Fire and Axe: A Viking's Saga

Vikings have an interesting and varied history. Not only were they accomplished explorers, but they also took the time to dabble in pillaging and mayhem. Who doesn't enjoy a little mayhem every now and again, but I find myself wandering from the point. Vikings are just plain cool and most things that involve them are pretty cool too.

Fire and Axe: A Viking's Saga, is no different. Boardgamegeek lists the game as a nautical/medieval game with action point and area movement mechanics. Basically during a players turn, you have 7 action points (days) to spend. Everything requires at least one day to complete, and loading your Viking longboat can take even longer, since load a single unit or trade good requires an action point. The board includes a space for keeping track of the points a player has used in their turn, but it's pretty superfluous. It's not THAT hard to count to seven. Points in the form of gold are awarded for completing quests, or sagas, raiding cities or trading goods. Gold is also awarded at the end of the game as bonuses for controlling all cities in a given area, or having the most completed quests of a certain type. End-game bonus points are also awarded for having the most sacked cities. Our groups end scores ranged from around 145 to 170.

The game play is pretty straight forward, and it's pretty fun to load up your boat and go kick some ass. That said, the combat sometimes devolves into a dice-fest, and it's possible for a player's clever planning and positioning to get ruined by some bad rolls. There are also rule-breaking action cards that also add in a random element, but this is much less annoying than getting dice-whipped.

Overall, this game is worth playing. I question it's replay value, but it's definately good for a least a few plays and is simple enough to be introduced quickly to new players.

Pros: Excellent board design and art.Plastic are of good quality and pretty cool to play with.The game play is smooth and pretty quick. A game can be completed in a little more than an hour with veteran player or about 90 minutes with n00bs.

Cons: The combat can be frustrating.Replayability is questionable.

I'm going to try out a new rating system where 1 is a game I'd never even glance at again (The Simpsons: Don't Panic) and 10 is game I'd trade my pinky for (Twilight Imperium). I'm giving Fire and Axe a 7/10. I'm going to try and avoid decimals and other cliches, except I will be giving my system a cheesy name, like 7/10 Victory Points or wooden cubes or something. I've not decided yet. :)

Pics: