Vikings is an area control game in which 2 - 4 players play as the invading Vikings or the English nobles who are trying to withstand the invasion. Each player completes that sequence until either the end of the 7th Round, Treaty cards or overwhelming force end the game. If units from both sides remain in the Shire, the attacking factions simultaneously roll their Battle Dice. I was stuck with all these movement cards and wasn’t getting any events to help swing things in my favor. My wife, on the other hand, kept using cards that pressed an advantage and I simply didn’t have an answer for it.

When playing as the English, I always feel dread as I see the huge Viking armies taking city after city, but also anticipation as I see opportunities constantly presenting themselves. The rulebook also includes additional scenarios players can choose to play that mix up the game play a bit with specific win conditions and rules. Place a Viking Control token on each of the marked spaces along the bottom of the board and put the round track marker on Year 1.The theme, game play, and strategies are all factors in whether or not someone in the family will enjoy playing. You’re not exactly keen on canceling a decisive campaign just because you can’t find your Viking ship tokens, are you? In our first Action Point, we looked at the cards that are included in 878: Vikings – The Invasions of England from Academy Games. On each English player turn, reinforcements arrive on the map in some territories controlled by the English (shown in a small box printed on the map of that shire).

The English begin the game controlling all of England, but then the Viking players invade from the sea to strike deep into English territory!

We shall be reviewing books, miniatures\toy soldiers, MiniFigs and of course games, plus interviews, model making and AARs! I am also a sucker for maps, especially ones of England, and this one is beautifully uncluttered and functional.