Ragnarocks is a 2-player area control game designed by Gord! - the designer of Santorini and Santorini: New York. In Norse mythology, humans exist in the land of Midgard - a place in the center of the world tree and connected to the nine realms. Among these nine realms live gods and goddesses, serpents and spirits, and all manner of mythical and mystical creatures.
In Ragnarocks you take on the role of a Viking clan using Runestones to mark your clan’s claims of land. In the advanced game, your clan worships one of these powerful beings from another realm who lends you their power to help you outwit rivals and claim territories for your clan.
At the end of the game, the clan who controls the most territory in Midgard wins!
A player's turn consists of a move phase and a summoning phase.
During the move phase you move one of your active Vikings any number of spaces in a straight line.
During the summoning phase you summon a runestone and place it on any space along a path following a straight line from the location of the Viking you moved. Whenever a summoning creates an enclosed area containing only vikings of a single clan, that area becomes settles and belongs to the player whose clan occupies it.
When all vikings have settled, the player who controls the most territory wins.
—description from the publisher
- thematic and tactical
- well-regarded designer lineage (Santorini connection)
- mythic, land-rich strategic clashes among clans
- Viking-era conflict and land disputes
- myth-inspired, competitive grand-scheme battle
- Santorini
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Players contend for ownership of areas by surrounding them with pieces.
- placement/movement — Clans deploy and move pieces to secure zones.
- stone/runestone resource flavor — Runestones drive levered effects and claims.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- this game is so fun and it's really easy to learn how to play
- adorable robot minis
- rich narrative with intuitive yet unique game mechanisms making every game a new adventure
- i love role play i can't wait for this campaign-style game
- beautiful and clean abstract game
- epic cataclysm that shakes the foundations of the entire circadians world
- secret personality with specific victory conditions
- the only thing i love more than somewhat abstract 3d worker placement is something else