Raiders of the North Sea

Players lead Viking warbands in the central years of the Viking Age, recruiting crew, gathering provisions, and sailing north to raid settlements for plunder and glory. Gameplay uses a worker-placement and raid mechanic: on a turn a player places one worker to take an action in the village, then picks up another worker to resolve a second action. Village buildings provide hiring, provisioning, and other preparations needed to launch raids. To raid a harbor, outpost, monastery or fortress a player must meet crew size, provision and payment requirements and use a correctly colored worker; raids yield victory points through plunder, military strength and Valkyrie influences. The game ends when key raid or offering conditions are exhausted and players total their points.

Players: 2–4 best 3
Playing time: 60–80 min
Age: 12+
Complexity: 2.6 / 5

7.2 on Ludoya from $60.00NauticalWorker Placement, Different Worker TypesWorker PlacementHand Management

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About the game

Design: Shem Phillips
Art: Mihajlo Dimitrievski
Publishers: Ігромаг
Garphill Games

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Full stats in Ludoya

610
Plays logged: 563
Players: 1h 29m
Average play: 139
In collections: 22
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7.2/10

from 93 Ludoya reviews

Garfield8.0
11 #WorkerPlacement [c] Theme: ★★★☆☆  Gameplay: ★★★☆☆  Interaction: ★★☆☆☆  Artwork: ★★★★☆  Luck: ★☆☆☆☆  Strategy: ★★★★☆  Components: ★★★★☆  Play duration: ★★★☆☆  Easy to teach: ★★★☆☆  Rules quality: ★★★★★  Setup time: ★★★☆☆  No downtime: ★★★☆☆  Replay value: ★★★★☆  [/c]
Vic Granell7.5
Steam version. Super clean design and yet very interesting decisions to make! Good worker placement where you can feel the theme
Mestremuten6.0
Rating: 3/5 Production value: 3/4 Is the game in my collection/Love to have?: 0/1

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Rules questions

Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.

Can I pick up the same worker I just placed?

No — you cannot pick up the same Worker you just placed; you must pick up a different Worker and you keep that picked-up Worker for your next turn. (p4)

Do I always start and finish my turn with 1 Worker in hand?

Yes — each player starts their turn with 1 Worker and should finish their turn holding 1 Worker (the Worker you picked up during your turn). (p2, p4)

If I take Valkyrie during a raid, what happens to my hired crew and the Valkyrie themselves?

For each Valkyrie taken you must discard one Hired Crew member (chosen by you); if you take more Valkyrie than you have Crew, the excess Valkyrie are not claimed and are returned to the supply, and you move your marker up the Valkyrie track for each Valkyrie taken (scored at game end, max 7). (p5)

If my military strength is too low to meet a settlement threshold, do I still get the plunder?

Yes — after resolving Military Strength and any Hired Crew VP, you still pick up one of the remaining Plunder sets from the raided Settlement even if you scored no Military Strength VP. (p5)

Are there limits to how much Silver, Provisions or cards I can hold?

At the end of your turn you may hold no more than 8 Silver, 8 Provisions, and 8 cards (you may exceed these during your turn but must discard down before ending); there is no limit on how much Plunder you may hold. (p3, p7)

Can I use the same Village building action twice on my turn (place then pick up)?

Generally no — you may only take each building’s action once on your turn (there is an exception for the Sage/Long House); you may, however, place or pick up a Worker without taking that building’s action. (p4, p7)