Skoventyr: The Tale of a Badger and a Clever Solo Game
Enter a world of Danish folklore where Vogter must outwit Garmle Erik and his minions in the clever puzzle of Skoventyr.
In another happy coincidence, I discovered a copy of Skoventyr for sale! The idea intrigued me, yet as I was about to learn, I was completely off in my pronunciation. Thank goodness the rulebook includes a guide! All of the components and artwork looked lovely and whimsical, which added to my excitement as I took on the role of Vogter, the badger…
Game Overview
Game Name: Skoventyr
Publication Year: 2023
Designer: Morten Monrad Pedersen
Artist: Vincent Dutrait
Publisher: inPatience
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
With the help of various allies, Vogter must stay hidden as he outwits the gigantic Garmle Erik to defeat minions. It’s a race to set up the right allies at the right moments, as the enemy is always close by. Careful planning and a dash of luck are the main ingredients to success in this tale!
First Play
November 24, 2023
Complexity
2
Latest Play
July 25, 2024
Expansions
0
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
6
Play Time
10 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
32" x 22"
Low Score
N/A
Whimsical Artwork
First, please excuse the cardboard dust that still persisted. If there is a Danish folktale about what brings all this dust, I need to know! This came from another game, though.
I always love this artist’s work, and he did another amazing job here. The allies are repeated in the deck, yet I simply love these pieces. Excellent font choice, too!
The main deck is mostly made up of allies, yet Garmle Erik has his own cards that let him move closer to Vogter.
Figuring out how to use these ally abilities at the right times is the key element, adding in plenty of choices!
Staying One Step Ahead
Defeat occurs immediately when Garmle Erik enters the same space as Vogter, so it’s very much about making sure to maintain the right position around the forest.
However, don’t think this is a silly game of walking in circles! The distance simply indicates how well-hidden Vogter is. In other words, how much danger he is in.
The difficulty level is mostly tied to how many trees are in play. Standard uses 6… I gave myself a chance with 8. Ha!
This is a delightful main play area that only shrinks as play progresses, as some trees will wither and die.
From Gambit to Wrath
Vogter has a number of actions to utilize. In a clever way, these cards aren’t actually played, but act as reminders of what may be done. No limitations on the order!
Essentially, the idea is to keep Vogter hidden while finding allies and placing them in the forest to defeat minions.
At a glance, the mechanics likely sound pretty simple, and I had no trouble learning the rules! Definitely a positive experience before I started playing as this badger.
Yet there is a lot to consider, and even with a short play time, this isn’t a puzzle that’s going to be the same.
Hunted Down
Oh, dear! Even at the easiest possible difficulty level with every tree in play, I couldn’t quite make it all work. Garmle Erik found Vogter and looked pretty evil, indeed.
During my first few plays, I could see what I did wrong. And as I mentioned, this isn’t a game where it’s all about finding the optimal sequence, then rinsing and repeating.
Allies come and go randomly, and their unique abilities may mean they’re more useful not fighting the minions.
I didn’t even take a close look at the pair of expansion modules included with the base game… Plenty of content!
Getting Inspired to Learn More from a Game
A very random part of my school days that I have fond memories of was anything related to mythology, folklore, or tales passed down through the ages. I don’t think anything extended beyond Greek and Celtic origins, although I might simply not remember everything… This happened so long ago, it was probably in another historical age. Ha ha!
While I read the opening details about Danish folklore, I was immediately interested. Not every solo game needs to have a strong theme, and even something like this isn’t going to resonate with everyone. Now, I’m looking for some good folklore books not only for Nordic tales, but anything else to reignite those memories of mine. Such a lovely feeling!
I’ve often done much less reading than I wanted to, and many other games have offered up a similar sort of inspiration into researching some more. With this, I’m hoping I can get myself moving in the direction of exploring and learning more. This is often the case with historical wargames, yet here’s a prime example of something very unique!
The Tale of the Tricycle
I loved learning a little bit about Danish folklore from the information in the rulebook, and I suppose I was inspired to celebrate my first victory over Garmle Erik with a tale!
Alright. That tale basically boiled down to driving a popcorn tricycle through the forest, setting Vogter up as the driver, and causing a scene that appalled a Trold.
Ha! Best way I could think of having a little laugh here, but the main takeaway was that I managed a clever win.
With so much personality, it was hard not to want to continue playing at a higher difficulty level. Drive on!
Vogter’s Pride
This little wooden badger was such a great component! I loved moving Vogter through the forest and making sure he stayed safe as the minions were defeated.
It was also interesting to see the various strategies. At times, I had to focus on the lower-value minions and hope that things would pan out later on for the powerful ones.
On the back of the rulebook, a reference for all of the allies helped me understand when I might want to use them.
All in all, I was surprised by the fun factor that flew by with each play. Vogter has to be the best character ever!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1-4
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Very Easy & Easy Difficulty Levels
Outcome: 1 Win & 3 Losses
Tricky, tricky! This is a very challenging game where the minions might seem easy enough, but many elements are at play to make them more dangerous. Such wonderful artwork! I also loved getting into the theme, which wasn’t necessarily the strongest, yet I always felt like it was a pretty important element. Definitely need to keep working on my skills to keep Vogter safe from Garmle Erik!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
10
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
10
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
4
+ Pros (Positives)
- The artwork is charming and brings out the theme in an excellent way with very expressive characters.
- Adjusting the difficulty level is done during setup with the number of trees, and the rules offer recommendations.
- Keeping Vogter ahead of Garmle Erik is a tricky puzzle that’s presented in a visual way with the circle of trees.
- Decisions aren’t overly complex, yet also depend on the situation with various elements at different times.
- Choosing allies is a fun process of weighing the costs and planning how to use each card with the command action.
- Additional expansion modules are included to offer even more gameplay decisions, ensuring plenty of content.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Some degree of luck is needed to collect a set of allies from the deck, particularly to defeat the powerful minions.
- The iconography becomes pretty intuitive after a few plays, but the details on the back of the rulebook are needed.
- Multiple instances of Garmle Erik cards can spell disaster with no way to mitigate this worst case scenario.
- There are only a handful of unique allies, which makes sense, yet can feel a bit limited when things aren’t working.
Victory Conditions
Defeat All of the Minions
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 game at the very easy difficulty level.
Win at least 1 game at the easy difficulty level.
Continue the Conversation
Do you enjoy the gameplay of Skoventyr? Are there any other solo games that focus on folklore or anything similar? I’ll admit that I figured this one might feel a bit light, yet it’s a very solid puzzle with a theme that makes it stand out. There are more difficulty levels to try out, along with some intriguing expansions. I’ll badger myself to play again! Ha!
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