Knarr

• Designer: Thomas Dupont
• Publisher: Bombyx and Pandasaurus
• Players: 2-4
• Age: 8+
• Time: 30 minutes
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

In Knarr, you are the leader of a band of Vikings that you send to new destinations. Manage the recruitment of your crew, and choose the best territories to explore. Depending on the destinations reached (for trading or influence) and the Vikings who accompany you, you can increase your reputation to gain even more wealth. Each turn, you:

• Place a new member in your Viking crew, activate the effects of all of them with the same icon, and get another one from those available under the matching color on the central board, or

• Explore new destinations, with the opportunity to trade with those places and get more gains or reputation.

The main board is placed on the table. There is a score track around the the board, and there are column headers in the five card colors at the bottom.  In the middle is a zigzag track for reputation.  The two different land decks are shuffled, and each has a three card display placed above the board.  The viking deck is shuffled and five cards are revealed and placed under the five headers at the bottom board (the color of the card does not have to match the color of the header).  Each player also gets their own player board which has three semicircular notches on each side (filled at the start with one recruit on the left and one bracelet on the right).  Each player also starts with two different colored cards face up on the table in their crew zone.  Set up is completed as each player is dealt a hand of three cards.

On a turn, the active player first scores points in the Reputation phase – they move their score marker forward a number of spaces equal to the highest value they have reached on the Reputation track.  Then, the player chooses to either Recruit or Explore.

To recruit, the player chooses a card from their hand and places it in their Crew Area.  Eventually, this area will have five columns, each comprised of cards of a single color.  Lay the cards so that you only see the top banner.  After placing the new card, take the assets shows at the top of every card in that column where you just played.  The assets can be taken in any order.  Then, take the card which is under the matching color banner as the card you just played; this card goes into your hand.  Finally, reveal a new Viking card from the deck and place it in the empty space under the board.

Possible Assets that can be gained include: Victory points, Recruit tokens (max 3), Silver Bracelets (max 3), Reputation points or a free Viking card from the top of the deck.

To explore, choose one of the destination cards found above the board and pay its cost, found in the upper left corner.  You will discard Viking cards matching the cost and then move the purchased destination card above your player board.  The three columns on the card will line up with the three icons preprinted on the player board.  Immediately take the assets shown in the upper right of the destination card. 

During your turn – either before or after taking your action – you can also choose to freely Trade once – you discard 1, 2 or 3 bracelets and then take all the assets shows in the first/first and second/all 3 columns printed on your board and found on all the destination cards above it.  Trading does not count as your action.

The end game is triggered when a player has 40 points.  At that point, the current round is finished so that all players have the same number of turns.  The player with the most points wins.  Ties broken in favor of the most recruits and silver bracelets remaining.

My thoughts on the game

Knarr is a fun set collection game with an interesting challenge of trying to decide between keeping your Viking cards (to allow for better payoffs for playing cards of that color) versus spending them to explore new lands.  There is a little bit of engine building going on, but the game forces you to sell off bits of that engine for reward.  As you are limited to only 3 recruit tokens and 3 bracelet tokens; there definitely comes a point where it is worthwhile to discard those Viking cards for a destination.

The rules are remarkably simple; you can teach the game in a few minutes – and I’ve found by simply showing a few examples of how the game is played effectively communicates the rules in a short amount of time.  Each turn can be rapidly played and this quick pace is pleasing to me.  

There are multiple different strategies that can be employed; but none can really be determined at the start of the game – you must see what cards become available to you and then play accordingly.  I have seen people blow me away with a lot of early advances on the reputation track, leading to 3 points and then eventually 5 points at the start of each turn!  I have also seen a player cultivate two stacks of cards which awarded Victory Points and then pounded those colors to score points every turn.  

For me this is a great super-filler; it can come out, be played and then put away – all within about 20 minutes.  I feel like this game itches the same scratch as Splendor. Do I need both in the collection?  Not sure – for now they both remain, but I suspect that one or the other will kick the other out.  FWIW, Knarr comes in a much smaller box, and for me, that might be the one thing that tips the scales in its favor.

Ratings from the Opinionated Gamers

• I love it!
• I like it. Dale Y, Steph, Mark J, Ryan P, Alan H, Tery N
• Neutral. Jonate, Simon N
• Not for me…