878 Vikings - Relics and Holy Places Expansion
over 9 years ago – Sat, Mar 25, 2017 at 01:01:25 AM

The Relics and Holy Places stretch goals have been unlocked! 
Please tell your friends about this great Kickstarter, so that we unlock all stretch goals!

Below is an overview of this expansion that can be added to game play. I really like this expansion, because it adds an entirely new game play aspect to 878 Vikings!

Introduction
Superstitious beliefs prevailed among the pagan Vikings and the Christian English.   

The Vikings believed in the power of spells and used charms that offered protection, strength, and health. They also revered objects that they believed had brought them good fortune in the past. Viking Armies will invade with either a relic they believe has power or with powerful spells that they can use to defeat their foe. However, these relics can fall into English hands if the Viking army is defeated!  

The remains and possessions of Christian Saints were worshiped and often developed cults that protected them. These relics were usually housed at churches, creating holy sites that Christians would visit for more direct contact with God. The Christians begin the game with 2 Holy Site tiles on the map that give them special abilities as long as they control the Shire.

 English Holy Site Setup

 At the beginning of game setup, the English players randomly draw a total of 2 Holy Site Tiles. Each Holy Site is placed face up in the city Shire listed for the Holy Site Tile. Holy Tiles may not be moved. If the Vikings do not control the Shire, the English players receive the effect that the Holy Site Tile bestows. Some Holy Sites can be used by the Vikings if they control its Shire.

Designer’s Note: The setup locations for the Holy Sites are their actual historical locations!

Holy Site Tile Effects

Oswald's Tree

Oswald’s Tree Place in the city of LECACÆTIR (Chester).
Both the Vikings and the English may gain Oswald’s Tree ability if they control its Shire. If the controlling players win a battle anywhere, they may immediately place one of their killed units in LECACÆTIR’s (Chester) Shire.  

Oswald of North Umbria was a powerful Saxon King in the early 7th century who was sainted for spreading Christianity throughout northern Englaland (England). He was killed by the Mercian King at the Battle of Maserfield. Legend has that Oswald’s arm was carried off by a crow and dropped at the foot of an ash tree. A spring appeared where the arm was dropped. The tree and spring were believed to be able to miraculously heal and contributed to the Fountain of Youth legend.

Saint Cuthbert's Coffin

Place in the city of DŪNHOLM (Durham).
Each English faction may place an extra Unit in the Shire during its Reinforcement Phase. The Vikings gain no benefit from controlling Saint Cuthbert’s Tomb.  

Saint Cuthbert was the patron saint of north England who was a Bishop in the 7th century. His remains were believed to cause a variety of miracles and he was possibly England’s most important saint at the time of the Viking invasions. Alfred the Great claims to have seen a encouraging vision of Saint Cuthbert during his struggle against the Vikings. 

Saint Oswald’s Head

Place in the city of DŪNHOLM (Durham).
If an English player controls the Shire that Saint Oswald’s Head is in, look at the enemies hand of card at any time. The Vikings gain no benefit from controlling Saint Oswald’s Head.  

Oswald of Northumbria was dismembered after he was defeated in battle by the Mercians. His limbs and head were kept as relics with holy power. His head was eventually entombed with Saint Cuthbert’s remains in Durham.

King Edmund’s Martyrdom

Place in the city of THEODFORD (Theodford).
The English players draw a Fyrd Card and add the listed units to the battle when attacking Viking controlled cities.  

Edmund was King of East Anglia and was defeated by the brothers Ivar the Boneless and Ubbe Ragnarsson. Refusing to renounce Christ, Edmund was shot with arrows and left for dead. He was revered as a martyr saint.

Linen Cloths of Saint Æthelthryth

Place in the city of ÆLMHĀM (Elmham).
If the English or the Vikings control the Linen Cloths, each of their command results in all battles may be used to move up to two units. The units may be moved to any Shire not controlled by the enemy, including empty Shires.  

Saint Æthelthryth was a princess of East Anglia who was married to a Fenland chief and then to the king of North Umbria. She took a vow of celibacy before her first marriage and was forced to flee from her second husband to maintain her virginity. 16 years after her death she was exhumed so she could be moved to a new grave and was found to have not decayed. Her burial cloths and tomb were believed to cause miracles and blessed scraps of cloth bearing her name were often sold in the middle ages.

Vikings Relics Setup

The first two Viking Leaders that invade England each randomly draw a Relic Tile and place it face up in the Shire with the Leader. All future invading Leaders receive no relic. The Relics may be moved by any Viking Units or Leaders. A Relic may only be command moved out of a battle with the last Unit remaining. If the English win a battle and gain control of a Relic, they may move it at will with their Units, but may not destroy it and do not gain its powers.

Relic Effects

Hrafnsmerki: The Raven Banner

The Viking army rolls one Green Thegn Battle Die at the beginning of each of their battles. If a Hit result is rolled, the Vikings deal one extra hit to the English with each roll of their Battle Dice. If a Flee result is rolled, one Norsemen and one Berserker must Flee before each roll their Battle Dice.  

The Raven Banner was a common symbol that the Vikings took to battle and is thought to have been used to invoke Odin’s power. The Vikings believed that if the Raven flapped in the wind then Victory was assured. However, if the Raven lay still then they would meet defeat.

Mjolnir: Thor’s Hammer  

English Event Cards have no effect on the Viking army that possesses this relic.  

Vikings often wore charms in the shape of Thor’s hammer around their neck for protection during a voyage or in battle.

Odin’s Mask Rune Stone  

When the Viking Leader with the Odin’s Mask Rune Stone invades, the relic is placed in the first Shire the Leader moves into. The Rune Stone functions like a Holy Place and may never be moved. If the Vikings control the Rune Stone Shire, each Viking faction may place an extra Unit in the Shire during its Reinforcement Phase. The English gain no benefit from controlling Saint Cuthbert’s Tomb.  

Vikings marked important sites or the graves of important people with Runes Stones. A common marking on these stones was of Odin’s Mask. Odin wore this mask during fights to scare his opponents, hoping that they would flee and he could save his power.

Arm Ring of Thor  

Once each Turn, the Viking army in possession of the Arm Ring of Thor may draw one Fyrd card and add the listed Fyrd Units to a battle on the side of the Vikings. Both the English and the Vikings may have Fyrd in the battle. Once used, flip the tile face down until the end of that turn.  

Arm Rings distinguished Vikings for their wealth and power.

Volva  

If the Vikings possess the Volva, they may choose the order that players take their turns each Round.  

The Volva were powerful female seers who Viking leaders sought council from. Their glimpses into the future would often determine what a Viking leader did in times of crisis.

Seidr  

A Viking army with this relic does not need to remove a Berserker as their first casualty.

Seidr were spells that the Vikings used to weaken the enemy or strengthen their own troops.

Odin’s 18 Charms  

If the Vikings possess Odin’s 18 Charms, they may discard this relic to play an event card from either Viking players’ discard pile.  

The 18 Charms that Odin knows are described in the poem Havamål. These charms allow Odin to heal wounds, offer protection in Battle, and bed women, among other useful things.

Stretch Goals

We just unlocked Ragnar's Leader Figure at $330,000

 Coming soon are 

Extra Event Cards at $340,00 and

The Rune and Prayer Dice at $360,000

Please help us unlock these great new stretch goals and expansions by mentioning us on Facebook and Tweeting your friends.

Thanks for your support.
The Academy Games Team. 

878 Vikings Map Details
over 9 years ago – Thu, Mar 23, 2017 at 12:34:03 AM

All miniature stretch goals have been unlocked, so the 878 Vikings game map, cards and rules have been updated to reflect these miniatures. Below we show pictures of the new map, along with miniatures set up on a smaller 'prototype' map. 

Now the Reinforcement Units are much easier to see and differentiate from the game Setup Units. Below is a close up of a section of the map. 

 Some pledgers have also been concerned that the miniatures will be too large for the game map. Below we show the 15mm miniatures next to the 8mm cubes. 

The plastic injection molds are being milled. The first molds are completed and now only need the injection ports added. Production is making good progress! 

If any of you would like us to post more production pictures of how the game is made, please let us know and we will gladly do so. :)

Below we laid out an 878 GameCrafter prototype map (which is 10% smaller than the actual game map), on top of a Mare Nostrum Giant Map. The 878 Giant Map will be 762 x 1185 mm. This picture is not exact, but it does give you a size comparison between the board map and the Giant map. The regular game map is 480 x 660 mm (~19 x 26"), which is big. The Giant map is 765 x 1052 mm! (~30 x 41.5"), which is .... well Giant! 

 Below we set up some miniatures and an Army Leader on the map. Please note that this is a prototype board with valley folds. Our maps have flat folds. Plus, the leader miniature is an artist's resin, so is very light. Even so, you can see that the miniatures fit very well on the map board. :) 

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Gunter has not been answering comments very well today because he is a bit sleepy. :( His daughter Ezri was born happy and healthy at 12:32 am this morning! :) The anniversary of the date that Alfred the Great became King of Wessex! 

War for Land and God Expansion
over 9 years ago – Tue, Mar 21, 2017 at 10:54:36 PM

In this update, we continue to describe expansions that have been unlocked in our stretch goals. You can download the '878 Vikings' pdf game rules by clicking here.

War for Land and God can be added to the 878 Vikings base game play to add different tactical and strategic options. 

lntroduction - The game starts with church tiles set up on the board which the English players must protect from being looted by the Vikings. If the Vikings sack and remove all of the Churches from the board, Christianity falters on the island and the English immediately lose the game.  

The Vikings will also be able to garrison forts with their units and eventually foster them into Viking settlements. These settlements will generate reinforcements for the Norsemen.

Setup - Each English player places 7 English Church Tiles each (14 total) on any cities on the map. There may only be one church per city. The Viking players take the 10 Viking Fort/Settlement Tiles to use during the game.

Plundered Churches - When the Viking players control a Shire with a Church Tile in it, the Vikings plunder the church. The Viking players remove the Tile and give it to either English player, Plundered Church side up. The treasure the Vikings loot from the church attracts more Viking warriors to Briton, so the Norseman player immediately pulls a black cube from his reserves and places it in the Fled Unit Area.

Christian Wrath - The English player may discard a Plundered Church Tile at the beginning of any Battle to add an extra Fyrd Card to the Battle. This may be used on the English or Vikings’ turn. Only one Plundered Church Tile may be used in each Battle.

Viking Forts - At the end of each of their turns, the Viking players may choose to remove any two Viking units and place one Fort Tile in the area they were removed from.  

The Fort may not be moved but provides a Berserker and Norseman Battle Die in combat. This does not allow the Viking players to roll more than their max number of dice.  

Viking Forts take one hit to destroy and remove from the map. Forts must be destroyed before the English can win the Battle and capture the area. Forts do not flee.

Viking Settlements - At the beginning of the Norseman’s turn, the Norseman player may choose to flip any Viking Fort Tile to its Viking Settlement side. Only one tile may be in each area, so another fort may not be placed in the area.  

Viking Settlements provide a Norseman reinforcement in its area each turn (including the turn the Settlement is placed). The Settlement also provides a Berserker Battle Die in combat and takes one hit to remove from the area just like a Fort.  

The Viking players may reinforce their fled units in areas with Viking Settlements.

Paganism against Christianity - If the Vikings remove every Church Tile from the board, Christianity is replaced by Paganism in Briton and the Vikings win the game. However, if they do not remove all of the Churches when the Treaty of Wedmore is activated, Christianity survives and eventually converts the pagan Vikings.

Designer’s Note: The Vikings can either ignore the Churches and pursue a normal game victory. Or they can ignore holding territory and instead attempt to plunder all of the Churches at the risk of the Christian wrath!

 All images property of Academy Games.  Copyright 2017. 

878 Vikings - 17 Stretch Goals Unlocked!
over 9 years ago – Mon, Mar 20, 2017 at 10:42:42 PM

878 Vikings - Invasions of England

We have unlocked seventeen incredible stretch goals on the first full day of the campaign, including four game play expansions! Thank you for your support.

We will give an overview of unlocked stretch goal expansions in the coming days.
The first unlocked expansion we showcase is the Kingdom Expansion:  

England was composed of 4 major kingdoms at the time the Vikings began invading. Mercia, North Umbria, East Anglia, and Wessex each had their own king. As the Vikings invaded their lands, these kings were defeated and often replaced with an English puppet king. Only Alfred (the Great) of Wessex repulsed the Viking invaders and maintained his kingdom.  

Each kingdom provides a special ability to the English players. As the Vikings take over the kingdoms, the English players lose the Kingdom's ability and the Vikings gain one.

Setup -  Each Kingdom card has an English control side and a Viking control side. At the beginning of the game, the English players place each Kingdom Card, English side up, in front of them for easy reference.

Control of Kingdoms - Each named kingdom on the board has its kingdom highlighted in a different color. The map on the Kingdom Card shows the location of the kingdom in the same color. If the Vikings or English control the number of cities in the kingdom that is listed at the top right of the Kingdom Card, they receive that kingdom’s ability and the Kingdom Card is flipped to its respective side. When a side no longer controls the necessary number of cities, the players immediately lose the ability and the card is placed beside the map until one of the sides again controls the required number of cities in that kingdom.

East Anglia's Kingdom Abilities -  
English Control: When controlled by the English, English units may move into and through all Swamp Shires in England. Since Viking players may not move into a Swamp area, the English units in a Swamp Shire may never be attacked. If the English lose East Anglia’s ability, all units in Swamps remain and may move out normally. New units, however, may not enter the Swamps. 
Historical Note: The English often evaded Viking pursuit by disappearing into their swamp lands.

Viking Control:  When controlled by the Vikings, each Viking player may hold a hand of 4 cards, instead of just 3. When they gain East Anglia, each Viking player immediately draws an additional card. When the Vikings lose East Anglia, they do not have to discard a card, but only draw back up to 3 at the end of their turn. 
Historical Note: The Vikings purchased and 'requisitioned' many horses in East Anglia to greatly increase their mobility and tactical options.

Note: The Vikings Age rule book covers each Kingdom's abilities, which we are not listed in this Update. 

Designer's Notes: Each Kingdom's special abilities will prompt players to pursue new strategies that they would not use in the regular game. An easy and fun alternative game play. 

War for Land and God:
In the coming days, we will highlight the next unlocked expansion: War for Land and God. 

We have more expansions to unlock in the stretch goals. Please share this campaign with your friends. 

Thank you from the Academy Games Team! 

Vikings Kickstarter has begun!
over 9 years ago – Mon, Mar 20, 2017 at 12:27:12 AM

The Academy Games team wants to you for the tremendous support that you have shown for '878 Vikings - Invasions of England'. You helped fund the game in 14 minutes and have helped unlocked over 14 stretch goals in the first 12 hours! 

878 Vikings is based on our very popular Birth of America series, which includes '1754 - Conquest' (pre-orders are shipping now and will be in distribution by June 2017), '1775 - Rebellion' which won Historical Game of the Year, and '1812 - The Invasions of Canada'. 

As many of you know, these games are so much fun to play. Even better, you learn a bit about history without even trying. So much so, that these gamers are used in public, private and home schools throughout the USA. (Because of this, teaching books with a week's class itinerary have been written for several of our games and these are available on our website.)

As with the other games in the series, 878 Vikings has a ~5% change in the rules, that makes it VERY unique. You can download a pdf version of the rules by clicking on the rulebook image on the campaign page or below. :) Please let us know if we need to add any clarifications or if we made any mistakes (heaven forbid this, since we have edited this version dozens of times!) 

Several supporters have emailed us with great advice and comments, which we will implement on the campaign page over the weekend. 

So thank you so much for your support. Please tell your friends about this incredible game, so that we can unlock even more fantastic stretch goals. 

Our team wishes everyone a wonderful weekend.

Uwe Eickert
Academy Games
419-307-6531