Apple it! – review of the board game “Settlers: Northern Kingdoms”

Under sails

When it seemed to me that the boom in the Vikings, caused mainly by the (very good) series, was over, a very interesting news came on the Internet: Portal Games will release the Northern Kingdoms . My first association was of course Viking warriors dressed in thick sheepskin coats and hats with horns (although they didn’t really wear them at all). In this case, however, as befits the Settlers cycle , everything has a slightly cartoonish setting and is VERY pleasing to the eyes!

Full steam ahead!

Kingdoms of the North is a slightly heavier, but still quite light family game. The game is based on the skillful acquisition and use of resources. An important factor is drawing cards every round (each of them costs us the same – 1 mepla, which are both genders here). Iconology is literally drawn from the basic SettlersHowever, what is new is the appearance of two more raw materials: fish and sheep. The game continues until one player scores 25 points. Then the given round is played to the end and the points gained during the game are added up, as well as those for the resources and the cards displayed. Each round has 4 phases: look out (draw cards), actions (build, use action cards, raid opponents, etc.), voyages (see below), and cleanup. The creators decided to introduce two interrelated new mechanics to the game. The first is choosing an action. There are 5 of them:

• collect – get resources assigned to one of your production buildings;
• construct – build a building at no cost to it;
• populate – add one worker to your resources, in this game the used workers during the end of the turn (cleaning phase) return in the same number to be used in the next one and they are also used to pay for drawing cards;
• reveal – draw one card to your hand;
• set sail – use one of your ships (by default, each faction has two) and place it on the expedition board. Depending on whether the ship is equipped with a fish or not, you will be able to visit a nearby or remote island. At the end of the turn, you sail out and, starting with the player who took this action first, he chooses one of the two face-up islands or the first face-down deck, and has the choice of plundering or conquering it. Plundering temporarily allows you to get more resources, but most of the islands have their own special abilities that are useful during the rest of the game. To conquer each card, spend 1 ax.

The action tiles are shuffled before each game, so they often look differently. There are pieces used to use actions, each player has two. Once per turn, each piece may be moved to the adjacent action tile using an apple, then it is turned over with the X symbol. The piece marked in this way will be used only during the next round. The second novelty are support cards, i.e. those that can be played only after using a specific action contained in the upper left corner of such a card.

Moby Dick!

The basic game box contains 6 decks, two from each faction: Scots, Vikings, and Inuits. Individual decks differ in the difficulty of the game. They are quite varied and the game experience may be different. Personally, I liked the faction the most difficult to play, based on gathering and storing resources and scoring points this way. The manual is very colorful and easy to read. The game is described in detail and after reading it once, there are no major doubts. A nice idea is that in many places the differences from the classic Settlers are marked. A bow to the loyal players of the Portal. All elements are made very aesthetically, the graphic designers did a great job, as usual. After opening the box, we are greeted by an illustrated board depicting the world of the Settlers (possibly also announcing some factions that may still appear). Graphically it is impeccable. Something that was missing in the Settlers (in Underwater Cities as well) is a very functional molding with a separate part for raw materials. This one can be found in the Northern Kingdoms , thanks to which the game setup is very fast, and we do not have to bother with bags.

Welcome to the igloo!

This text is full of comparisons of this version to the Portal’s previous sales hit and it is difficult to escape from them. However, the two games are not all that mechanically similar at all. The significant difference is the lack of production in the Northern Kingdoms , which has been replaced to some extent by the gathering action. There is also no general deck here. The game is slightly shorter than its predecessor and faster by selecting actions, not just selecting cards. I have the impression that thanks to the limitation of their number, the gameplay is more mechanically elegant. The variety of actions taken makes the experience of this game much more complete. The workmanship is at a great level, which has already been emphasized above. If it weren’t for the cardboard coins, I would have easily put out a 9/10.

Warm cold

There is practically no interaction with other players in this game. It is true that the raid action takes place, but it seems to me useless before ¾ of the game. One of the island cards also has a substitute for interaction, but that’s about it. The limited number of cards (both in faction and island decks) makes for a good balance of the game, but you would like many more. After a few games I started to know most of them by heart, which may introduce a slight monotony to the game. Even if I wanted to, I don’t see any more minuses here. There is also a solo mode in the game – action tiles have the other side dedicated to it. After reading the manual, it seems to me that a lot of work has been put into it and it looks quite interesting, but as I personally do not play board games alone, it is difficult for me to write more about it.

Great Portal

I already wrote in one of the texts that Portal Games does not release bad games. And over time, I only seem to perpetuate this opinion. The game is very fast, simple, and yet it has enough depth that you would like more and more. The pre-order purchase includes the Yeti mepel (the first player token in exchange for the cardboard one), two scenarios for the solo mode, six island cards and treasure island tiles as a tiny mechanical novelty (a similar solution appeared in ONI). It won’t take long to persuade me to buy the expansion pack for Japanese Islands, which we have already announced. I will say more, I am convinced that this publishing line will be developed for a long time, and I will be happy to buy practically everything that appears in stores. Give me even more of this good, Portal!