Reavers of Midgard is a single worker placement game with elements of set collection, dice combat and engine building set in the Champions of Midgard universe.
In Champions of Midgard, your quest was to become Jarl. You battled back the trolls, draugr and some of the epic monsters that once threatened the sanctity of your humble port town. Now it's time to go on the offensive.
In Reavers of Midgard, you'll be looking to gain glory by raiding nearby villages for their riches, sacking well-fortified castles and battling both man and monster on the open seas. You'll not only need to take your rowdy crew of vikings and the food needed to keep them happy along for the ride but you'll also have to recruit a crew of elite warriors - the Reavers.
Reavers can be used in three different ways. They can be made your ship's leader, earning you a one-time bonus and enabling your warriors to be more versatile in combat. They can also be used to rally more warriors to your cause, filling your ship to the brim with the right fighters for the right situations. Finally, they can also be used to help your crew specialize, earning you a bonus every time your crew sails into battle.
Whoever can earn the most glory after six rounds will be the winner.
- Gorgeous, colorful board and high production value
- Deep, multi-path strategy with many card synergies
- Upgradable Reaver cards add depth and replayability
- Good scaling for 2-3 players; strong table presence
- Very fiddly with many cards and tokens; can be overwhelming
- No solo mode; teaching time can be lengthy
- High price for what is a relatively dry theme/experience
- Downtime and long rounds at 4 players can slow the game
- deck-building and action selection with Viking motifs
- Viking-era sea raids and territory conquest
- procedural theme integration; heavy on mechanics
- Lords of Waterdeep
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — Place a ship on an action space to gain a set of bonuses based on turn order.
- deck-building / card collection — Acquire Reaver cards, crew cards, and gear to unlock effects and scoring options.
- dice usage and upgrades — Use dice tied to Reaver cards; dice faces can be promoted or used as wilds.
- downtime and simultaneous resolution — Many abilities trigger before actions resolve, causing potential downtime.
- end-game point salad — End-game scoring arises from multiple independent card/territory variables.
- negative tokens / pillage — Pillage tokens impose penalties that can be mitigated through play.
- set collection / scoring — Collect cards and artefacts that contribute to end-game scoring from multiple paths.
- territory/territory tile control — Claim and conquer tiles and structures like farms, walls, and towers.
- upgradable actions — Reaver cards upgrade bottom-row actions, triggering more effects when used.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's basically collect these cards and putting them into what is called your glory pile
- it's a point salad a euro game with the Vikings themes slapped onto it
- the board is chunky and it is colorful
- this is a full-on euro version of the game
- there's no solo mode
- downtime can be a little annoying at times
- I would give this a seven out of ten
- the game feels dry and lacks a strong thematic thread
References (from this video)
- Engaging, inclusive worker-placement feel where all players stay involved
- Innovative river/leader mechanic that adds flexibility and engine-building potential
- Beautiful artwork and high-quality components with tactile dice and storage
- Strong thematic flavor with monsters at sea and raiding motifs
- Solid player boards and upgrade paths that reward strategic planning
- Heavy reliance on luck due to top-decking and random tile draws
- Set collection can dominate scoring, reducing strategic balance
- Tension and competition over key locations feel weak, diminishing player interaction
- Depth of strategy can feel wafer-thin relative to the rule complexity
- Overall pacing and weight may not satisfy true euro-heavy players or those seeking high interactivity
- Viking mythos with dungeon-crawl-like monster challenges and raiding economy
- Viking-age exploration, raiding, and monster encounters across land and sea
- mythic-adventurer in a Euro-inspired engine-building framework
- Champions of Midgard
- Lords of Waterdeep
- Puerto Rico
- Rising Sun
- Twilight Imperium IV (TI4)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Dice-based actions and combat — Dice are used for many actions, including fighting sea monsters, with choices between controlled or luck-driven outcomes
- Engine-building on player boards — Leaders, artifacts, and board upgrades increase capacity and unlock new actions over the course of the game
- Negative scoring via corruption — Certain cards or actions generate curses or negative points, adding tension to long-term planning
- River cards and leaders — Cards called rivers provide resources, dice, and can be slotted as leaders to grant instant bonuses or function as wild dice
- Set collection and scoring — Points come from collecting armor, tapestries, treasures, and other cards; set completion drives endgame scoring
- take-that style interactions — Tokens or actions can be used to impose penalties on other players, introducing direct player interaction
- Tile flipping and blind draw scoring — Spots allow trading resources to flip tiles with hidden rewards; end-of-round bonuses depend on revealed tiles
- worker placement — Single worker per player; players place on various spots and the first to act gains an initial advantage, while others still get bonus effects when their turn comes
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's like having a Ferrari kind of car with the engine of a go-kart
- the depth of the game is wafer thin
- top decking and lucky dips determine the winner more than decisions
- I can't recommend Reavers of Midgard
References (from this video)
- vibrant art and components
- strong thematic feel
- engaging title with expansions
- can be complex for casual players
- implementation of rules can vary by edition
- collecting resources, raiding, and dungeon-like missions
- mythic Norse-inspired raiding and exploration
- mythic adventure
- Lost Ruins of Arnak
- Dune: Imperium
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- deck-building — build a deck to gain actions and combat outcomes
- worker-placement — place workers to take actions and gather goods
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- "we are giving board games to you in every episode"
- "donation pages to Sick Kids; money goes straight to hospitals"
- "have a happy holiday and good luck to all the entries"