This gem has been sitting in the shrink wrap since before Christmas. Shame on us, I know, I know. But we have so many games and so little time!! And learning a new game always takes longer than playing one we already know inside and out. We finally busted it out this past week and it did not disappoint! Let’s dive in.
Theme: You are a tribe of Vikings who are out to have the greatest value in food, goods, livestock, and land over all the other Viking tribes.
Specs: 1-4 Players, it says it should take 30-120 minutes to play. Definitely add at least an hour for your first couple of times while you get the rules down. And hold on to that hour (and maybe add another) if you are playing with any of those heavy thinkers who really, really, really consider aaaaallllll the options every turn.
Recommended for ages 12+. Not a beginner game, more mid-level difficulty, but there are a lot of options that can make it appear much more difficult than it is.
Mechanics: Worker placement, tile placement, grid coverage, a wee bit of dice rolling if you choose those actions.
Designed by Uwe Rosenberg
Art by Dennis Lohausen
Published by Feurland (and several others in several languages)
The goal of the game is to have the most victory points at the end. To gain victory points you do things like play occupation cards, build or purchase boats, build houses and storage buildings, gain and breed livestock, and sail to new lands. There is also a fun little twist. Each player board starts with negative points, as do the buildings and lands you can acquire. In order to fill in those boards and negate the negative points you cover them up with goods, money, and in some cases food.
The game is played over 7 rounds. Each round you gain a new Viking to your crew which gives you more “workers” to place on the action board. There are so many options that even if someone takes what you were hoping to do, it’s hard not to find something that is at least a little helpful to do. And there are a ton of occupation cards. Some will synergize better with the path you have chosen than others, which is pretty standard for any game.
All in all I love this game. I mean, who doesn’t love a good Viking themed game?! I sure do, and one of the things I love about this one is that, even though there is pillaging and raiding, there is no “take that” or combat. I also love a game where it’s hard to tell who is winning and with the negative points and the pockets here and there where you can collect points it is very hard to tell.
There are a few expansions out there that we don’t have, but typically when we really enjoy a game we end up going all in, so there may be a review to come on those!
What is your favorite Viking themed game and what makes it your favorite?
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