NorsePlay.

In his annual April Fool's Day video for 2021 CE, Old Norse Philologist Jackson Crawford uses some vintage plastic Vikings figures from the 1983 CE Lakeside Games classic Crossbows & Catapults , which happens to be one of our favourite boardgames : So we left this comment as an open challenge: 5:02 Crossbows & Catapults Viking figures!?! Jackson, we have to holmgang over that boardgame. Yes, I'm calling you out. Caroms & rubberbands at high noon. Let's do this! norseplay.blogspot.com [Commented on The Kittredge Runestone (April Fools Day 2021)  video.] It's been a year since I issued this draw-the-square challenge , but no response (though I did receive a reply regarding a Map Of Midgard mappoint inquiry in the interim, so there was that). This technical default totally makes NorsePlay more drengr. Yep, I said that Jackson! Get in that fancy truck and drive down from your AZ brother's house to Tucson to prove me wrong! Loser buys the mead and can use t...

A sequel to our favourite boardgame  Yggdrasil has been released as Yggdrasil Chronicles , complete with a 3-D world tree! Boasting a campaign made made of separate sagas, the Gods are now actual moving pieces, and the middle platform of the tree actually revolves! We are soooo buying this! #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Raid your way to jarldom in NSKN Games' In the Name Of Odin . Any of you played this? [designed by Krzysztof Zięba, art by Odysseas Stamoglou.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Handcarved Hnefatafl board with relevant icons to indicate piece setup and victory spaces. [Designed by Lucho Panchev of Bulgaria.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

A longship pieced version of Hnefatafl at an exhibition in the Midgard Historisk Senter, Borre, Norway. [photo & set construction by Adam Bartley.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Grey Fox Games' Champions of Midgard boardgame. "Champions of Midgard is a Viking-era worker placement game with dice-driven combat. Taking on the roles of competing Viking leaders, players hunt trolls , battle draugr, and slay mythical Norse beasts in a quest for glory! " On top of this promising looking core game they've made Valhalla and Dark Mountains  expansions, along with a bunch of piece & promo pack upgrades. Any of you played this? [Designed by Ole Steiness, art by Víctor Pérez Corbella.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportu...

The boardgame map from CMON's Blood Rage . We find the cold design on fire world Muspelheim curious, but during Ragnarök perhaps things have played out differently, or it made a better mechanical arrangement to put the various giants together. Any of you played this? [Game design by Eric Lang and art by Adrian Smith.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

While we aren't fond of Risk as a boardgame (heresy, we know), we offer up this well-dressed variant Risk: Godstorm where the different pantheons & their followers face off not only in world domination, but on still unsubmerged Atlantis & in the Underworld. The cover art features Zeus being much too preoccupied by his lightning bolt, while Thor seems ready to swing around crush his head in with Mjölnir. One design critique's that all the god pieces aren't actually different for each pantheon. [boardgame by Avalon Hill.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mpl...

SPI Games put out in 1981 a hex-and-counter boxed NorsePlay game of Ragnarok: Twilight of the Gods ! We remember seeing this on a store shelf back in the day and needing more allowance. Have any of you played this? [Compare to TSR's similar offering only a year later.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Played Odin's Ravens  last night and it was fun.  From the makers of all those neat military historical reference guides you know & love, Osprey Publishing , comes a Norse Lore-based game where you play Huginn against Muninn in a race from Odin, across the worlds, and back. The cards feature excellent art from Johan Egerkrans that remind one of that old Dark Tower game. There's a fair amount of matching (great for kids) and strategic use of tricky Loki cards to get ahead or stop your fellow raven from advancing. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mploy...

Back in 1982, TSR put out a series of clamshell paper & chit games, one of which was the gem Viking Gods . A two-player game that enacted Ragnarök where one of you rallied the Æsir and the other controlled the adversaries, with the hex map showing a swirly oil endpaper patterned Bifrost, an icy frost giants area, and a deadly vortex in the middle from which Hela randomly emerges to take final victims from both sides. There were basic introductory rules & then an advanced ruleset where the Gods/adversaries had special powers, but it's pretty even chances in this one. After spotting it in the store as a kid who'd spent his allowance already, one finally fell into my hands last year which the wife & I played, and it was fun-fun. Yes, the Gods do play with wyrd dice, Mr Einstein. [And a closeup of those Fire Giants.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'...

Yggdrasil gameboard, from Ludonautes! The lighting throughout Pierô's illustrations alone makes this, and the cards are equally winning. The game is phenomenal for devotees of the Norse Lore, as you cooperatively each play one of the Aesir trying to stop the group of Ragnarok's monsters from advancing into Asgard and taking over The Nine Worlds. It's really, really challenging, and with an enemy moving forward every turn, you'll feel like you're up against the unfolding of the Völva's prophecy of doom! #FavouriteBoardgame #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the Map of Midgard project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities...