I like board games, I just don't get many chances to play them these days. Though they've always had another angle (Christmas day, virtual gaming, finding time with kids) it has been fun to write up a few on this blog when it's been something worth remembering. The subject today is a game I hadn't heard of before and was a gift from my youngest brother, someone much more into games than I. Since it turned out to be a good one (he hadn't played it prior to giving it to me) and I doubt many of my friends have played it, I thought I'd share this game with all of you. Maybe you'll think it sounds fun too.
The game is called Raiders of the North Sea. No, I don't like it purely because it starts with 'Raiders of the...' though that's somewhat tempting. It's one of several historically set simulations made by Garphill Games, a company I was also unfamiliar with, along with titles like Architects of the West Kingdom (about the Frankish empire created by Charlemagne) and Hadrian's Wall (the famous barrier between Roman civilization and savage Caledonia). Raiders of the North Sea takes place during the Viking Age and features, you guessed it, the Vikings. You build up supplies and assemble a crew before raiding across the North Sea into weak and loot-filled harbors, outposts, monasteries and fortresses. The winner is the raider (player) who most impresses the village chieftain (scoring the most points).
The mechanics are all about worker placement and there's no actual fighting involved. Every turn you perform two actions. First, place the worker that you start with, or finished the previous turn with, in one location and resolve whatever happens there. Second, you pick up another worker already down on the board (and not the one you just placed), resolving whatever happens there as well. These two seemingly simple moves provide a ton of strategy because you can't place a worker where one already rests and you can't pick up a worker where there isn't one. Thus your options every turn are limited by what the other players are doing on the board. Further, there are different colored worker pieces, some of which can only be put certain places and perform certain actions. This is all designed to control the progression of resource production and raids at both the beginning and ending of the game. Make sure you have the correct type of worker if you want to pull off a raid near the end!
Each turn you choose whether you want to work in town or take your crew and raid, not both. In town you can add cards to your hand, play one of those cards, add to your crew, produce provisions or silver coins, and a few other things. The cards are the various potential crew members, of which there are quite a few, all of which have different strengths and abilities. If you decide to raid you can only use resources acquired in previous turns to meet certain qualifications. Once met the raid is automatically successful and you generally get points based on the strength of your crew. Plus you get the different kinds of loot for that raid, which can be turned into points elsewhere or used to improve your crew. To put it simply, this game is all about efficiency. The winner will be the one who most repeatedly and ruthlessly turns the board-limited resources into points, however they're gained, before their opponents can.
Making this even better is that it's for 2-4 players and not overly long. Yes it works with only two, allowing my wife and I to play without having people over (after the kids go to bed with everything that entails). We've played with four players as well and it proceeds in a similar manner, though of course everyone receives fewer points and there's less room for error. I think with more people it can make sense to accumulate more points outside of just raiding (from certain crew member cards or 'Offerings to the Chieftain'). With two players it's basically a mad dash to do as many raids as possible before they run out and the game ends. The total time is pretty quick too, usually like 60-75 minutes long.
I want to add a tidbit that my brother, the gifter, pointed out. It's interesting that game mechanics are entirely separate from the theme and style. A game can work if the two don't align perfectly, but it takes it to another level when those things are in sync. Another way to look at this is the theme doesn't need to be important, but if it's effective the game will be a lot more fun than it otherwise would be. I'm speaking generally, of course, but I can try to talk specifically about this game. In this case it works really well to have little worker pieces, sometimes called 'Meeple' in other games, working and preparing in a medieval Viking town in preparation for raiding and pillaging, the stuff that makes this game exciting. As you advance closer to the end the mechanics continue to work just as well even though the actions you're trying to complete have shifted pretty dramatically. Maybe that doesn't make any sense. I guess I should just say I'm impressed with this game design.
On top of being a well-designed game, it also quality made. The board is sturdy and the pieces aren't going to break. The metal 'silver coins' are remarkably hefty and kinda cool. I think I'm going to have to check out something else from the maker.
Anyway that's enough on that. Check it out! Or ask to play mine. Whatever works.
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