Review
878 Vikings: Invasions of England
878 Vikings: Invasions of England is a rowdy invasion game where dice arrive by the bucketful and bold timing matters more than keeping a cool head. It deserves more attention, provided you are prepared to be tried and sentenced by English peasants.
878 Vikings: Invasions of England
- Published
- 2017
- Designer
- Beau Beckett, Dave Kimmel, Jeph Stahl
- Publisher
- Academy Games, Inc., ASYNCRON games, Banana Games
- Players
- 2–4
- Playing time
- 120 min
878 Vikings: Invasions of England does not arrive quietly. It is a dice game, gloriously and excessively so: you do not glare at one unlucky roll; you stare at the bucket that has just been emptied onto the table and wonder who thought this was sensible. I still think it is an overlooked piece of work.
You take a side — I had the Danes rather than the English this time — and the invasion urges you to spread out, apply pressure, and claim ground. Dice are everywhere, in numbers large enough that luck stops feeling like a single blow and starts behaving like weather: it comes, it goes, and you still have to act in it.
The game will not let you hide behind a careful plan; your opponent sees the gap, steps into it, and then the two of you count the dice.
TheCuttlefish
The real business is with the player opposite you. I overextended on the first invasion, tried to be clever at precisely the moment when blunt force was required, and the English peasants duly passed judgement. The game will not let you hide behind a careful plan; your opponent sees the gap, steps into it, and then the two of you count the dice. That is where it bites.
It is not for anyone who needs control over every detail, but for a loud clash that rewards properly timed nerve, 878 Vikings: Invasions of England remains quietly excellent.
It is not for anyone who needs control over every detail, but for a loud clash that rewards properly timed nerve, 878 Vikings: Invasions of England remains quietly excellent.
TheCuttlefish
Source: BoardGameGeek
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