Norseman
Viking Kingdom's of the North Sea
900-1050 A.D.

Game Review

reviewed by Dale I. Kemper


Designed by S. Newberg
Simulations Canada PO. Box 452, Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Canada, B4V 2
Released: June, 1985
Price. $20.00
Complexity: Experienced
Solitaire Suitability: None
**

Norseman is a multi-player game centering around the developing Viking kingdoms of the 10th and 11th centuries. I really looked forward to playing this game. It looked like it could do for the Vikings what The Avalon Hill Game Company's Kingmaker did for the War of the Roses and Simulations Publications Inc.'s Russian Civil War did for the Bolsheviks. Sadly, this is not the case.

Norseman comes with a simple map board depicting the North Sea area and surrounding countries, quality die-cut counters showing the various Jarls (leaders) and their Jarldoms (territories) and the values each have (Military, Trade, Independence, and Courage for leaders; and Wealth, Population, and Growth potential for Jarldoms), and a six-page rule book that also doubles as the game box art work. The rule book is at the center of the problems with this game. Printed in full pages of small type it does not lend itself to easy reading. The eye strain combined with the overall poor organization and writing quality make it quite a chore to figure out how to play I knew I was in trouble when I discovered that the section on game set-up was actually the last section in the rules. Typos are also a problem. in all it was an exasperating session of rule reading and even more so since understanding what the designer was saying kept five gamers (all with over 15 years gaming experience each) confused for the better part of an evening.

The game is played over 15 game turns, each representing 10 years of time. Movement is split up into trading, incursion, and raiding. As the designer states in his notes, "Though all three aspects were vital to representing this period, only raiding was exciting."

That is another big problem with this game. Although undoubtedly a well-researched and historically accurate simulation, as an enjoyable game it leaves much to be desired. It would have helped to have had some fun things to do after wading through the rules. As it is, the majority of a player's turn is spent with tedious activities and bookkeeping.

Norseman seems to be a wellbalanced game once you get through the initial problems. Quite a bit of diplomacy and negotiation with the other players is necessary to successfully turn your various Jarldoms into one, cohesive kingdom. The rules state that anywhere from two to 76 (with most players playing tiny independent Jarldoms, easily absorbed by the larger kingdoms) can play this game but four to seven seem to be the best number of players. With seven people in the game all the fledgling kingdoms can be used (England, Denmark, Norway, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales) and one person can then take all the neutral territories, becoming a sort of "wild card" in the game.

Norseman has a number of innovative ideas about handling certain situations. Some of these are ponderous to figure out and play. It would seem that better, simpler ways could have been thought out to represent certain things. For instance, Jarldom control counters are placed on the map to show which player controls which area. These counters are colored in shades of gray, blue, and pink (with another set orange).

The shades of these colors are sometimes difficult to tell apart. Also, some of the territories listed on the map are so small that only a stack of counters will fit in them, making some of the information that they are suppose to identify difficult to see.. Both these problems could have been solved by the use of some Jarldom control and information sheets that could have been included in the rule book. These could then be copied by players for their use in the game.

As an authentic historical representation of the period, I think the designer has done a good job. Unfortunately, this has been concentrated on rather than the ease of play of the game. Sadly, Norseman is more trouble than it is worth.

For those of you who are interested in European history from 900 to 1050 A.D., perhaps this game is for you. I'm afraid the rest of us will have to stick to Kingmaker.

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© Copyright 1986 by Dana Lombardy.
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