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Description
Many centuries ago, the Greek, Persian and Assyrian empires controlled vast amounts of land and riches. Yet, despite their fortifications and imposing armies, rumours began spreading of a formidable foe in the lands above the Black Sea. They came on horseback. Fierce warriors, both male and female. Skilled with the sword, axe and bow. But they weren’t mindless savages. Their artisans were renowned for their ability to craft detailed trinkets of gold. They fashioned leather armour and improvised the recurve bow. They trained eagles for hunting and war. Some even believe they inspired the Greek tales of the Amazons. But they were more than legend or fable. They were the Raiders of Scythia.
The aim of Raiders of Scythia is to be the player with the most Victory Points (VP) at the game’s end. VP are gained by raiding Settlements, taking Plunder and completing Quests. Players will need to assemble a Crew, train Animals and gather Provisions. The game ends when there is only 2 unraided Settlements or 2 Quests remaining on the Main Board.
—description from the publisher
Year Published
2020
Featured Videos
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 3
This page: 3
Sentiment:
pos 3 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–3 of 3
Video x466KIUwWJk
Board Game Garden playthrough at 11:41 sentiment: positive
video_pk 39303 · mention_pk 118477
Click to watch at 11:41 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- deep, crunchy design with thematic cohesion
- distinctive worker-then-crew action economy
- iconography and design alignment with Garle Games
Cons
- heavier rules footprint; not a quick, casual play
- complexity may challenge newcomers
Thematic elements
- Raiding civilizations, assembling crews, and completing quests
- Ancient Near East (Greece, Persia, Assyria) with mythic undertones
- heroic crew-building with ongoing and discard-triggered actions
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- hero and crew synergy — each set includes a hero with a special ability and a secondary crew member
- Multi-use cards — cards that can be used in multiple ways depending on context
- quest tiles & raids — revealed quest objectives when raiding sites for victory points
- Resource management — spend provisions and crew strength to perform raids; horses and other tokens aid power
- resources and provisioning — spend provisions and crew strength to perform raids; horses and other tokens aid power
- worker placement — place workers to raid sites and gain resources or actions
- worker/crew placement — place workers to raid sites and gain resources or actions
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I really enjoyed this one
- it's a very small box
- multi-use cards
- basically you're just trying to get to these different I guess like neighborhoods
- the solo mode is actually super easy
- Nova Roma which is another one that I've been really wanting to play solo for a while
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video q2lu2HPYuXQ
Raiders of Scythia game_review at 0:28 sentiment: positive
video_pk 9355 · mention_pk 27561
Click to watch at 0:28 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- well-tuned pacing between building the war band and executing raids
- the classic 'place one worker, take one' mechanic drives a satisfying engine
- multi-use cards and evolving leader powers create depth and replayability
- leaner design compared to Raiders of the North Sea while maintaining sharp tension
- clear thematic through-line of raiding for points and progression
- quick to teach and engaging in 1-4 player games
Cons
- does not include all expansion content available for Raiders of the North Sea
- art style may not appeal to everyone
- some players may miss the depth of Valkyries/armor mechanics from North Sea
- slightly fewer options for theme variety due to streamlined system
Thematic elements
- raiding for wealth and fame through organized war bands, leadership, and crew upgrades.
- Scythia, a vast steppe where nomadic horse tribes raid nearby civilizations (Assyria, Persia, Greece).
- episodic, card-driven progression with modular leader powers and raid missions
Comparison games
- Raiders of the North Sea
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card_management — Cards have multiple uses across different zones (village benefits, raid actions, and leader powers), enabling engine-building and strategic flexibility
- engine building — Players assemble a crew with distinct powers and synergies, enabling stronger raids and more varied options over time
- engine_building — Players assemble a crew with distinct powers and synergies, enabling stronger raids and more varied options over time
- Multi-use cards — Cards have multiple uses across different zones (village benefits, raid actions, and leader powers), enabling engine-building and strategic flexibility
- raid_resolution — Raids require a war band and provisions; dice are rolled (region dice plus a yellow die per region with gold); wounds are assigned to casualties and VP is gained via quests and rewards
- worker placement — Players place a worker to claim rewards at village locations; the action economy emphasizes tempo, allowing a subsequent take-action to grab a second benefit
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Raiding is a whole different thing! You'll need a war band and provisions to go raiding.
- the best thing about this game is the place one worker take one worker mechanic.
- it's leaner and meaner than Raiders of the North Sea, taking out some of the system's I never cared much for like Valkyries and armor, replacing them with wounds, variable leader powers and animal upgrades.
- if you love multi-use cards and engine building there's plenty of options to explore here as well.
- Raiders of Scythia, like North Sea, only pithier.
- Raiders of Scythia is a well-tuned game where you build up your war band with measured moves and then take explosive and dramatic raid actions.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video qtj7qEdNvI8
Peaky Boardgamer rules teach at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 9221 · mention_pk 27171
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Deep, multi-layered worker-placement with integrated raid system
- Thematic coherence between village actions and raid outcomes
- Varied resources and card powers create replay potential
- Clear endgame tension with distinct scoring avenues
Cons
- Steep learning curve and lengthy setup
- Complex raid calculations requiring many prerequisites
- Relies on accurate tracking of wounds and strength; potential for analysis paralysis
Thematic elements
- Raid and resource management with mythic/sci-fi flavor
- Ancient Eurasian steppes and surrounding villages with raiders and settlements
- historical fantasy
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card drafting/hand management — Hero and crew cards provide powers, with top/bottom powers and eagle tokens to trigger extra effects.
- Dice combat — During raids, dice are rolled to determine strength and wounds.
- dual-action buildings — A single turn often involves two actions by placing two workers into two buildings and triggering both actions.
- end-of-game scoring — Scoring comes from quest points, animal cards, crew powers, and remaining resources.
- endgame triggers — End conditions include remaining raid settlements or quest tiles reaching a threshold; game then ends after final turns.
- raid mechanics — Raid spaces require workers and resources to attack, involve strength totals, dice, wounds, and a payoff tile.
- Resource management — Gaining coins, kumis, provisions, cattle, etc., and managing limits of hand and coins.
- worker placement — Players place workers to perform actions, often in pairs to execute a double action across two buildings.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the stables action players gain one new animal
- raid spaces are organized in groups of two in one settlement
- the numbers on the dice we rolled is strength
- two game end triggers
- you gain one two or three victory points for having three four or five eagles respectively
- finally players gain victory points for their remaining colored resources they gain two victory points for each gold one victory point for each equipment one victory point for its wagon and one victory point per two livestock
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–3 of 3