A Feast for Odin

A Feast for Odin is the sort of box that makes you clear the table, then wonder whether the table itself will be enough. Under that alarming first impression sits a very approachable game, with the familiar smoothness I tend to find in Uwe’s designs. Vikings are not a theme that does much for me on their own, but this is a journey I am happy to take.

The game moves through its action board: you choose actions and carry the game forward without being smothered by its apparent scale. What first looks like a wall of options soon reads naturally, a little like Colonists, and new players need not fear being burnt out before they have found their feet.

At the table, interaction was not the evening’s main drama; the pleasure was watching everyone find a path through this large construction while the game kept moving without needless friction. It does not ask you to solve it on a tired Tuesday after work. It simply gives you room to do your thing and enjoy the journey.

That is its real achievement: a game that looks heavy from across the room but turns out to be quietly excellent once it reaches the table.

Updated session

A later play added the expansion, and it confirmed the first impression. The extra treasures may make things a notch easier, but the changes are welcome, and the new action board is worth the price of admission.