Official Raiders of The North Sea Rules

Last Updated on February 26, 2026 by The Official Game Rules Team

Become a Viking raider in Raiders of the North Sea! Gather your crew, upgrade your longship, and raid settlements for glory and resources. Manage workers and supplies strategically. Embark on daring raids, balancing risk and reward. Complete quests and earn renown. Will you forge a legendary Viking legacy, or perish in the icy depths?

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How to Play Raiders of the North Sea

Setup:

Raiders of the Lost Sea is a 2 to 4 player game, making it perfect for small groups or family game nights. Players work together or compete to explore and discover treasures while navigating challenges and dangers along the way.

  • The board is the central hub, depicting the village and various raid locations.
  • Townsfolk cards, representing potential crew members, are shuffled and placed face down. Each player draws five, chooses three, and discards the rest.
  • Resources (food, wood, gold) and Valkyrie tokens are placed on the board as indicated.
  • Each player starts with a longship card (which can be upgraded), a small amount of starting resources, and their initial crew (the three Townsfolk cards they kept).

Gameplay – The Two-Action System:

The core of the game lies in its unique two-action system. On your turn, you must perform two actions, and these actions are linked:

  1. Place a Worker: You must first place one of your available workers (initially, just your starting crew) on an unoccupied action space in the village. This allows you to take the action associated with that space.
  2. Take a Worker: After placing a worker, you must then take a different worker from any location in the village (including one placed by another player) and perform the action associated with that space.

This two-action system creates a fascinating dynamic. You need to think carefully about the order of your actions, as placing a worker might open up beneficial actions for other players, or taking a worker might leave you unable to perform a crucial action later in your turn.

Actions – Village and Raiding:

  • Village Actions: The village is where you prepare for your raids. Actions here include:
    • Gathering Resources: Collect food, wood, and gold, which are essential for raiding and upgrading your longship.
    • Hiring Crew: Recruit new Townsfolk cards to your crew. Each Townsfolk has different abilities and strengths, which are crucial for successful raids.
    • Repairing/Upgrading Longship: Upgrade your longship to increase its capacity for carrying resources and crew, and sometimes to access higher-level raids.
    • Making Offerings: Offerings to the Valkyries can provide bonuses during raids.
    • Other Village Actions: There might be other actions available, depending on the specific board and expansions, such as trading resources or gaining influence.
  • Raiding: The heart of the game! To raid, you must have the required crew members and provisions (food) on your longship. Different raid locations (Harbors, Outposts, Monasteries, Fortresses) require different crew compositions and offer different rewards.
    • Preparing for a Raid: You declare which location you are raiding and assign the necessary crew from your longship.
    • Rolling Dice: You roll dice based on the strength of your crew and any other bonuses you might have.
    • Resolving the Raid: Compare your dice roll to the defense value of the raid location. If you meet or exceed the defense, you succeed and claim the rewards. If you fail, you might lose crew members or resources.

Winning the Game:

The game ends when a certain number of Fortresses have been raided, or when all the Offering tiles have been claimed. Players then calculate their final score, which is based on a combination of:

  • Victory points earned from raiding.
  • Completed quests.
  • Resources and other assets.

The player with the most victory points wins the game and is crowned the most legendary Viking raider!

Key Strategic Considerations:

  • Crew Composition: A balanced crew is essential. You’ll need warriors for combat, navigators for sailing, craftspeople for repairs, and other specialists depending on your strategy.
  • Resource Management: Carefully manage your resources. You need food for raids, wood for repairs, and gold for hiring crew and upgrades.
  • Timing: Knowing when to raid, when to focus on resource gathering, and when to upgrade your longship is crucial.
  • Adaptability: Be prepared to adapt your strategy based on the actions of other players and the availability of resources.

Raiders of the North Sea is a game that rewards strategic thinking, careful planning, and a bit of daring. It’s a game that offers a lot of depth and replay-ability.

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