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Explorers of the North Sea

Game ID: GID0119758
Collection Status
Description

Explorers of the North Sea is set in the latter years of the Viking Age. As ambitious sea captains, players seek out new lands to settle and control. They will need to transport their crew among the newly discovered islands to capture livestock, construct outposts and fulfill various other goals. So ready the longships, there are new horizons to explore!

Gameplay Overview
Each player starts with 7 Vikings and a Longboat on a shared, central Island. From there players will place tiles and begin to venture out to the newly discovered Islands.
Proceeding clockwise from the starting player, each player takes their turn in full. On their turn, players first place 1 of their 3 tiles, expanding the game board. They can then take up to 4 actions (any number of the following):

1. Load Longship
2. Unload Longship + Deliver Livestock
3. Move Longship + Destroy an Enemy Ship
4. Move Vikings + Raid a Settlement
5. Transport Livestock
6. Construct an Outpost (costs 2 actions)

After taking their actions, players draw a new tile to their hand, ending their turn.

End of the Game
The game ends immediately after the turn where the player holding the Winter Token has no more Tiles in hand. This should be exactly 48 turns (there are 48 Tiles). Victory Points are gained from:

1. Delivered Livestock
2. Constructed Outposts
3. Destroyed Enemy Ships
4. Raided Settlements
5. Viking Deaths
6. Controlled Islands
7. Captain Cards

The player with the highest total is the winner!

Year Published
2016
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 3
This page: 3
Sentiment: pos 2 · mix 0 · neu 0 · neg 1
Mentions per page
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Showing 1–3 of 3
Video S5x3IB7U84E Foster The Meatball a Channel top_10_list at 7:29 sentiment: positive
video_pk 6136 · mention_pk 18160
Video thumbnail
Click to watch at 7:29 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Strong engine-building and map expansion
  • Wintery sea vibe aligns with theme even if not strictly winter-only
Cons
none
Thematic elements
  • Season-agnostic adventuring with a wintry atmosphere
  • Viking expeditions in the North Sea
  • tile-placement/engine-building feel with sea/commerce flavor
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Tile placement and pick-up-and-deliver — Place tiles to expand your domain and fulfill shipment objectives; manage crew/resources
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • winter is coming okay winter is oh shoot
  • there's a game called winter this one's perfect good God
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video zD_qiW67avc Foster The Meatball general_discussion at 8:44 sentiment: positive
video_pk 2025 · mention_pk 5786
Video thumbnail
Click to watch at 8:44 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • cute and approachable
  • mean enough to offer competition
Cons
  • some players feel mean-spirited in blocking
Thematic elements
  • PVP resource gathering and route building
  • Exploration and settlement on northern seas
  • light theme with practical mechanisms
Comparison games
  • Shipwrights of the North Sea
  • Nova Luna
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Pick up and deliver / resource route blocking — build networks, collect resources, block opponents
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • it's a deck deconstruction game where you have a bunch of cards in your hand with differing values
  • it's mean but like the funny thing is it's mean but like you don't necessarily get a Target so somebody usually ends up being the punching bag
  • we did a video on the new iteration of libertalia Winds of galecrest from stonemeyer games you can go check that out
  • this is one of those games where it's like a badge of honor if you win and we've just had such a great time with it
  • it's a really cool experience I think that's the best way this is a really cool experience of a game to play
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video HkK1sbaUv54 The Broken Meeple review at 9:53 sentiment: negative
video_pk 1145 · mention_pk 3307
Video thumbnail
Click to watch at 9:53 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
negative
Pros
none
Cons
  • Dull
  • Boring
  • Weak compared to other games in trilogy
Thematic elements
  • Nordic
  • Adventure
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • you're listening to the broken meeple show a podcast that speaks passionately about board games
  • it's only a game
  • I hate pretentiousness in games
  • we got to be able to dislike some things you know I'm all about balance you can love something but you got to hate something as well
  • I'm worried that they've gone too far
  • definitely I think the most complicated game that they have put out ever I'm not joking
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
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