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~ The Raid is Over ~ Piled high on a massive oak table are the best treasures pillaged during the raid; gleaming gems, shiny swords, fine armor, and magical artifacts! Once strong allies, the Vikings are taken by greed, and soon a heated debate ensues – who will get what spoils?
Step 1: Treasure Setup The first action in a round of Spoils of War is for the current Viking Chief to spread out the treasures that are available to claim this round. All normal treasures are turned face-up so the Vikings can admire how they shimmer in the firelight, but Artifacts are placed face-down, so their magical properties are hidden until revealed by a Viking later in the game. Steps 2 & 3: Roll Dice & Bidding After the Vikings have a chance to admire the prizes before them, it is time to roll dice! All Vikings shake the dice in their cup, and then slam their cups down upon the table! Each Viking must be careful not to let opponents see their dice. Only mild heckling is typically encouraged (at this point in the game) if a Viking is unable to contain the dice beneath their cup. After rolling, the Vikings test their wits by bluffing and attempting to determine how The Viking Chief chooses which Viking must make the first bid, who then makes the bid by announcing a quantity of dice and a value of dice that they believe are in play. For example, a bid of “FIVE 4’s” could be announced. The Viking to the left of the first bidder now must either make a higher bid, or challenge. Examples of acceptable follow-up bids would be “FIVE 5’s” or “SIX 2’s”. Vikings continue making higher bids until there is a challenge. When a challenge is made, the Viking being challenged becomes the Declarer, and the Viking who made the challenge becomes the Challenger. Steps 4 & 5: Place & Reveal Bets Once a challenge has been made it’s time to put your money where your mouth is! Every Viking must secretly, and simultaneously, place a bet of at least five gold. While each Viking is placing their gold bet, they also secretly place their betting disk in front of them with the side they think is correct facing upwards — blue for the Declarer, or red for the Challenger. Of course, the Declarer and the Challenger are already locked in: they must bet on their own side! The Vikings then simultaneously reveal their bets, showing which side they’re on by lifting their hands off their betting disks. This can be a terrible surprise for some Vikings when they find out most of the other Vikings are betting against them! Steps 6 & 7: Reveal Dice & Divide the Spoils! Now it’s the moment of truth: which Viking is correct? The Declarer… or the Challenger? Starting with the Declarer, and going clockwise around the table, each Viking lifts their dice cup to show their dice for all to see. All dice are then compared to the Declarer’s bid:
After the victorious side has been determined, the Viking on the winning side who bet the most gold becomes the new Viking Chief for the next round. Then each Viking on the winning side gets to take treasure! The (new) Viking Chief picks first, and can take three treasures. After the Viking Chief has chosen, the next highest betting Viking takes two treasures, and so on until all the victorious Vikings have selected two treasure cards.
Spoils of War is an exciting dice game of bidding, bluffing, and betting that is sure to keep all players engaged from the beginning of the first round until all the treasures have been won! At the end of nine rounds, once all the Treasures have been claimed, each Viking tallies up their totals:
...and the Viking with the highest total value wins the Spoils of War! |
It’s fortunate that the Viking Chiefs of old, Bryan Pope and Jason Medina, devised a game of chance and skill to decide who’s worthy to claim the best treasures. Spoils of War is a fast-paced game of bidding and wagering for 3-5 players that expands upon itself, so two sets can play up to 10 players! Over the course of nine rounds, players roll their dice, and then cleverly bluff and bet to outwit their fellow Vikings. The winners of each round get to claim fantastic treasures to add to their collection!
many dice of each value are in play – including the dice hidden by the other Vikings! Spoils of War uses a “common hand” dice mechanic, similar to games like Liar’s Dice, Dudo, and Bluff. Each player has a set of dice, all players roll simultaneously, and then bid in turn order. The bid a Viking makes accounts for the dice that can be seen beneath their own cup, as well as the dice they cannot see that are under their opponents’ cups.
