Champions of Midgard Board Game

Product Information

Though I had social events happening both Wednesday and Thursday, I also had some downtime. So I re-tuned my customized randomizer (an Excel spreadsheet with lists of heroes, scenarios, modular sets,...

Each player represents an upstart Jarl, vying for Jarlship (Jarlhood? Jarldom?) of the village. But said village has monster trouble. Trolls and Draugr are bothering the fine folks, and there are also monsters a boatride away that need to be dealt with for fame, glory, the favor of the gods and monetary bounties. Each Jarl has a special ability and starts with four disappointingly generic Meeples with which to select actions on the non-geographic board. The process is fairly routine, and anyone who has played any worker placement game released since Carcassonne will have a handle on what to do without instruction. Overall it’s a fun game that is a good entry level worker placement game that has a place in anyone’s collection. I would love to try out the two expansions, The Dark Mountain and Valhalla, to see what they can add to a good game. Viking Vs LordSo what makes it able to shine from under the shadow of Blood Rage, that other game vying for Viking Game of the Year 2015? Components So, at the start of this article I said I hear a lot of comparisons between Champions of Midgard and Lords of Waterdeep. Is this justified? They are both worker placement games and that’s about as far (for me anyway) as the similarities go.

Champions of Midgard blends worker-placement and dice-driven combat to create an exciting and strategic experience. Recruit warriors, gain powerful runes, and peer into the future – then send your faithful fighters on journeys to defeat fierce and mythical beasts. Gain the most glory to become the new Jarl and be recognized as a Champion of Midgard!In other words this is about one thing: GLORY! Victory and defeat are all the same so long as there’s a place in Valhalla at the end of it! Gameplay This game has gained a loyal fan base since it was published in 2015. It was featured on Wil Wheaton's Tabletop and has two critically-acclaimed expansions, The Dark Mountains and Valhalla.

So the bulk of competition, as to be expected, comes from placing a worker down on a desirable spot before someone else does. There are a couple of economic conversion functions available, with the resources including favor, gold, wood and food. There are four spaces that are modular and change every turn, reminding me somewhat of the buildings in Waterdeep although they are fixed for the entire game. A merchant ship comes into port each turn and offers a variable conversion rate. There are also a couple of card draw spots, one is for Runes that you must have to carve into a piece of wood since that’s what it costs and these give you a special action as well as points for the end of the game. The other cards are Destinies that are kept secret and function as individual objectives. In Valhalla, the second expansion for Champions of Midgard, you will find yourself rewarded when your warriors die in battle. Your warriors' eternal glory becomes your earthly reward as the Valkyries bestow powerful effects, relics, and warriors upon you for use in your battles in Midgard. Some of your fallen soldiers may do more, rising to face the greatest enemies even in the afterlife, defeating epic monsters and bringing you glory from beyond the grave! The premise of Champions of Midgard is that the Jarl (leader) of the port depicted on the board has died and evil creatures have sensed the vulnerability this has caused. You play as a Viking leader who seeks the glory of the gods in hope to become the new Jarl and lead the port to safety.

Now I’ll admit I wasn’t an immediate fan of the box/component artwork, plus I’m one of those pedants who bores you with “Vikings never wore horned helmets blah, blah, blah”. But not only has the artwork grown on me, but the horned helmets serve to remind that this is a game of Norse mythology and heroic sagas, not some historical hex-bound chit-shuffling.