Explorers of the North Sea

About this board game

Explorers of the North Sea is a Viking-era board game for 1–4 players, with an approximate play time of 60 minutes. As ambitious sea captains, players explore new lands, transport their crew and livestock, construct outposts, and pursue valuable goals across a shared island map.

Each player begins with 7 Vikings and a Longboat on a shared central Island. During each turn, players place one of their tiles to expand the game board, then take up to four actions before drawing a replacement tile. The developing map creates new opportunities to travel, settle, and compete for control.

Available actions let players load their Longship, unload it and deliver livestock, move the Longship, destroy an enemy ship, move Vikings, raid a settlement, transport livestock, or construct an outpost. Building an outpost costs two actions, making every turn a choice between covering ground, gathering resources, and advancing longer-term plans.

• Place tiles to discover and expand newly formed islands.
• Move Vikings and Longships between islands.
• Capture and deliver livestock.
• Raid settlements and destroy enemy ships.
• Construct outposts and work toward island control.

The game ends immediately after the turn in which the player holding the Winter Token has no tiles left in hand. With 48 tiles, this is exactly 48 turns. Victory points come from delivered livestock, constructed outposts, destroyed enemy ships, raided settlements, Viking deaths, controlled islands, and Captain Cards.

In Explorers of the North Sea, every expedition contributes to the final score. The player with the highest total of victory points wins.