Fascination with Vikings – so the seafaring people originally from Scandinavia, who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and settled throughout parts of Europe – is widespread in the mainstream media. One can find many movies, TV Series, books or video games inspired by the theme.

But of course our hobby – boardgames – was also under the influence of those expert sailors and navigators, who reached as far as Black Sea or America. In my article I am discussing boardgames which I personally find as most interesting. The selection covers both wargames (not surprisingly for sure!) as well as mainstream EUROs. Enjoy!

Other articles in the series:


878 Vikings by Academy Games

Let me share first some details about this game. In 878: Vikings – Invasions of England, players control the invading Vikings or the English nobles who are trying to withstand the invasion. Viking players either play as Norsemen Viking freeman or as the fearless Viking shock troops known as Berserkers. The English play as the Housecarl, the Kings’ household troops, or as the Thegns who were regional noble Leaders. The English players will also be able to call up the peasant levies, called the Fyrd, to defend their cities. In essence this is 2-player game which can be easily converted to 4-players variant.

Close-up of the map

There are couple of aspects of this game (probably my most-played-viking-themed-title) which are worth underlying. The game is very thematic – the mechanics itself (Viking raids) and the opposing English are very well depicted and you feel as a part of history. It is definitely a fast-paced and quick game which can be played in reasonable time. On the other hand it is also exciting & brutal, with battles being a main driving factor here. As usually, Academy Games produced beautiful position with great components. I like the fact that there are different ways to win the game. Last but not least – still to be explored by us – there are tons of expansions!

More about game:


Blood Rage by Cool Mini Or Not

Blood Rage proved to be a very successful Kickstarter campaign – maybe thanks to miniatures used or the some of the proven mechanic of its predecessor – Midgard. Nevertheless, it occupies very high place on Boardgamegeek now.

In this game each player controls their own Viking clan, warriors, leader, and ship. What is interesting, the Ragnarök has come, and it’s the end of the world – really, and epic scenario for a wargame! So it is also last chance for Vikings to go down in a blaze of glory and secure their place in Valhalla. What you can do? Invade and pillage land for rewards, crush your opponents in epic battles, fulfill quests, increase your clan’s stats, or even die gloriously either in battle or from Ragnarök. All this grants glory points which in the end will decide who the winner is.

Close-up of the map

Blood Rage proved to be a very good and successful re-implementation of its predecessor. The mechanics are straightforward, battles quick and effective, the replayability of the game quite high and the quality of the miniatures very satisfactory. I especially like the mechanics where even fallen troops can bring you glory and points! Highly recommended!

More about game:

A Feast for Odin from Feuerland Spiele


A Feast for Odin is a points-driven game from well renowned Uwe Rosenberg, with multiple ways to victory, with a range of risk balanced against reward – really, like that element. A significant portion of this is your central hall, which has a incredible 86 points of squares and a major part of your game is attempting to cover these up with various tiles. Likewise, long halls and island colonies can also offer large rewards, but they will have penalties of their own.

Each year follows a familiar pattern of preparation, worker placement, and then meeting the requirements of your feast (Uwe Rosenberg and no feeding? No way!). The main phase of each year is a worker placement affair. You start with a selection of Vikings, and a large action board with a incredible 61 different options to choose from. Each of these will be arranged from left to right in one of four columns (look at the central part of below picture). Each column requires an additional Viking to activate, but they are proportionally more powerful.

All game components

You will build your engine over time – and of course, you have influence how you design it. You will experience an alternating pattern of outward expansion and hunting against development and cultivation. It all comes down to how much you are willing to take on at any one time – which really makes that game great. For sure try it!

More about game:

Summary

What I presented above is only a tiny selection from all Viking-themed boardgames. I hope it will inspire you to search for such titles or even try some from ones I mentioned above. The theme is very strong in all above position, the question is which mechanic you prefer more – a pure confrontational like in wargames or rather with gradual development like in EUROgames. Good luck!