Objective of the Game

Ahoy, Vikings! In Raiders of the North Sea, your ultimate goal is to impress the Chieftain and become the most renowned warrior by accumulating the most Victory Points (VP) by the game's end. You'll primarily earn these points by raiding unsuspecting settlements, plundering their riches, and making valuable offerings to the Chieftain. But remember, how you use your hard-earned plunder is just as crucial to your success!

Preparation (Setup)

Let's get ready to set sail! Follow these steps to prepare for your epic raids:

1. Place the game board in the center of your playing area.
2. Shuffle all 71 Townsfolk Cards into one deck and place it face down within reach. This is your Townsfolk Draw Pile. Leave space for a Discard Pile nearby.
3. Shuffle all 16 Offering Tiles and stack them face down next to the board. Flip over the top 3 tiles and place them face up to the right of the Long House (the three spaces at the bottom right of the board).
4. Place all Valkyrie and Plunder (Gold, Iron, and Livestock) into the Black Bag and give them a good mix. Randomly draw and place the required number of these components onto each raiding space (indicated by the green icon at the top left of each space). Any remaining Valkyrie and Plunder form the Main Supply next to the board.
5. Place all White and Grey Workers on their designated raiding spaces (worker icon at the top right of each space). These are collected during raids. Place 3 Black Workers in the Village on the Gate House, Town Hall, and Treasury buildings.
6. Place all Silver and Provisions next to the board to form the Main Supply. The dice can also be placed here.
7. Each player receives 2 Silver, 1 Black Worker, and 1 Ship Card in their chosen color (with the 50 VP side face down).
8. Place 1 Score Marker of each player's color on the 3 '0' spaces around the board's edge. These will track your Armour, Valkyrie, and Victory Points.
9. Put any unrequired Black Workers, Player Cards, and Score Markers, along with the Black Bag, back into the box.
10. Deal 5 cards from the Townsfolk Draw Pile to each player. Each player then chooses 3 of these 5 cards to keep in their hand, placing the others face down at the bottom of the Townsfolk Draw Pile.
11. Finally, each player rolls both dice to determine the starting player. The highest roller begins the game!

A quick note on supplies: The Main Supply is limited to what's currently available. You can't claim resources that aren't there! Also, you're limited to holding no more than 8 Silver, 8 Provisions, and 8 cards in your hand at the end of your turn, though you can collect more during your turn. There's no limit to how much Plunder you can hold!

The Turn of Play

Ready for action? Turns proceed clockwise from the starting player. Each turn, you'll either Work to prepare or Raid a settlement. The game continues until one of the end-game conditions is met.

Regardless of your choice, every turn follows a simple pattern:

1. Place Worker and resolve its action.
2. Pick up a different Worker and resolve its action.

This means you'll always start and finish your turn with 1 Worker in hand. You can't pick up the same Worker you just placed!

Working

Before you can raid, you'll need a solid crew and plenty of provisions. This "work" happens in the Village at the bottom of the board. There are 8 different buildings, each offering unique actions.

• At the start, the Gate House, Town Hall, and Treasury are blocked by Black Workers.
• When you place your Worker in an available building, you resolve its action. The color of your Worker can sometimes change the action's effect.
• For example, you could place your Worker in the Mill to gain 1 Provision, the Barracks to hire a Crew Member, or the Silversmith to gain 3 Silver.
• The Armoury and Long House require a Grey or White Worker.
• After placing your Worker and resolving the action, you then pick up a Worker from a different building and resolve its action. You keep this new Worker for your next turn.
• You can choose to place or pick up a Worker without taking the building's action if you wish.
• You can only take each building's action once per turn (except for the Sage/Long House).

Here's a quick look at some Village buildings:

• Gate House: Draw 2 cards from the Townsfolk Draw Pile. (Remember, max 8 cards in hand at turn's end!)
• Town Hall: Play 1 Hand Card. Its action (bottom right of the card) is resolved immediately, then the card goes to the discard pile.
• Treasury: Discard 1 Hand Card to gain 2 Silver, or discard 2 cards to gain 1 Gold.
• Barracks: Hire a new Crew Member. Pay the Silver cost (left side of the card) to the Main Supply. Place the hired Crew Member face up in front of you. You can't have more than 5 Crew Members, but you can discard one to hire a new one.
• Armoury: Lose 1 Iron to gain 2 Armour, or lose 2 Silver to gain 1 Armour. Move your Score Marker up the Armoury track. You can't purchase more than 10 Armour.
• Mill: Gain Provisions or Gold. A Black Worker gains 1 Provision. A Grey Worker gains 2 Provisions. A White Worker gains either 2 Provisions or 1 Gold.
• Silversmith: Gain Silver. A Black Worker gains 3 Silver. A Grey or White Worker gains 2 Silver.
• Long House: Choose 1 of 2 actions:
  1. Lose 1 Livestock to gain 2 Provisions.
  2. Offer goods to the Chieftain: Pay the required Plunder and/or Silver shown on a desired Offering Tile to the Main Supply. Take the Offering Tile and keep it face down. Immediately replace it with a new tile from the Offering Stack. These tiles score VP at game's end.

Raiding

Once you've assembled a crew and gathered provisions, it's time to raid! To raid a Settlement (Harbour, Outpost, Monastery, or Fortress), you need to meet three requirements:

1. A large enough Crew.
2. Enough Provisions (and Gold for Monasteries/Fortresses).
3. The required Worker color.

Each Settlement has unique requirements. For example, a Monastery might need 3 hired Crew, 3 Provisions, 1 Gold, and either a Grey or White Worker.

When you decide to raid, follow these steps:

1. Place your Worker on one of the Settlement's Worker Spots (it stays there for the rest of the game).
2. Pay the required Provisions and Gold to the Main Supply.
3. Roll the required dice and add up your total Military Strength to determine any Victory Points gained (ignore this step for Harbours, which always score 1 VP).
4. Receive additional Victory Points from Hired Crew.
5. Pick up your new Worker and Plunder, adding them to your supply.
6. Resolve any Valkyrie actions.

Scoring Raids

There are three ways to score Victory Points during a raid:

1. Military Strength:
   • Each Settlement (except Harbours) offers 2 or 3 levels of VP based on your Military Strength. For instance, a Monastery might give 4 VP for 12+ Military Strength, or 6 VP for 20+. Less than the minimum means no VP from Military Strength.
   • Your Military Strength is calculated by: Rolled Dice + Crew Strength + Crew Actions + Armour.
   • Dice rolls guarantee a minimum of 2 (for 1 die) or 4 (for 2 dice) Military Strength.
   • Hired Crew Strength is shown at the top left of each Crew card.
   • Some Hired Crew Actions (bottom left of card) offer additional Military Strength for specific Settlements.
   • Armour, bought at the Armoury, provides constant Military Strength and is never spent.
   • Score these VPs immediately by moving your Score Marker on the Victory Point Track. If you reach 50 VP, flip your Ship Card and loop your marker back to 0, adding 50 to your current track score.
2. Hired Crew: Some Hired Crew offer additional VPs when raiding specific Settlements. These are added to your score immediately, even if you scored no VPs from Military Strength.
3. Plunder and Valkyrie:
   • After scoring, pick up your new Worker and 1 set of the remaining Plunder from the raided Settlement. Once all Plunder is taken, that Settlement cannot be raided again.
   • Plunder itself is worth VP at the game's end (1 Gold = 1 VP, 1 Iron = 1 VP, 2 Livestock = 1 VP). However, it can also be spent during the game for further raids or other VP opportunities.
   • Some raids include Valkyrie. When you take Valkyrie:
     1. For each Valkyrie taken, you must discard 1 hired Crew Member of your choice. Some Crew offer actions "if killed" during a raid; these resolve immediately. If you take more Valkyrie than you have Crew, the excess Valkyrie are removed without action and returned to the Main Supply.
     2. Move your Score Marker 1 space up the Valkyrie Track for each Valkyrie taken. You'll score VPs at game's end based on your position on this track (max 7 Valkyrie for 15 VP).
     3. Place all collected Valkyrie into the Main Supply (you don't keep them).

End of Game and Scoring

The game concludes when one of these three conditions is met:

1. Only 1 Plunder set remains in the Fortresses (meaning 1 of the 6 Fortress raids is left).
2. The Offering Tile Stack has been emptied.
3. There are no Valkyrie left on the board.

Once any of these conditions are met, the current player finishes their turn. Then, every player (including the current player) gets one final turn. After this final round, it's time for final scoring!

Add these additional end-game Victory Points to your score:

1. Valkyrie Track: Score VPs based on how high your Score Marker is on this track (values shown on the right side).
2. Armoury Track: Scored the same way as the Valkyrie Track.
3. Collected Offering Tiles: Reveal your collected Offering Tiles and add their VP values to your score.
4. Hired Crew: Some Crew Members grant VPs at the end of the game, as shown on their cards.
5. Plunder: Score any Plunder you possess:
   • 1 Gold = 1 Victory Point
   • 1 Iron = 1 Victory Point
   • 2 Livestock = 1 Victory Point (1 Livestock alone scores nothing)

After all end-game scores are tallied, the player with the highest final score is the winner! In case of a tie, the player furthest along the Valkyrie Track wins. If still tied, the player furthest along the Armoury Track wins.

Tips for Winning

To help you on your path to glory, here are a few tactical insights:

• Balance Work and Raids: Don't rush into raids without proper preparation! Working in the Village to hire a strong crew, gather provisions, and even acquire Armour can significantly boost your Military Strength and ensure successful, high-scoring raids.
• Strategic Worker Placement: Remember the "place a Worker, pick up a different Worker" mechanic. Plan your turns to not only get the action you need but also to pick up a Worker that will be useful for your next turn, or even deny a key Worker to an opponent.
• Don't Fear the Valkyrie (Too Much!): While taking Valkyrie means losing a Crew Member, the VPs gained from the Valkyrie Track can be substantial at game's end. Sometimes, a calculated sacrifice is worth the glory!