Official Champions of Midgard Rules

Last Updated on April 17, 2025 by The Official Game Rules Team

Champions of Midgard is a Viking-themed worker placement and dice combat game where players take on the role of clan leaders defending a coastal town from mythological threats. Over eight rounds, you’ll gather resources, recruit warriors, and set sail to battle creatures like trolls, draugr, and sea monsters in a quest for Glory.

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How to Play Champions of Midgard

Objective

In Champions of Midgard, your goal is to earn the highest amount of Glory over the course of 8 rounds.

You’ll gain Glory by defeating various enemies, while losing it if the town is left undefended. Refer to the Final Scoring section for complete details on how to tally your Glory.

Game Components

1 Main Game Board
5 Viking Leader Boards
20 Market Stall Tiles
20 Worker Meeples
1 Round Marker
1 First Player Token
1 Small Public Longship
1 Large Public Longship
4 Private Longships
8 Player Markers (in different colors)
8 Merchant Ship Cards
10 Rune Cards
18 Journey Cards
36 Monster Cards
12 Destiny Cards
16 Troll Cards
21 Draugr Cards
20 Wood Cubes
30 Food Cubes
60 Coins
34 Viking Warrior Dice
3 Damage Tokens
54 Favor Tokens
20 Blame Tokens

Setup

Place the game board at the center of the table.
Set the Round Marker on the space marked “Round 1”.
Shuffle the Market Stall Tiles and add face-up tiles based on player count:
- 2 players: 1 Military, 1 Economic
- 3 players: 1 Military, 2 Economic
- 4 players: 2 Military, 2 Economic
  Return unused tiles to the box.
Place the Public Longships on their board spaces. Keep the Private Longships nearby. If playing with fewer than 3 or 4 players, return the matching Private Longships to the box.
Shuffle and place the various decks on their designated board areas: Rune, Destiny, Merchant Ship, Troll, Draugr, Journey, and Monster cards.
Organize resources like Food, Wood, Warrior Dice (Swordsmen, Spearmen, Axemen), Coins, Favor, and Blame tokens near the board within easy reach.
Determine the First Player—the last person to win a battle (or choose randomly). Give them the First Player Token.
Each player selects a Viking Leader Board, starting with the player to the right of the First Player and going counter-clockwise.
Distribute starting items to each player:
- 1 Food
- 1 Wood
- 1 Coin
- 1 Favor Token
- 1 Swordsman Die
- 3 Worker Meeples (4 in a two-player game)
- 1 meeple placed in the general supply (earnable later)
- 2 Player Markers: one goes on the score track, one on your Leader Board
- 1 Destiny Card (randomly drawn)

Market Stall Cards

Market Stall cards are special action spaces available during the Market Phase. Players may place one of their workers on a Market Stall to activate its unique effect. These effects vary between Economic Market Stalls and Military Market Stalls, offering different resources, warriors, or benefits to help shape your strategy.

Economic Market Stall Tiles

Aumingi
Return 1 Food to the supply and collect 1 Favor. You may repeat this action up to 3 times with a single activation.
Generous Merchant
Collect 1 Food and 1 Wood from the supply.
Skald
Score 2 Glory.
Wealthy Stranger
Collect 2 Coins from the supply.

Military Market Stall Tiles

Folk Warriors
Return 1 Food to the supply and collect 2 Viking Swordsmen Dice.
Raiders
Return 1 Wood to the supply and collect 2 Viking Spearmen Dice.
Jomsvikings
Return 2 Coins to the supply and collect 1 Viking Swordsman Die and 1 Viking Axeman Die.
Varyags
Return 1 Coin to the supply and collect 1 Viking Swordsman Die and 1 Viking Spearman Die.

Market Stall effects are resolved immediately and can only be used once per round per player. Once a player places a worker on a Market Stall, it is no longer available to others that round.

Midgard Locations

Midgard Locations are the action spaces on the main game board where players send their workers during the Worker Placement Phase. Each location offers different benefits, resources, warriors, or combat opportunities. Some locations are competitive, while others can accommodate multiple players.

Combat & Dice Recruitment Locations

Blacksmith
Collect all the Viking Axemen Dice present at this location and place them in your personal supply.
Hafter
Collect all the Viking Spearmen Dice present at this location and place them in your personal supply.
Swordsmith
Collect all the Viking Swordsmen Dice present at this location and place them in your personal supply.
Troll Card Space
During the Assign Viking Warriors Phase, commit Viking Warriors to fight the Troll.
Draugr Card Spaces 1 & 2
During the Assign Viking Warriors Phase, commit Viking Warriors to fight the Draugr.
Hunting Grounds
Send Viking Warriors hunting for Food during the Combat Resolution Phase.
(This location has no player limit. Favor tokens may be used to reroll dice here.)

Resource & Strategic Planning Locations

Jarl’s Longhouse
Collect 1 Viking Swordsman from the supply and take the First Player Marker from whoever currently holds it.
(If you already have it, pass it to the player on your left.)
Sage’s House
Look at 1 face-down Journey Card and then draw 1 Destiny Card.
(Destiny Cards provide end-game scoring opportunities and are kept secret.)
Smokehouse
Collect all the Food present at this location and place it in your personal supply.
Market
Trade Food, Wood, and/or Coins to the supply in exchange for other basic resources at a 1:1 ratio. Any number of trades may be made.
Merchant Ship
Pay 1 Coin to the supply and collect the resources (Food, Wood, or Viking Warriors) shown on the current Merchant Ship Card.
Stave Church
Pay X Coins to the supply to collect Favor:
- 1 Coin = 1 Favor
- 3 Coins = 2 Favor
- 6 Coins = 3 Favor
- 10 Coins = 4 Favor
  (Maximum of 4 Favor per activation.)
Runesmith
Pay 1 Wood to the supply and take 1 Rune Card (face-up or random).
(Rune Cards offer powerful single-use abilities and end-game Glory.)

Ship & Worker Expansion Locations

Small Public Longship
Place this longship in the harbor adjacent to a Distant Shores location.
During Assign Viking Warriors, load it with any combination of Viking Warriors and Food (max capacity: 5).
Large Public Longship
Pay 1 Coin to the supply, then place the longship in a harbor.
During Assign Viking Warriors, load it with any combination of Viking Warriors and Food (max capacity: 10).
Shipwright
Select a Private Longship and pay the indicated cost. Place it next to your Leader Board.
(Use it in future rounds just like public longships. Each player may only own 1.)
Worker Huts
Pay 5, 4, 3, or 2 Coins to gain your extra worker for the rest of the game.
(The cost decreases with each additional player who uses this space.)

Fallback Option

Begging
If unable or unwilling to use a board location, lie a worker down on your player board.
Gain 1 Food and 1 Blame.

Game Overview

Over 8 rounds, players send their workers into the town to gather resources, recruit warriors, and prepare for battles beyond the walls.

Enemies come in many forms:

Trolls, who threaten the town directly
Draugr, haunting the surrounding countryside
Monsters, waiting across the sea on distant shores

Most locations on the board can only hold one worker per round, so timing your placements is critical.

After 8 rounds, the player with the most Glory becomes the Jarl of Midgard!

Round Structure

Each round follows a set sequence, indicated in the top-right corner of the game board:

Round Setup

Prepare the board at the beginning of each round:

Reveal the top Troll Card and place it in the Troll space.
Reveal 2 Draugr Cards and place them in their respective slots.
Place a Journey Card face-down on each empty journey space.
Place a Rune Card face-up next to the Runesmith space.
Reveal 1 Monster Card per empty Monster space.

Note: The furthest right Journey and Monster spaces are only used with 4 players.

Flip over the top Merchant Ship Card, stacking it on any previous one.
Add 1 Viking Warrior die to each of the Swordsmith, Hafter, and Blacksmith locations, and 1 Food to the Smokehouse.

Worker Placement

Starting with the First Player and going clockwise, players take turns placing one worker at a time. After placing, they immediately resolve the space’s effect unless it’s a combat space.

Location colors indicate function:

Brown: Effects are resolved immediately.
Blue: Immediate effects and refreshed each round.
Red: Reserved for combat. Effects resolved later.

Longships are both Brown and Red: boarding them happens immediately, but battles occur during the combat phase.

Worker placement continues until all players are out of workers.

Assigning Viking Warriors

Players now assign their Viking Warrior dice to any Combat Locations where they placed a worker.

Troll and Draugr: Place dice directly on the cards.
Longships: Assign both Warrior Dice and Food. Don’t exceed ship capacity!

Some enemies restrict certain unit types (no swords/axes/spears). Those dice cannot be assigned and will be discarded if they are.

If a player sends no dice to a combat space, they simply forfeit the opportunity to battle that enemy.

Players may request combat assignment occur in turn order.

Resolving Combat

Combat is resolved in this order:

Hunting Grounds
Roll unassigned dice. For every hit, gain 1 Food (up to 6 max).
Troll Fight
Players who fought the Troll resolve combat.
- If the Troll survives: all players gain 1 Blame.
- If the Troll is defeated: the victor removes 1 Blame and assigns 1 Blame to another player.
Draugr Battles
Resolve left to right. Players fight if they placed workers.
Monster Battles (via Longships)
For each ship:
- Flip and resolve the Journey Card
- Feed Warriors based on distance (1 Food feeds 2 or 1, depending on location).
- Resolve combat against the Monster

Combat Basics

Combat is turn-based between the player and enemy:

Roll all assigned dice to attack.
(Optional) Spend Favor to reroll any dice.
Apply damage to the enemy (each weapon icon = 1 hit).
Enemy attacks back. Discard Viking Dice equal to its attack value, minus 1 per shield rolled.
Repeat until:
- The enemy is defeated (collect reward and Glory), or
- All Viking Dice are defeated (combat lost, no reward).

Round Clean-Up

Retrieve all workers and return Longships.
If the Troll survived, give all players 1 Blame and discard the Troll Card.
Discard any remaining Draugr and Journey Cards.
Add 1 Coin to each undefeated Monster card.
If Round 8 just ended, begin final scoring. Otherwise, advance the Round Marker.

End of the Game

After Round 8, calculate final Glory. Start with the player furthest behind on the Glory Track.

Score as follows:

Destiny Cards: Fulfilled = full bonus; tied = partial bonus.
Enemy Sets: Score 5 Glory per full set (1 enemy of each color, not including Trolls).
Runes: Each Rune card is worth Glory as printed.
Private Longships: Score based on ship type.
Favor Tokens: Each is worth 2 Glory.
Coins: Every 3 Coins = 1 Glory.
Blame Tokens: Lose Glory based on quantity.

The player with the most Glory becomes the Jarl of Midgard! In case of a tie, the player who defeated the most enemies wins. If still tied, share the victory.

With a blend of strategic worker placement and dice-driven combat, Champions of Midgard offers a satisfying balance of planning and luck. Whether you’re defending the town or braving distant seas, every choice shapes your path to victory. Prove your worth, earn the most Glory, and become the next Jarl of Midgard!