Raiders of the North Sea
Raiders of the North Sea Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Aim of the Game
Impress the Chieftain by having the most Victory Points (VP) at the game's end. Victory Points are gained primarily by raiding Settlements, taking Plunder and making Offerings to the Chieftain. How players use their Plunder is also vital. The game ends when either 1 Fortress raid remains, all Valkyrie are removed, or all Offerings have been made.
Components
- 16 Offering Tiles, 12 Score Markers (4 colors), 18 Valkyrie, 18 Iron, 18 Gold, 26 Livestock, 32 Silver, 32 Provisions
- 71 Townsfolk Cards, 1 Game Board, 4 Ship Cards (4 colors), 7 Black + 11 Grey + 12 White Workers, 1 Black Bag, 2 Averaging Dice
Game Iconography
Key icons: Victory Points (VP), Military Strength, Valkyrie, Gold, Iron, Livestock (Plunder), dice to roll during a Raid. Crew Cards show Military Strength, cost to hire (Silver), and name. Offering Tiles show VP Gained and Required Plunder and/or Silver. Worker Placement Spots may have color restrictions (shown by colored Workers); spots without Workers allow any color.
First-Time Players
One simple concept: Players always start and finish their turn with 1 Worker in hand.
- Each player starts their turn with 1 Worker.
- On their turn they place their Worker on the board to take an action.
- After doing so, they pick up a different Worker (for a second action).
Setup
- Place the game board in the center. 2. Shuffle all 71 Townsfolk Cards into a facedown Draw Pile (allow space for a Discard Pile). 3. Shuffle the 16 Offering Tiles facedown; turn over the top 3 faceup to the right of the Long House. 4. Place all Valkyrie and Plunder (Gold, Iron, Livestock) into the Black Bag, mix, and draw the required number for each raiding space (green icon at the top left of each raiding space); the rest form the Main Supply. 5. Place all White and Grey Workers on their required raiding spaces; place 3 Black Workers in the Village (Gate House, Town Hall, Treasury). 6. Place all Silver and Provisions in the Main Supply. 7. Each player receives 2 Silver, 1 Black Worker, and 1 Ship Card (50 VP side facedown). 8. Place 1 Score Marker of each player's color on the three '0' spaces (tracking Armour, Valkyrie, and Victory Points). 9. Return unused Black Workers, Player Cards and Score Markers to the box. 10. Deal 5 cards to each player; each keeps 3 (others to the bottom of the Draw Pile). 11. Each player rolls both dice; the highest roller starts.
Notes: The Main Supply is limited to its current resources. If the Offering Tile Stack ever runs out, the game is over. If the Townsfolk Draw Pile runs out, shuffle the Discard Pile to form a new one. Players are limited to holding no more than 8 Silver, 8 Provisions, and 8 cards in hand at the end of their turn (may collect more during their turn; no limit on Plunder held).
Playing the Game
Proceeding clockwise from the starting player, each player takes their turn in full. On their turn, players may choose to Work or Raid. Each turn always follows the same pattern:
- Place Worker and resolve its action.
- Pick up a different Worker and resolve its action.
Working
Preparing your Crew and collecting supplies is done in the Village (bottom of the board). There are 8 buildings with various actions. At the start, there are Workers in the Gate House, Town Hall and Treasury (currently blocked). On their turn, players place their Worker in an available building. There are 3 Worker colors; in some cases the Worker's color alters the building's action. After placing and resolving, pick up a Worker from a different building and resolve its action (held for the next turn).
- Players cannot pick up the same Worker they just placed.
- Players may choose to place or pick up a Worker without taking the building's action.
- Players can only take each building's action once on their turn (except the Sage/Long House).
Raiding
To raid a Settlement (Harbour, Outpost, Monastery, or Fortress), players must have: (1) a large enough Crew; (2) enough Provisions (and Gold for Monasteries/Fortresses); (3) the required Worker color. Each Settlement has different requirements (e.g. a Monastery may require a minimum of 3 hired Crew, 3 Provisions, 1 Gold and either a Grey or White Worker).
Steps to raid (ignore step 3 requirement when raiding Harbours — these always score 1 Victory Point):
- Place their Worker on 1 of the Settlement's Worker Spots (remains there for the rest of the game).
- Pay required Provisions and Gold to the supply.
- Roll the required dice and add up their total Military Strength for Victory Points gained.
- Receive additional Victory Points from Hired Crew.
- Pick up their new Worker and Plunder, adding to their supply.
- Resolve any Valkyrie actions.
After picking up the new Worker, Plunder, and resolving Valkyrie, the turn is over.
Scoring Raids
Three ways to score VP during a raid: Military Strength, Hired Crew, Plunder and Valkyrie.
1. Military Strength
Each Settlement (except Harbours) offers 2 or 3 levels of Victory Points, each paired with a Military Strength level (e.g. a Monastery: 4 VP with at least 12 Military Strength, 6 VP with 20+; less than 12 = no VP). When raiding, roll 1 or 2 dice as indicated (not for Harbours). Military Strength = Rolled Dice + Crew Strength + Crew Actions + Armour:
- Rolled dice (1 die guarantees at least 2; 2 dice at least 4 — Averaging Dice).
- Hired Crew Strength (top left of each Crew card).
- Hired Crew Actions (some Crew give extra Military Strength when raiding specific Settlements).
- Armour (bought at the Armoury with Iron or Silver; never spent — offers constant Military Strength).
Score VP immediately by moving your Score Marker on the Victory Point Track. If you reach 50 VP, turn over your Ship Card (50 VP side), loop your Score Marker back to 0, and continue (total = 50 plus track position).
2. Hired Crew
Some Hired Crew offer additional VP when raiding specific Settlements (additional to Military Strength VP, even if none was scored).
3. Plunder and Valkyrie
After scoring, pick up your new Worker and take 1 of the remaining sets of Plunder from the raided Settlement. Once all Plunder is taken, that Settlement can no longer be raided. Plunder is worth VP at game's end (also spendable during the game): Gold = 1 VP, Iron = 1 VP, Livestock — 2 Livestock = 1 VP (1 alone scores nothing).
Some raids include Valkyrie with the Plunder. When taking Valkyrie:
- For each Valkyrie taken, discard 1 hired Crew Member of your choice (some Crew give "If killed" actions, resolved immediately). If you take more Valkyrie than you have Crew, excess Valkyrie cannot be claimed for scoring (removed to the Main Supply).
- Move your Score Marker 1 space up the Valkyrie Track per Valkyrie taken. At game's end, score VP for total Valkyrie (you may take more than 7, still losing Crew, but score a maximum of 7 = 15 VP).
- Place all collected Valkyrie into the Main Supply (you do not keep them).
End of the Game
Three ways the game ends: (1) only 1 set of Plunder left in the Fortresses (1 of the 6 Fortress raids remains); (2) the Offering Draw Pile is emptied; (3) no Valkyrie left on the board. Once a condition is met, the current player finishes their turn, then each player (including them) has 1 final turn (1 final round).
End-Game Scoring
Add end-game VP by moving Score Markers:
- Valkyrie Track — VP based on your Score Marker position (shown on the right of the track).
- Armoury Track — scored the same way.
- Collected Offering Tiles — revealed and their values added.
- Hired Crew — some Crew earn VP as shown.
- Plunder — 1 Gold = 1 VP, 1 Iron = 1 VP, 2 Livestock = 1 VP.
Highest final score wins. Ties: player furthest up the Valkyrie Track, then furthest up the Armoury Track.
Village Buildings
- Gate House — Draw 2 cards from the Townsfolk Draw Pile. (Hand limit 8 at the end of each turn.)
- Town Hall — Play 1 Hand Card (placed in the discard pile; the Town Hall action at the bottom right of the card resolves immediately).
- Treasury — Discard 1 Hand Card to gain 2 Silver, or 2 cards to gain 1 Gold.
- Barracks — Hire a new Crew Member: pay the required Silver (left of the card) to the Main Supply and place it faceup in front of you. Max 5 Crew Members (may discard one before hiring); may hire duplicates.
- Armoury — Lose 1 Iron to gain 2 Armour, or 2 Silver to gain 1 Armour (move up the Armoury track; max 10 Armour). Requires a Grey or White Worker.
- Mill — Gain Provisions or Gold: Black Worker gains 1 Provision; Grey Worker gains 2 Provisions; White Worker gains 2 Provisions or 1 Gold.
- Silversmith — Gain Silver: Black Worker gains 3 Silver; Grey or White Worker gains 2 Silver.
- Long House — Take 1 of 2 actions: (1) Lose 1 Livestock to gain 2 Provisions; (2) Offer goods to the Chieftain — pay the required Plunder/Silver on the desired Offering Tile, keep the tile facedown (score its VP at game's end), and turn over a new Offering Tile to replace it. Requires a Grey or White Worker.
Townsfolk Clarifications
- Archer (Town Hall): "Swap an opponent's Worker with 1 from the Village" — must be a legal placement (a Black Worker cannot be swapped with one from the Armoury or Long House, which require Grey/White).
- Avenger (Crew): "If killed, force an opponent to lose a Crew Member also" — the discarded Crew is chosen by the targeted player.
- Forager (Crew): "Gain 1 additional Provision in the Mill" — only when taking Provisions, not Gold.
- Gravedigger (Town Hall): "Swap 1 Hired Crew Member with a card from your hand" — the Crew returns to your hand; then hire a different Crew Member from your hand for free.
- Mercenary (Town Hall): "All players must give you 1 Silver or 1 Provision" — the targeted players decide (Silver, else Provision; if neither, nothing).
- Sage (Town Hall): "Move all 3 Offering Tiles to the bottom of the Stack" — draw 3 new tiles to replace them.
- Scout (Town Hall): "Swap an equal amount of cards with an opponent" — both select cards privately and swap.
Common phrases: "If Killed..." actions only activate when the current player takes Valkyrie (Avenger deaths don't activate them). "Pay 1 Less..." may result in paying no Silver, Gold or Provision (still legal).