Oh, expansions. What a strange corner of the gaming world. Are you a die-hard gotta catch ‘em all fan or a base-game-only minimalist? Do you shiver with excitement as you unpack the latest add-on or tremble in worry that it won’t hold up to the unadulterated joy of the original?
You see, the trouble with navigating the world of expansions is that they usually come in one of two flavours (and those flavours aren’t always clear).
Oh, expansions. What a strange corner of the gaming world. Are you a die-hard gotta catch ‘em all fan or a base-game-only minimalist? Do you shiver with excitement as you unpack the latest add-on or tremble in worry that it won’t hold up to the unadulterated joy of the original?
You see, the trouble with navigating the world of expansions is that they usually come in one of two flavours (and those flavours aren’t always clear).
Flavour number one. Let’s call it the triple chocolate chip flavour. Sure, you like double chocolate chip. Let’s just add more! More characters. More settings. More things to shoot and be shot by. More chocolate!!!
And that’s great, if you like that sort of thing. Who doesn’t want more ways to play the games they love?
But games cost money and if you don’t have the real estate or the budget, shelling out for that expansion just so you can get two new characters can feel a hard sell. You start asking yourself, does triple chocolate really taste better than double chocolate?
Which brings us to flavour number two. Mint chocolate. Woah, you’ve added a whole new thing, a fresh new spin, a completely new mechanic to the game. This isn’t just more of the same. It’s different, it’s unique, it solves some of the issues of the original game. It’s mint!
PSA: In turns of IRL cookie flavour, I actually prefer double chocolate chip. But this isn’t about cookies, damn it! This is the serious world of board gaming. And when it comes to expansions, mint chocolate chip is the way to go.
And let me tell you, Valhalla is mint chocolate chip ALL THE WAY!
What is Valhalla?
Champions of Midgard: Valhalla is the second expansion to be released by Grey Fox Games for the Champions of Midgard series and it is an important expansion for one very key reason. One very mint chocolate chip reason (am I flogging this metaphor too much?)
Valhalla adds a new mechanism to the game. Not a new area you tack on that gives more of the same. No, this is a new mechanism. Because you can’t just send your soldiers to Valhalla. No no. You have to die first before you can go there. Now, if you travel to the wonderful world of the BoardGameGeek forum then you will find that one of the biggest critiques of the base game Champions of Midgard was that the strategy of your worker placement game can sometimes (not often) be undone by really
unlucky rolls in combat. Rolls that can be so bad sometimes that they pretty much deny you from taking the game.
Personally, this never happened to me. But I can see how it could and I have to respect it as a reason to be put off. Imagine you’re new to board games and you find yourself losing just because of a series of unlucky rolls. That would suck. Especially considering Champions of Midgard is marketed as a game that is great for new players to come to grips with more complex board gaming mechanics.
Which brings us back to why Valhalla is so great. Who cares if you roll badly? Who cares if your warriors die? Now you have warriors to take on the dope monsters in the afterlife and reap some sweet, sweet rewards. Or you can bring offerings to the Valkyrie and get benefits you can use in the main game.
See? A completely new mechanic. So much so in fact that the new ruling in the Valhalla expansion is that you can ignore shield rolls if you want your warriors to die! How messed up is that?
‘Yes, I see that you blocked his attack but I quite need you to do battle against Fenrir, the wolf of the dead, so if you could lower your shield and be stabbed through the heart that would be great.’
Champions of Midgard: Valhalla adds to the base game in a real, tangible way.
That’s good right? Yes… maybe.
Now, before I finish I must throw a word of caution. I am a board game mint chocolate chip man. I love an expansion that impacts the game on a tangible level. But, and this is a big butt that doesn’t lie, you might not.
Let me explain. What did you love about Champions of Midgard? Because if it was the grindy nature of the worker placement or the slow build up before you felt you had enough warriors to do battle then Valhalla might be a bit too quick for you. Now that dying is actually kind of a good thing, you might find yourself rushing into battle a little too eagerly. The feel of the game might pick up a bit and you might not like that.
I didn’t feel this when I played it and to be honest, I’m never playing without Valhalla again. It just adds so much meat to the game. But I can see how some people might not like it. Whenever a new mechanic is added to a game, that game changes. In this case, I argue that is for the better. But you might not think so.
There. Caution over.
In summation.
When it comes to life, double chocolate chip all the way. Ride or die. When it comes to board games. Mint chocolate chip is the way to go. It just adds more complexity and isn’t that what expansions should be about?
If you like Champions of Midgard, get Valhalla. That’s my opinion. Valhalla fixes what many of us felt was broken in the base game and it adds a whole new area of the game to explore. An area that doesn’t at its core impact how you play the base game. And that’s a big deal.
Oh, and did I mention in the Valhalla expansion you get two dope new warrior classes: Shieldmaiden and Berserker. And it gives you a new leader dice with new abilities, I mean, come on. How cool is that?
Ok maybe triple chocolate chip is pretty good too. What about mint triple chocolate chip?
Anyone?
No?
Just me?
Ok.
Get Valhalla. It’s incredible. This review is officially over.
