Game review 78: Valley of the Vikings
A barrel of laughs with Haba's Kinderspiel des Jahres winner
Long boats; ransacking the villages of northern England; chucking yourself off a big cliff when you get too old (30).
These are all things, rightly or wrongly, that we’ve associated with the Vikings since we either learned them at school, or watched Midsommar and now can’t get the horrible things you’ve seen out of your head.
Thanks, Ari Astor. As if Hereditary wasn’t enough nightmare fuel.
Not sure if Viking-ness ever encompassed chucking a big old brown boulder at a load of barrels for points. Nevertheless, that is where we find ourselves with Haba’s dexterity game Valley of the Vikings. Probably because all the pillaging and axe-wielding associated with our ancient Scandinavian friends was a bit rum for a family game.
But never fear, there’s still plenty of horned helmet iconography abound to keep things traditional.
Players young and old are competing in the village’s annual barrel bowling contest. It’s essentially a bat-and-ball game, as a cardboard Viking figure is used to fling a plastic boulder into the centre of the five-piece jigsaw board.
There, it’ll (hopefully) clatter into the coloured barrels. Both strategy and skill come into play at this point. Each barrel knocked over converts into the token of that colour (and their player) moving forward one space along the jetty at the top of the board.
This earns the player coins, which they can stash away in their longboat. However, if a player is knocked off the end of the jetty, then they earn no coins that turn and must begin again at the front of the dock. This continues until all coins are in the hands of the Vikings’ greedy little mitts.
Even though players can place the barrels where they like in the central positions, the dexterity element is not as easy as it appears on first glance, and takes a bit of practice. And E loves the game, grasping the strategy element, that knocking over all barrels, is not necessarily a good thing, with ease.
Haba, as usual, come up with the goods here. A family game in the truest sense, in that both kids and adults can have a fun time with a game and be happy to come back for more. A worthy winner of the 2019 Kinderspiel des Jahres.
Game facts and stats
Age
6+
Year first published
2019
Publisher
Haba
Designer
Wilfried Fort and Marie Fort
Player count
2–4
E’s review
What do you like best about the game?
“I do love it when we can move everyone playing pieces and steal gold and hit things with the boulder. The boulder is a ball, but that’s fine.”
Is it tricky?
“Kind of tricky and sometimes the boulder knocks over our playing piece and that is frustrating sometimes.”
“555/10… no, 778/10.”
My review
Set-up time
The longboats are a little fiddly, but everything else is simple enough. Probably about five minutes out of your day.
Price
Surprisingly pricey for a family game. £25-£30 seems to be the going rate.
Practicality
The box is compact, with the board being put together like a jigsaw a useful room-saving touch. Components are tactile and chunky. The only down side in this regard is that the playing tokens are a little on the small, fragile side.
Fun for parents
Fun for everyone. A game that will have the respect of most players. It’s a lightweight game, but the take-that strategic element will be one that adult gamers can enjoy of an evening together.