This is a concept for which I can not take credit other than for adding to the event list and typing it up. I played the game for the first time at Aberdeen Proving Ground, I don't know who the host was, he had a number of these types of games. I made up my own version and decided to do a couple of them during the slack times in the schedule at the Seige of Augusta Convention. The premise of the game is as follows: You are one of several (six to eighteen) Vikings who have just completed a raid on an Anglo-Saxon village and must now return to the ship with your loot. Unfortunately for your party you are running a bit behind schedule and the signal to return to ship has been sounded several times. You have dallied and now the tide is rolling out and if you miss the ship you will have to deal with several hundred angry Saxons. The Saxons have started to react to the raid and are returning to the village in large numbers from the surrounding fields. All the player figures and their loot (recommend five pennies each) are placed equal distance from the boat say 36-45 inches away. The Vikings carrying loot run eight inches a turn with loot and if they have no loot they can run ten inches. If they pick up ten or more coins they run six inches a turn. Saxons run ten inches a turn. It costs a Viking two inches of movement to pick up three or less coins from the same place and one inch for each additional coin he picks up, for example a Viking sees a pile of four coins in his path, rather than run by he elects to pick them up and loses three inches of movement. The way the game works is simple. Each player gets five event cards to play any way he may choose but only one slip may be played per turn.At the start of each turn all Viking players may place one of his five event card in front of ANY Viking figure, (usually his competitor's)any one figure may have any number of slips placed in front of it, but each player may only place one slip per figure per turn. The event cards, see below, generally refer to things that will impede progress to the ship. The goal of the game is to be the first Viking to reach the ship with loot, in the event of a tie, the Viking with the most loot wins. Number of cards in the deck : Events 1 A Saxon Chief steps into your path he fights like a Viking (5). 2 A Christian Priest steps in your path and attempts to convert you to Christianity and recover the artifacts you have stolen, He fights at a (2) 1 The biggest Saxon you ever saw is running towards you he looks mean. D12 Direction, D10 distance in inches away, He fights at a (5). 4 Two Saxons begin to chase you from D12 direction D10 inches away, they run 10 inches a turn and fight at a (3) each. I guess burning their hut did have consequences. 4 Two Saxons give chase at D12 direction and D10 inches, killing their mother was a bit much perhaps if you said you were sorry? They fight at (3) each. 2 One Saxon stands in your way d10 inches in front of you, he suspects you're the dirt bag who killed his sheep. He fights at a (3). 2 A big dog starts to chase you, you run away from it in a random D12 direction at your regular speed. The dog will chase you for three turns, roll a new direction each turn. The dog fights at a (1). You can't attempt to fight it until the second turn of chase. 8 You stumble on this slip and drop one coin, it will cost you two inches to pick it up. 2 You drop two coins and they fall to your right four inches, it will cost you two inches to pick them up plus the four to move to them. 2 You drop two coins and they fall to your left four inches, it will cost you two inches to pick them up plus the four to move to them. 4 You trip over a dead Saxon, and drop all your loot. It will take the whole turn to pick yourself and the coins up. 4 You slip on a cow pie, and drop all your loot. It will take the whole turn to pick yourself and the coins up. 2 You event card and sprain your ankle, for the rest of the game move two inches slower. 1 You twist your knee when jumping over a pile of dung, move three inches slower every turn till the end of the game, and subtract one from your combat rolls. 1 Your so excited to be on your first raid that you wet yourself subtract one from each move from this point on. 2 A Saxon archer fires at you on a d6 -- roll of six it hits and you are dead. 4 A Saxon archer fires at you from a great distance, on a d6 roll of 4 or 5 you are wounded subtract two inches from this move and one from all others. On a roll of six you are dead. Ignore all other rolls. 2 A Saxon throws a large ax at you and you manage to catch it with your shield, its weight slows your progress bit one inch a turn until you pull it out which will take one turn. The Saxon ran away. 2 You become disoriented by thinking about all the loot and head off for this move at D12 direction. 2 You hear your name called and look back, lose this turn while you figure it was a mistake. 2 You think you dropped something stop and spend half your turn counting your loot. 3 A hole in your bag!? Lose one coin a turn. 1 A Viking chasing a pig runs in your path lose three inches this turn. 1 You fall in a hole and lose all your loot plus it will cost you three inches next turn just to get out of the hole. 1 A Saxon woman begs to join you she has been beaten and raped and knows that she will be badly treated by the Saxons for not dying, she will slow you down by two inches a turn but you take her along anyway. If attacked by two Saxons one will attack her, she fights at a (0) if shot at by an archer roll for her as well. 1 The most beautiful Saxon woman you have ever seen is standing in front of you pick her up and take her along. 2 If attacked by two Saxons one will attack her, she fights at a (0), if shot at by an archer roll for her as well. She will slow you down by two inches a turn. 2 Drop all your loot while jumping a small ditch. 2 A ditch in your path will cost three inches to cross. 3 A sudden spurt of energy (fear) move 12 inches this turn only. Rules Shuffle the event cards and deal each player five or six depending on the number of players. At the start of the turn players may place one event card in front of a Viking figure. After all event cards have been read and Vikings and other figures moved execute combats if any are generated. When a card/event card played requires a die roll, the event card playing player will make all rolls. The D12 direction is a clock face with 12 o'clock being the direction to the boat. A D12 roll of four would be the 4 o'clock direction. Combats are D6 roll plus basic value or modified values. Lower side loses/dies. Saxons may be fought one at a time or together adding their threes to be a six added to the D6 roll. If the Viking wins then both Saxons die. Each fight costs the Viking two inches of movement. If a Viking elects to hold onto his loot then he will fight at a (3). Without loot or other incumbrance he fights as a five (5). The fighting value of a figure is added to the D6 roll, the loser dies. Ties will be fought again at the start of the next turn after event cards have been placed and before movement, the fight will subtract two inches from the Viking's move if he survives. Saxons will ignore all other Vikings other than the one for which they have been played. Movement occurs after all event cards have been placed and read. Event cards are placed face down and turned over at one time. Viking can be moved in any order, but it is easer to those without event cards first. Move the Viking as allowed by the event card, then move any other figures generated by the event card. If a Viking has more than one event card in front of him, turn them all over at once and resolve any conflicts. But do all the event cards. Some Vikings can have very bad days. The game ends when a viking reaches the ship or they all die. Play this in 25mm for best results. You will need one Viking per player, eight Saxons, a priest, Saxon Chief, a 30mm or larger Saxon, two female figures or one Viking carrying a female, two dogs, five coins per Viking, tape measure, two D6, D10, D12, and a place to play. Very little terrain is required. ED NOTE: With very little imagination this could be played with the new Pirate figures (as the Vikings)and suitable opponents. Viking Run was reprinted with permission from the HMGS Mid South newsletter. Back to Table of Contents -- Courier #77 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com