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| 2-5 players, 45 minutes, 10 years and older |
| Author | Scott Caputo |
| Illustrator | Pierre Lechevalier |
| Published by | White Goblin Games
Stronghold Games |
| Online since | 2013-10-18 |
| Developed by | (Stonecrusher) |
| Boardgamegeek | 128554 |
| Complexity | 1,95/5 |
| Yucata.de owns a license for the online version of this game. A big "thank you" to the copyright owners (publisher and/or author and illustrator) who make it possible to have this game for free online here! |
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Völuspá on Yucata.de
Changes with regard to the real game
-
The tile that the
Dragon
 , the
Lightning Bolt  , the
Raven  or the
Hel  tile is played upon doesn't stay in the area of played tiles
but is placed on the discard pile. This has no effect on the game.
The play variant "No late Hel ":
From a strategic point of view it makes sense to keep the Hel
tiles until the game end is close. When there are no tiles
left in the draw deck, every player will place his 5 hand tiles giving him 5 remaining turns. If he has one or several
Skadi  tiles
left, he will also have additional turns, but the placement of Skadi usually yields no or only a few points.
But if a player has kept his two Hel tiles (or one Hel tile in case of more than two players) until the end, he will still have
two additional turns because he actually has seven (or six in case of more than two players) remaining turns instead of five.
Therefore usually all players will play their Hel tiles when the game end is close, which however will make the interesting
gap function of Hel irrelevant.
For this reason it's recommended to use this variant that only allows to play Hel tiles as long as the draw deck still contains tiles.
If a player keeps them for too long, he cannot place them any more.
Implementation of this variant: Right after drawing the last tile from the draw deck, all remaining Hel tiles of all players will
automatically be removed from the game.
INTRODUCTION
In the oldest poem of Norse Mythology, the Völuspá
tells the story of the endless struggle of powerful gods, dangerous
creatures, and forgotten races. Which beings will dominate each other?
Will the Valkyries overtake Thor? Will Odin survive the challenge of
the trickster, Loki? Every time the story unfolds differently, a new
force rises in dominance.
OBJECTIVE
The players play tiles with different characters and creatures
of Norse Mythology. They try to dominate other tiles and scores points
this way. The players who scores the most points by dominating other
tiles wins the game.
SETUP
- Shuffle all tiles face-down. Place all tiles in piles on the
table.
- Each player draws five tiles and takes these in his hand.
Don't show the tiles in your hand to the other players.
- Draw one tile and place it face-up in the centre of the
table. If this is a Troll, return it and draw another tile (repeat
this until you don't draw a Troll). Shuffle the returned tile in a
pile of choice.
- Each player chooses a colour and places his score marker next
to the score track.
- Randomly choose a start player. He'll take the first turn.
GAME SEQUENCE
The game is played in turns. Players take turns in clockwise order. Each turn the active player performs the
following actions in this order:
-
Choose one tile from your hand and place it in the game area
following these rules:
- Each tile must touch at least one side of another tile
already on the table.
- Each individual line of tiles (horizontal or vertical)
cannot exceed seven.
Many tiles have special powers. See "Overview of tile powers" for a
list and description.
If you cannot play any of your tiles (which is very unlikely), you must discard a tile.
Remove this tile from the game and put it back in the box.
-
A line of tiles is always dominated by one or more tiles. In most cases the
dominating tiles are those with the highest value. For example in the line
the Thor  tile dominates the line because of
its value of 7 which is the highest in the line.
The tile that you place during your turn will score a line if it breaks the current domination of
that line and becomes the new dominator of that line. To break the current domination of a tile
that has the highest value in that line, tying its value is not sufficient.
If in the above example you place an Odin  like this:
then you will score this line because Odin's value of 8 is higher than the current dominator's value of 7
(Thor ).
Placing a tile can score the column or the horizontal line it is placed in, or both (see the example
in the box where Bart scores 6 points for placing
Thor
). Column and the horizontal line are both checked separately for new
domination and scoring.
You score an amount of points equal to the number of tiles in that row and/or column.
To score a line it must consist of at least two tiles.
-
Beside having the highest tile value there is another way to dominate a line: see the special
ability of the
Valkyrie
tiles below.
-
If you have discarded a tile this turn, you won't score points.
-
Some tiles may be placed on top of other tiles replacing them on the board (see the chapters about
Dragon ,
Skadi ,
Hel ,
Lightning Bolt and
Raven ).
If the only tile on the board is the start tile and you place a Dragon, Skadi or Lightning Bolt tile on
top of it, you'll score 1 point.
If you place your Hel tile on such a start tile you'll score zero points.
-
Refill your hand to five tiles by drawing a tile from a pile.
If you played a Skadi this turn to capture a tile, you don't draw a new tile.
END OF THE GAME
The game ends when all tiles are drawn and every player has no tiles left.
After the draw pile is empty it may occur (because of Skadi and Hermod) that some player still
has tiles on her hand while others already have empty hands. In this case the player has several
turns in a row, laying out his remaining tiles, while the other players must pass.
The player with the highest score wins. In case of a tie, the
player who reached the highest score first wins the game.
Tiebreaker Display
In the implementation of Völuspá at Yucata.de this tiebreaker rule is always directly visible in the player info:
Whenever two or more players have equal number of points, the point display for those players changes from single integer number
to two integer numbers that are separated by a point ("."). Now the number to the right of the point is the tiebreaker value.
For example, if you have reached the 9 points EARLIER than your opponent then your point display is "9.2" while it's "9.1" for your
opponent. If you see this points-display as a decimal number then 9.2 > 9.1. Therefore it's always true that
the higher the (point-separated) number, the higher the player ranking.
Example: In a 5-player-game it can come to the following point/tiebreaker display.
Player 1: Points 9.2
Player 2: Points 11.1
Player 3: Points 9.1
Player 4: Points 11.2
Player 5: Points 9.3
Now if player 2 scores three points, then the point and the number to the right of it (=Tiebreaker) disappear again for player 2
and 4 because now both have a different number of points and a unique ranking for both players can be derived from their number
of points without tiebreaker value.
OVERVIEW OF TILE POWERS
Many tiles have special powers. Some powers affect scoring points,
while other powers affect playing other tiles.
The special
powers of the tiles remain active throughout the game.
No other tile (except Trolls and
Dwarfs 
) may be placed adjacent (horizontal or
vertical) to this tile after it's been placed.
Place this tile the normal way or on top of another tile. Any powers of the
covered tile are nullified.
- You cannot place a Dragon on top of a tile next to a
Troll
 .
- You can place a Dragon on top of a Troll.
- You cannot place a Dragon on top of a Dragon.
The value of this tile is the sum of all Fenrir tiles in the same row or column, depending on whether you
check the row or column for scoring. This means that for example the row value of a lone Fenrir is 4
points, even if there are more Fenrir tiles in its column.
- Fenrir tiles next to Loki
 tiles are
worth zero and do not contribute to the value of other Fenrir tiles.
- After placement Fenrir tiles continue to be worth the sum of the Fenrir tiles in the line.
Therefore, for example in a line that contains only three Fenrir tiles in it (and no Loki tile next to
the Fenrir tiles) each of these Fenrir would have a value of 12.
- A newly placed Fenrir in a line where one or more Fenrir are already placed, has a higher
value than the other Fenrir at the moment the new Fenrir is placed. After placing this Fenrir,
all Fenrir in this line take on the same value as the newly placed Fenrir. Another way to
think of this is that all Fenrir tiles in a line work together as a pack. So for example, given the Fenrir dominate
a line, then as long as placing another Fenrir tile in that line increases the value of all Fenrir
tiles in the pack, you score.
Here Odin scores because the
row value of the Fenrir below the
Skadi
is 4 (= 4 + 0).
But here Odin
does not score because the column value of the Fenrir below the
Skadi
is 12 (= 4 + 4 + 4).
Place this tile the normal way or exchange a tile on the table with
the Skadi and add the exchanged tile to your hand.
- You can't capture a tile next to a Troll .
- You may not use Skadi to take a Skadi.
- You can choose a Dragon . The tile covered by the
Dragon is removed from the game while you take the Dragon to your hand.
Tiles adjacent (horizontal and vertical) to Loki have a value of "0"
(except other Loki tiles).
SETUP
The setup is equal to the base game with the following exceptions:
- Separate out the five Hel tiles.
Each player gets one Hel tile. All unused Hel tiles are removed from the game and returned to
the game box. In a two
player game, each player gets two Hel tiles.
- Shuffle the new tiles with the base game tiles.
- Deal five tiles to each player.
The rules are the same as in the base game.
OVERVIEW TILE POWERS "SAGA OF EDDA"
This tile must be placed (face down  )
on top of another tile (not Hel). Any powers of the covered tile are nullified. Hel is
treated as a gap in a line. Lines up to seven tiles may form in all
four directions from the Hel tile. Score one point for each
tile adjacent (horizontal, vertical and diagonal) to this tile.
- Hel tile doesn't count toward the five-tile hand limit.
- You don't draw a replacement tile after playing a Hel tile.
- You may play Hel next to a Troll .
- No other tile can be placed on top of this tile.
- Skadi cannot capture a Hel tile.
-
You may place a tile adjacent to only a Hel tile. This will start a new line of one and
scores 1 point.
Sea Serpent  is the only
exception to this rule because for it the following has to be considered:
In order to dominate and score, it must still be the highest in its row or column. If it isn't it doesn't score.
Sea Serpent won't score here, not even 1 point.
On the other hand, on a board that consists only of the following two tiles, it will score the 1 point:
-
If you place a Niohoggr
 tile
adjacent to only a Hel tile you score 3 points: 1 point + the 2 extra bonus points of the Niohoggr.
-
If you place a tile adjacent to several Hel tiles, but only Hel tiles, that play also scores only 1 point.
Place this tile the normal way or you may bump any tile (except
Hel ) to either end of its line.
If you do, put the Jotunn in its place.
- You don't score the bumped tile.
- When you bump a Dragon , both the Dragon and the tile
underneath it are bumped.
- You can bump a Troll .
- A non-Troll tile cannot be bumped next to a Troll.
- Whether the Jotunn is bumping or placed the normal way, it may not end placed next to a Troll.
- You may not create a line longer than seven tiles.
- The bumped tile cannot pass any gaps (including Hel tiles).
The Sea Serpent only scores when it has the highest value among all
tiles in its row/column including tiles across gaps (including
Hel
tiles). The score is based on all tiles and gaps in this row or
column (and may exceed seven).
- You can only score one column or row. You choose which one
is scored.
In the implementation at Yucata.de the column / row that would score more points is automatically chosen.
INTRODUCTION
The power of the gods is in your hands with the addition of the Lightning Bolt tile that can zap any tile and score any line.
SETUP
The Lightning Bolt expansion can be played with the base game and any other expansion (or recommended tile set listed in the
Order of the Gods expansion). The rules and setup for the tiles from the base game and its expansion remain the same.
OVERVIEW TILE POWERS "LIGHTNING BOLT"
Place the Lightning Bolt on top of another tile. The Lightning Bolt scores the shortest of the two lines it is in (lightning
always takes the shortest path to the ground) even if this tile does not have the highest value in that line. The shortest
possible line is two tiles. For example in the following line:
When you place a Lightning Bolt like this:
then you will score 4 points.
Exact scoring definition:
Look at the horizontal and vertical line the target tile is in, and among them check those that have a length
of two or more. Score an amount of points as high as the number of tiles in the shortest of those lines.
In the rare case where a Lightning Bolt is placed on top of the solitary start tile, or on a solitary tile adjacent to only a
Hel tile, you score 1 point.
- You cannot place a Lightning Bolt on top of a Lightning Bolt,
Hel tile, or on top of
a tile next to a Troll .
- You can place a Lightning Bolt on top of a
Raven or
Dragon .
- If both lines are the same length, choose which line to score. This matters when there are
Niohoggr tiles (+2 points)
in the lines.
- A Lightning Bolt scores 2 extra points if placed on top of a Niohoggr tile.
- A Lightning Bolt scores even if it is placed upon a tile in a line that is bookended by two
Valkyries .
In the implementation at Yucata.de, in case both lines are the same length, the line that would score more points is automatically chosen.
INTRODUCTION
The balance of power is shifting among the order of the gods! The goddess Freya can permanently increase the value of other beings.
The resourceful Dwarf taps the power of neighboring gods. The monstrous Niohoggr hoards extra benefits for anyone brave enough
to defeat it and the quickly flying Raven can score twice in the same turn!
SETUP
The tiles in this expansion can be combined with the base game and the Saga of Edda expansion. To maintain a reasonable game length,
it is recommended that you not play with all of the tiles in one game.
The rules and setup for the tiles from the base game and its expansion remain the same. When playing with Freya from this expansion,
place the booster tokens number-side up in a supply next to the tiles.
OVERVIEW TILE POWERS "ORDER OF THE GODS"
When you place this tile, sum the values of all adjacent tiles and score half of that sum rounded down.
- The Dwarf only scores this described way. It never (also) scores lines.
-
Keep in mind that the actual value of a Fenrir 
tile in a line is the sum of all Fenrir tile values in that line:
Add the Fenrir column value if it's north or south of the Dwarf, add its row value if its west or east of the
Dwarf (see the Fenrir rules of the base game).
Fenrir tiles next to a Loki
tile have a value of "0".
While the face value of the Fenrir tile next to Loki is zero, it still has a final strength of 8 due to the other Fenrir
tiles in the line, so the Dwarf would score like this:
0.5 * ((4 points for the top Fenrir) + (4 points for the middle Fenrir) +
(0 points for the Fenrir next to Loki))
= 4 points.
- Loki doesn't affect a Dwarf's scoring ability. But its value will change to "0" (important when another
Dwarf is placed next to it).
- You can place a Dwarf next to a Troll .
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ) AND SPECIAL CASES
Q1: When are the tile powers active? Is it only when placed initially or ongoing throughout the game?
The tile powers are active throughout the game. The Loki tile
continues to make adjacent tiles worth
zero. The Troll tile continues to block non-Troll tiles from
being placed adjacent to it. Fenrir tiles
continue to be worth the sum of the Fenrir tiles in the line. Therefore, a line with three Fenrir tiles
in it would have a top value of 12, and placing an Odin (8) tile
in that line would not be sufficient to
win that line. If a line begins and ends with Valkyrie
tiles, those Valkyrie tiles continue to dominate
the line until they no longer bookend the line. For example, if a line has a Valkyrie, Odin, and Valkyrie,
placing a Dragon tile on top of the Odin would not dominate
the line since the Valkyrie tiles still bookend the line.
Q2: What happens if I place a Valkyrie tile next to a
Loki tile? Does the special power of the Valkyrie
still work?
Yes. If a line begins and ends with Valkyrie tiles, then the Valkyrie tiles automatically dominate all
other tiles in the line. This bookending power of the Valkyrie still works even if one or both Valkyries are
next to Loki tiles. However, the value of a Valkyrie tile next to a Loki tile is zero.
Q3: What happens if I place a Fenrir tile next to a
Loki tile? What is the value of a Fenrir tile next to a
Loki tile?
The value of a Fenrir tile is the sum of its face value plus the face value of all other Fenrir tiles in
the line. However, if a Fenrir tile is placed next to a Loki tile, its face value is changed to zero. Therefore,
when a Fenrir tile is placed next to a Loki tile, its value is simply the sum of all other Fenrir tiles in the
line. Since this Fenrir tile only ties previously placed Fenrir tiles, this Fenrir tile does not dominate the
line and does not score.
Example:
Now if another Fenrir is placed like this:
Then this Fenrir doesn't dominate the line and therefore doesn't score.
Q4: Does Sea Serpent score with
Hel as only line end?
When I lay Sea Serpent with the only other tile across a gap being Hel, does Sea Serpent score for the gaps in that
row? For example, when I lay Hel like shown in the following constellation, may Sea Serpent score 6 points?
No. Once a Hel tile is played, it's considered a gap.
Q5: Does a Hel tile beside a Hel tile increase the score?
If I place a Hel tile beside another
Hel tile, does the Hel tile already on the table increase the score I get for laying my Hel tile?
Example:
Now when I place a Hel tile over
Hermod  , do I get 8 Points, meaning
Hel tile on table counts, or only 7?
No, a Hel tile beside a Hel tile doesn't increase the score. Once a Hel tile is played, it's considered a gap.
Q6: Does Sea Serpent score a line bookended by
Valkyries ?
Can a Sea Serpent score a column in spite of the column containing a line where Valkyries are dominating?
For example:
Now I place Sea Serpent below Hel like that:
Can my Sea Serpent score 5 points because it has the highest value in the column in spite of the Valkyries dominating the line?
The Sea Serpent would score 5 points. It is the highest value in the column.
The Sea Serpent would not score if it were in between the two Valkyrie on a connected line like the following:
In that case, the Valkyries are the highest.
There may also occur the following situation:
In this case, the Sea Serpent would score since the power of the Valkyries only works on a connected line and the Hel tile starts
new lines in all directions.
Q7: Can the special power of the Dwarf score the 2 bonus
points of a Niohoggr ?
The Dwarf does not get the extra points for the Niohoggr. The Niohoggr +2 points is only for scoring a line with a Niohoggr in it. The Dwarf
does not score lines.
Q8: Does Raven take away booster tokens already in its first placement?
If Raven is first placed upon a boosted tile will this booster token be removed from the game?
The Raven takes away the booster tokens during its first placement as well as during its second and final placement. However zero tokens
remain on the tiles; the reason is because as long as Loki is
adjacent to a tile, that tile's value remains zero.
Q9: Can Sea Serpent get the 2 bonus points from
Niohoggr ?
If the Sea Serpent is placed below Hel does it get 4 or 6 points?
(Notice the line is separated via Hel)
When the Sea Serpent scores, the scoring tiles are considered a "line", so yes, in the example, the Sea Serpent would get the two extra points.
Q10: Does Skadi get the two extra points when placed on top of
Niohoggr ?
Imagine Skadi being placed on top of Niohoggr scoring a line. Does Skadi get the 2 extra points from the Niohoggr like the
Dragon would get them in this case?
Skadi is not placed on top of a tile. It swaps with another tile, so, no, it would not get the bonus 2 points.
The above questions and answers have been taken from the
official FAQ or have been clarified with the designer of the
game.
My aim for this page was to present all the main rules of the game. When I implemented this game for Yucata
I came across several rare and very special rules questions.
In order to clarify them I created BoardGameGeek.com threads:
- Base game, Saga of Edda
- Lightning Bolt, Order of the Gods
If you cannot find an answer to your rules question here on this Yucata page, try these threads. If you cannot find the answer in these threads
then try to find it in another thread on that BoardGameGeek gamepage. If you still don't find an answer to your question you may post it
in a new thread there. Scott Caputo, the designer of Völuspá is reading those threads and may answer you.
If you find an inconsistency with the rules you may post it in the forum here at Yucata.de so it can be corrected.
Many thanks to Scott Caputo who helped clarifying all the rules questions I came across during implementation of his game at Yucata!
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