Champions of Midgard.

Main mechanics: Worker placement and resource management. 

Players: 2-4

Time:  About 60 min
Complexity: Middleweight

Solo option: Nope

In Champions of Midgard,  players take on the role of Viking leaders vying for prestige by building armies, gathering magical runes, and sending warriors to combat sea monsters, undead giants, and trolls. At the end of the game, the person with the most glory is declared the new chief and the winner.

Game Play

Every player controls a different Viking chief, represented by a player board that offers a unique ability.

The game is played in a series of eight rounds.

During each round, players place workers to gain runes, warriors, resources, or fight monsters. The runes let you peek at hidden cards and offer end-of-game points.  The gathered resources (food, wood, or gold) supply the warriors with what they need to survive voyages and offer bonuses like the ability to re-roll dice. The warriors, which are spearmen, axemen, and swordsmen (represented by custom dice) can be used to fight off trolls, undead creatures, and sea monsters. The harder the monster is to beat the bigger the rewards. 

After the end of the eighth round, the player with the most glory points is named the Champion of Midgard and the winner of the game.

Favorite Things

The theme is great and fits the mechanics perfectly. The artwork is top-notch as well.

I love that the workers you place each round come from a limited supply and either gather resources or fight on the same turn. Having to decide each round how many places to do battle versus when to gain more assets that may help you in subsequent turns is a fun puzzle.

I also really like the mechanic with trolls. If no one defeats a troll in any given round, everyone at the table gets a penalty. 

Summary

All in all, a very fun intuitive game that is easy to learn but offers a fair amount of choices for the experienced gamer.