The Many Little Lambs of the Vikings in A Feast for Odin
Experience the thrill of choosing between multiple strategies and paths to victory with A Feast for Odin.
Many solo board games offer a handful of different ways to earn victory points. A Feast for Odin might contain the largest selection I’ve ever come across! The fun is in figuring out how best to reach a personal best score or at least some sort of threshold. Join me for another recap of a session in which I tried out more strategies and action spaces!
Game Overview
Game Name: A Feast for Odin
Publication Year: 2016
Designer: Uwe Rosenberg
Artist: Dennis Lohausen
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Generally speaking, the goal is to maximize the number of possible victory points. Covering up negative spaces is integral to success, though it’s not the only activity.
I decided to go with a varied strategy this time. Gather the boats! Breed the livestock! It was a little unorganized…
First Play
April 5, 2020
Complexity
4
Latest Play
July 19, 2020
Expansions
0
Setup Time
10 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
8
Play Time
1 Hour
High Score
113
Game Area
44" x 28"
Low Score
45
The Secret to Managing the Mountain Tiles
One of the only major complaints I’ve had so far involves the resources placed on the mountain tiles. The process can be downright tedious. During play, this completely disrupts my thought process as I remove resources and flip a new tile near the end of each round. Not exactly the best way to stay focused on the task at hand!
I moved onto filling all of the mountain tiles during setup. The first player moose had the honor of marking which tiles were available to me during each round. This helped, but still took a lot of time during setup.
The above photo just barely shows my best method yet. I gathered 8 unused Vikings. Each one begins just to the left of the mountain tile he or she is assigned to. Then, I simply move each one. All of the resources to the right are available to me. The moose is still there as a useful tracker, too! When the Viking is on the coin space, that mountain tile is empty.
I’ll share a better photo eventually, yet this worked out nicely. It also seemed thematic, as I could picture each Viking slowly working through the forest to reach the other resources. The time saved was even more valuable!
Baffled by Baffin
I thought I was doing pretty well with a focus on different livestock. An occupation card even yielded plenty of benefits, including an extra animal breeding phase!
Yet I stretched myself too thin. I went for Baffin Island in order to get a combination of extra income and goods.
In retrospect, I should have considered what I was trying to accomplish. My home board was woefully filled with negative victory points. Too much diversity isn’t so good.
The islands are very interesting. I know I’m not using them in the best ways, and there is more learning ahead!
Cuteness Overload
With so many sheep in the barn, there were bound to be lambs about. The Calico Critters decided to make that even more obvious. Such cuteness! I love their tabletop visits.
This photo also allowed me to enjoy more of the tiny board details. Look closely at the bottom. A fisherman! I never noticed him before, nor the grazing sheep.
On a very unrelated note, I enjoy sharing these tiny animal figures as much as I can. They’re just a nice way to smile.
I hope everyone likes them, too! My collection is rather enormous, and I still have an entire village to construct…
Trial by Error
The main source of improved scores in solo games comes from learning what works. From my experience, that often comes down to finding the main branch that makes sense to me. Then, subsequent plays incorporate smaller elements to find other ways to continuously improve. Yet there is usually a general focus that doesn’t change drastically.
With A Feast for Odin, that idea is completely thrown out the window! Sure, I could record my action activations and find the most optimal sequence to maximize my score. However, that’s not what the game is about. It rewards experimentation and exploration. Unrelated actions might chain together nicely, but only when the risk is taken.
There are some general lessons I’ve picked up along the way, but the number of choices is staggering! With that in mind, mistakes open up opportunities to do better in the future. And after this play, that held doubly true…
Session Overview
Play Number: 6
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Deck A
Required Play Space: 44″ x 28″
Setup Time: 10 Minutes
Play Time: 1 Hour
Outcome: 49 Points (Loss)
There goes my progress! My previous best of 113 points seemed impossible with this showing. However, it’s not like I didn’t learn things along the way. There is an action space I’ve never used that I need to start looking into!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
7
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
6
Victory Conditions
Score 80+ Points
- Overall Goal Progress 67%
Goals and Milestones
Score at least 50 points.
Score at least 100 points.
Score at least 120 points.
Continue the Conversation
What have you learned from playing A Feast for Odin? Are there unexpected paths that have worked out nicely for you? I was a little frustrated with my final score because I thought I was improving. However, it’s more about figuring out the actions that synergize. I’m paying more attention to the occupation cards. Next time, my Vikings will do better!
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