying.
✅ Solid components. The production quality is undeniably high.

💀 Why It’s Not Perfect

Via Nebula is a clever and well-designed game with just the right touch of cooperation — exactly what you need after a holiday feast or any family gathering with the in-laws 😉
Player interaction is limited, and the “shared board” mechanic rarely creates a sense of rivalry, making it a perfect pick even for a visit from Aunt Halinka’s son — you know, the one who’s better at everything… and will, of course, win again 😏

The meeples could be cuter — they lack that one small detail that makes you want to move them just for the joy of it.

And honestly? I hate that some of the “buildings” aren’t buildings at all.
A caravan is a building? Really?

Maybe that also explains the box insert — the weird, cloud-shaped plastic tray that haunts my dreams.It doesn’t hold square tiles, doesn’t fit anything, and somehow looks like it came from a completely different game.
No matter how many times I play, I still have no idea what’s supposed to go there.

🏆 How to Win in Via Nebula

💡 Plan routes ahead. Think two turns beyond your own needs.
📦 Spend resources efficiently. Each unused token is −1 VP.
🌫️ Don’t over-explore. Every meadow you add may help others more than you.
🏗️ Pick contracts carefully. Some buildings are faster and more profitable to complete.
🧭 Finish first. That +2 bonus can be the tie-breaker.

☕ Impressions

It’s a solid game — but not an exciting one.
I appreciate its clarity, flow, and mechanical elegance, yet I feel no real emotion while playing.Everything works, but nothing surprises.

Via Nebula is like its own fog — pretty on the surface, but no mystery inside.

✨ Rating: 3/10

Beautifully produced and smartly designed, yet distant. Good for fans of light euro games and peaceful planning — especially when you just want to play without pressure or competition. But not for me. Given away with respect — to someone who truly sees its charm

📜 Official Rulebook