Valley of the Vikings

Valley of the Vikings is a children’s game that is both engaging enough and spikey enough for adults to enjoy.

The board is divided into two sections – each player has a coloured token at the start of the jetty to one side, and the main body of the board forms a kind of multi-directional skittle alley, as everyone takes turns rolling a large plastic ball to knock over the four coloured Barrels at the centre. The colours of the barrels match the player colours, and whatever barrels you knock down on your turn, you must now move the matching tokens along the jetty – but you get to choose the order of movement yourself, and that’s critical. Tokens jump over each other to the next available space, but as soon as a token runs out of room and careens off the end of the jetty, it returns to the start and all other players gain rewards based on their current position: it might be taking 1-4 gold coins from the bank, or it might be stealing coins off another player – if they have any.

These rewards are always assigned randomly at the start of each game, but don’t assume the game involves no planning: when your turn arrives you can place any barrels knocked down by the previous player in any free spot (there are thirteen in total) and as a result, can aim to knock down specific barrels to carry out some dastardly plan – such as moving the red token to the end of the jetty, hopping the green token over it (and into the water) and gaining yourself, currently in the best spot on the jetty, a juicy four coins. Which in turn means you’ll probably find yourself falling off the jetty soon enough…

This madness continues for as long as it takes for the supply to run out of gold coins. The moment that happens the rewards for that turn are completed (meaning players can still have coins stolen from them if applicable) and then the viking with the most gold wins.

Note that with less than four players, all barrels and tokens are still used, and gold is still awarded to the non-playing colours when someone falls in the water. Which means you can lose to someone who isn’t even there!

Sam says

Though I wouldn’t play it with two, for 3 or 4 players Valley of the Vikings is a silly, kid-friendly treat – as long as they (and you) are okay with some of the swingy action and the possibility of ending the game with a single coin and metaphorically drenched viking tunics. Although the game is very easy to learn and does give you more control than it first appears (assuming you’re not ludicrously bad at hitting a barrel from 12 centimetres away) it’s still a little like riding a runaway horse. But if you like the chaotic vibe, it’s fun.

Take That!

For a light, silly, family game, Valley of the Vikings has a surprising amount of take-that-ery and gentler souls may find it a little too combative. The game usually balances things out over time, but you can find yourself repeatedly pushed in the water, or stealing from someone who has nothing to steal, or stolen from yourself.
Fidget Factor!

Low - the game plays fast.
Brain Burn!

Low, although not by any means absent. Someone randomly flinging the ball at the barrels with zero thought will probably be beaten by shrewder play; positioning of the barrels can be as key as the positioning of the tokens on the jetty.
Again Again!

It's not a game with huge variety, but it's always fast and fun.