Journey Into Darkness with Expedition: Northwest Passage
Follow the perilous journey through the icy waters in Expedition: Northwest Passage on the quest of a lifetime.
In this part of the world, spring is just around the corner! Winter is still holding on, though, so I decided to bid it farewell with a few plays of Expedition: Northwest Passage. This has always hovered in my top 5 solo games. Who can forget the year when I was on the hunt for a complete solo map?! I sailed back out to the treacherous ocean once again.
Game Overview
Game Name: Expedition: Northwest Passage
Publication Year: 2010
Designer: Yves Tourigny
Artist: Stéphane Poinsot and Yves Tourigny
Publisher: Matagot
Solo Mode: Official Solo Variant
Various tiles of ice and water come from a fancy tile draw bag, thereby sealing the fate of the map. A brave crew of 7 must be divided amongst ship and sled as the race to find the passage commences. Seasons change the open routes, but the most important thing is the return journey…
First Play
January 26, 2018
Complexity
3
Latest Play
December 21, 2024
Expansions
0
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
62
Play Time
25 Minutes
High Score
17
Game Area
26" x 24"
Low Score
-38
Farewell, Greenland
Home disappeared to the east in no time at all. The crew, so intertwined, soon split apart when the first icy slopes appeared out of the morning mist to welcome the sled.
The ship sailed south in the relatively warm waters of an arctic summer. She needed to avoid winter’s grasp before the seasons turned. And turn they would, in an instant.
Traveling over the ice was far from easy for the sled crew. Most importantly, they needed to avoid being stranded.
For there was no communication between the crews. No turning back. This was the most dangerous of quests.
Full Speed Ahead
As favorable weather took hold, the men and women made fast progress. The ship’s crew found itself far to the south and ahead of the chill of winter. It almost felt summery!
The sled’s crew made slower, deliberate progress. Not only did they need to look for the passage, but it was vital they discover a safe route home through the maze of islands.
Seasoned sailors felt confident. Even the newcomers felt the sense of adventure as the way forward was clear.
Cartographers kept a close eye on how to make the journey home. Death was a possibility, though not one to discuss.
Into New Territory
Rumors of previous ships disappearing amidst the ice were impossible to silence. As the cool but quiet weather began to shift, imperceptibly, fear crept with the chill.
Ghost stories turned some of the crew. Lookouts who were once reliable now reported shadows roaming the ice at night, or the silhouettes of lost ships in the darkness.
This was a noble cause, though. What had befallen Sir John Franklin? Theories numbered in the dozens.
The captain was firmly focused on finding the passage. It did no good to risk uncovering Franklin’s fate. Not now.
A Monotonous Season
Perhaps it was a good omen when the chill set in. Teeth chattered against it, rather than the fear that ate away at even the most stoic. Normalcy returned, at least briefly.
The ship risked a short journey north around the solid ice to quickly slip around and to the south for winter.
Meanwhile, the sled’s crew faced the cruelty of a harsh winter. This far north, the water was frozen. Snow fell in torrents, and it was a good day when feet weren’t numb.
By all accounts, the passage wasn’t far off. Yet the crew began to shift. Personal survival became a necessity.
Winter’s Grasp
The coldest days were upon the crew. In the north, the sled discovered a solid piece of ice that extended in many directions. This could help when the water thawed out.
Not that anyone wanted to admit the dangers of being stranded on an island with no way to locate the ship.
This was the first split journey for some. Many relied on the understanding that the ship and sled would find each other along the most logical path home. But would they?
Barely able to forge forward through the narrow straits, the ship’s crew struggled in the nearly frozen conditions.
On the Horizon
With a seemingly unending winter, morale sunk like so many ships must have in these dark waters. Franklin, too?
On the only clear day in months, lookouts on the ship reported something not far to the northwest. There it was! The long-lost passage was within reach. They had done it!
It was simply a matter of completing the final map route and racing home to Greenland. Spirits were high, indeed.
Only the sled’s crew had no idea of the success. They still toiled through stinging winds and iced beads of sweat. Their promising ice mass was already shrinking…
Triumphant Sailing
The weather improved with a burst of warmth, allowing the ship to confirm the open waters to the west. What a joyful moment of success! And so soon, too.
All that was left to do was sail back east through known waters and return to the safety of Greenland.
Yet the captain was faced with a choice. It was simple to go back the same way and guarantee a homecoming for the ship’s crew. However, the sled was somewhere out there.
They made the tough choice to turn back and ensure they could begin to track back home. But all were in the dark.
Uncertain News
As the sled turned back east, scouts spent time searching the water for any sign of the ship. She should be close.
But at the same time, the captain turned the ship north to uncharted waters. The sled would have been in this area by now. Where was the crew? Why were they missing?
The frightful rumors and ghost stories took hold again. There was something out there on the ice. Or it was lurking in the water, responsible for every missing ship.
Even with temperate air to melt the water, spirits sunk into cold despair. How would they return home now?
Into Hopelessness
There were no provisions to last another winter. The ship’s crew begged to sail south to outrun the changing seasons, forsaking the split crew with the sled.
Of course, the sled had few choices. With no sign of the ship and no direct path south, they desperately began a journey east to find some way to survive.
Doom and gloom took hold. The success of discovering the passage would never be shared with anyone else.
It was a strange time, for death was imminent… But it only lurked, waiting to strike at the darkest of moments.
One Final Farewell
Both crews drifted. The ship lazily swam east as the sled raced across the ice. Their fate was sealed and some even accepted the inevitability of it all with a smirk.
As winter began its approach and the freezing winds descended, the lookouts called out with more vigor than usual. The ship! The sled! Within sight and not far off!
It was an agonizing distance between them. So close, yet impossible. The water would turn to ice around the ship.
The ship and sled were never found. What befell them out in the cold darkness? A mystery. Or another ghost story.
A Strategic Breakdown and Challenge Idea
How I love this game and the stories it can tell! Apologies if that was a little dark, but it mirrors how I often feel when I fail. It’s hard to lose everyone out there. I like to think they sailed south and simply lived out their lives somewhere else… But that’s quite optimistic when looking at this logically. Once, I read The Terror prior to playing. Oh, my!
I made the silly choice to not backtrack with the ship. Most of that was me blinded by my desire to get as close to a complete map as possible. Foolish! The tiles were far from useful near the end, too, but I did this myself.
Something that came to me afterward was a simple but intriguing thought: What if the giant arrow leading to the Northwest Passage wasn’t always in the same place? So now I want to toy around with the idea of having the final few columns randomized to simulate minimal information about the uncharted territory. It may go well… And it may not!
Session Overview
Play Number: 47-50
Solo Mode: Official Solo Variant
Outcome: -6, -1, -15, and 7 (1 Win and 3 Losses)
In a nutshell, I still love this game! The standard way to play hasn’t always appealed to me, although I have so many different kinds of strategies I’ve tried out. This new idea for a randomized opening to the west is just another way to customize the game to make it more challenging! Maybe that’s a negative in how it requires some creativity to get the most out of it, yet I don’t have another game quite like it. This is a masterpiece that I love dearly!
%
60 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
10
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
10
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
8
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
9
+ Pros (Positives)
- For simply utilizing different combinations of water and ice, the tiles create a very unique map with each play.
- Many strategies toward victory exist and can develop over time as small nuances appear with experience.
- Nearly everything fits on the main board and smaller player board, thereby keeping the play area quite compact.
- The solar disc simulates the seasons well by indicating what areas of water are frozen or thawed at any time.
- Gameplay can be interestingly challenging as the race to return all the crew to Greenland looms overhead.
- There are countless ways to customize the experience and enjoy the map-making mechanics from start to end.
– Cons (Negatives)
- The flat board makes it easy to dislodge the tiles and temporarily ruin the map with an errant swipe or move.
- Although it doesn’t happen often, it’s easy to run out of single tiles and revert to using a compass symbol tile.
- Placing the tokens out on the tiles can be very tedious, and it’s much easier to simply mark claimed spaces.
- Even though the solo variant is official, its lack of inclusion in the box makes this an easy-to-miss solo game.
Victory Conditions
Find the Passage and Return
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Complete the map in at least 1 game.
Use only the ship to explore and win in at least 1 game.
Continue the Conversation
What are your thoughts about Expedition: Northwest Passage? Do you have any preferred strategies? I love how simple it is to come up with custom ways to play! This is certainly an older title and hard to find at the moment, yet I’m so glad I picked it up a few years ago. This continues to maintain a spot near the top of my collection for so many reasons!
I’ve never played this, though I’d like to give it a try some time and it’s clearly popular with the 1PG.
It’s a fascinating story, too…
I hope you get a chance to play someday. Prices for the game right now are outrageous, although it looks like a new edition is in the works. Might take a long time, but I’m hopeful that this will be available again!
Glad you enjoyed the story, either the narrative here or the real historical details behind the game. The short paragraph at the start of the rules always ropes me in, even if I have it basically memorized!