Valhalla
Valhalla Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Credits
Game mechanics and development: Łukasz Woźniak Artwork: Barbara Gołębiewska Graphic design and composition: Jakub Majzel, Dawid Bartłomiejczyk Main game testers: Przemysław Ciemniejewski, Ola Woźniak, Szymon Woźniak, Dominik Kurowski, Adrian Lipko, Samuel Skrzypkowski, Jakub Majchrzak, Tymo Mysakowski, Łukasz Simiński, Oliwia Simińska, Paweł Podgrudny, Jonasz Skrzypkowski, Maciej Białecki, Krystian Zaremba, Przemysław Wojtkowiak, Marcin Gwiazda, Marcin Pawlicki, Jakub Pawlicki, Paweł Ciemniejewski, Konrad Dawidowicz, Piotr Gruchała.
Goal of the Game
Players take on the roles of Jarls – Viking commanders who want to lead their parties to battle and earn a glorious death.
The player who scores the most Glory Points for fallen warriors and from capturing enemy shields becomes The Last King of the Vikings.
Contents
120 Base deck cards:
a) Viking cards
- Bear clan — orange
- Wolf clan — green
- Boar clan — yellow
- Deer clan — purple
b) Ice Giant cards
From here on, cards with a Warrior symbol in the top left corner will be referred to collectively as "Warrior cards" for simplicity. Ice Giants are a fifth clan in the base deck. Different colors on Warrior cards in Valhalla represent different clans.
c) Single-use Battle Tactics cards
Expansion cards:
- 40 Cards for the Valkyries expansion
- 14 Cards for the Thor's Support expansion
- 40 Cards for the Dwarves of Svartalfheim expansion
- 10 Cards for the Loki's Deception expansion
- 8 Cards for the King of the Hill expansion
- 20 Cards for the Tyr's Wrath expansion
- 6 Cards for the Brother-in-Arms expansion
- 28 Cards for the Solo expansion (4 Monsters, 6 cards each; 4 Reference cards)
Other components:
- 24 Shield tokens (4 tokens for each player)
- 25 Jarl cards
- 15 Weapon dice (6 red, 6 black, 3 grey)
- 6 Player boards
- Reference cards
Card anatomy
Warrior Card: shows the Warrior's strength and clan color, its special power, the weapons required to activate the Warrior, and the Glory Points it is worth.
Battle Tactics Card: shows a symbol representing the card's effect. A description of the Battle Tactics cards can be found at the end of the rulebook.
Jarl Card: Each Jarl has two abilities that may be used during the game. The Jarl's primary ability may always be used. In order to use the Jarl's secondary ability the condition on the card has to be met.
On the left side of the Jarl card, there is a symbol that shows how the Jarls' abilities work together: one symbol indicates that a player may use both of the abilities together (the secondary ability is usually an extension of the primary ability); the other symbol indicates that a player may only use one of the two abilities – if he chooses to use one of them, he may not use the other one.
Setup
Valhalla consists of several expansions that are explained at the end of this rulebook. The first time you play Valhalla, we recommend playing without any expansions, then adding expansions as you please in subsequent games. More experienced players are encouraged to add Loki's Deception even in their first game. Any expansion components that are not used during the game should be placed back in the game box.
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Shuffle and place a base deck of 120 cards within easy reach of players. Leave some room for a discard pile near the deck.
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Place the appropriate points card for the number of players. Place all dice on the table.
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Each player takes a player board and 4 shields with the symbol of their chosen clan. Each player may keep a summary card near their board.
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Shuffle the Jarl cards and deal 3 face down to each player. Each player chooses 1 to keep and places it face down in their player area, returning the other 2 cards to the box. Once all players have chosen their Jarl, the Jarl cards are turned face up and each player in turn reads out the abilities of their Jarl. In a 2-player game, put all cards marked with a "3+" symbol aside before you deal 3 cards to each player.
First game: If you want to simplify this step, we suggest that for your first game you shuffle together all the Jarl cards with a "recommended" symbol and deal 1 to each player instead of giving them a choice.
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The player with the longest beard will be the starting player. If you have trouble determining who this is, the starting player can be selected at random, or it can be the youngest player.
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Discard cards from the top of the deck (depending on the number of players), forming a face up discard pile. Whenever you are told to discard cards, they are placed face up on this pile.
Number of cards discarded from the deck before the game starts, by number of players:
- 2 players — 40 cards
- 3 players — 20 cards
- 4 players — 10 cards
- 5 players — 0 cards
- 6 players — 0 cards *
* Additionally, after players select their starting hands, shuffle the 12 cards discarded by the players back into the deck.
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Deal cards from the deck face up onto the table until there is 1 more Warrior card than the number of players. For example, in a 4-player game, there should be 5 face up Warrior cards. Any other face up cards (i.e. Battle Tactics cards) are shuffled back into the deck.
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The player sitting to the right of the starting player chooses one of the Warriors from the table and puts it on their player board (still face up). Warriors on the player board form the team. The remaining players, in counter-clockwise order, choose one Warrior card each. The starting player chooses 1 of the 2 remaining Warrior cards, and the last one is shuffled back into the deck.
During the setup and for the rest of the game, players freely choose a spot to place their Warriors. After placing a Warrior on the board, a player may not move the Warrior to a different spot on the board.
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Each player draws 7 cards from the deck and chooses 2 cards to discard. Players choose cards to discard at the same time and, after selecting them, place them face down in front of them. Once everyone has chosen their cards to discard, they place them face up on the discard pile.
The deck and the discard pile
Players can look through the cards in the discard pile at any time, but they cannot change their order. Players can also count how many cards are left in the deck, which can be of great importance when the game is approaching the end.
Card text: If any card, e.g. a Jarl card or Battle Tactics card, has rules which contradict this rulebook, priority is always given to the rules described on the card.
Additional Dice: There are 3 additional dice in the common pool. If at any time of the battle, you run out of additional dice, do not replace them with any others. When a player uses additional dice in the battle, he takes them from the common pool and when they are discarded, they go back to the common pool. If a player is unable to draw a sufficient number of dice, he uses card effects partially (e.g. he draws and rolls 1 die instead of 2).
Gameplay
The first player (the one who had last-choice of the face up Warrior cards) begins the game. Play continues in a clock-wise direction.
Each player's turn is divided into 2 phases: A Perform an action, and B Draw 2 cards and keep 1 of them.
When an active player has completed their turn, that is, after they finish Phase B, play passes to the player sitting to their left (i.e. it proceeds clockwise).
A. Action
On their turn, in phase A, player performs 1 of the following 4 actions:
- Add 1 Warrior from their hand to their team.
- Add 2 Warriors from their hand to their team if the total number of weapons on these cards is no more than 3.
- Attack another player.
- Draw 2 cards and keep 1 of them.
If a player has no Warriors on their team, they must perform action 1 or 2. The symbol on the turn overview card is a reminder of this rule. If a player has no Warriors on their team and no Warrior cards in their hand, they must show their hand to the other players and perform action 4 in phase A - Draw 2 cards and keep 1 of them. No player is compelled to keep Warrior cards after drawing cards.
1. Add 1 Warrior from their hand to their team. The player chooses any Warrior from their hand and adds it to their team. A player can have a maximum of 4 Warriors on their team. If a player already has 4 Warriors on their team and wants to add another, they must discard 1 Warrior from their team. After placing a Warrior on the board, a player may not move the Warrior to a different spot on the board.
2. Add 2 Warriors from their hand to their team if the total number of weapons on these cards is no more than 3. This action is similar to the first, except that the player plays two Warrior cards. The sum of the weapons (shown on the left side of the card, beneath the strength) on the 2 Warriors cannot exceed 3. This means that the player can either play 2 Warriors with 1 weapon each, or 1 with 1 weapon and 1 with 2 weapons. As with action 1, if the player exceeds the limit of 4 Warriors on their team, they must discard Warriors until they are left with only 4.
3. Attack another player. The player chooses another player and attacks that player's team with their own. You cannot attack a player who has no Warriors on their team OR a player who does not have any of their own shields left. The course of the battle is described in the next section of this rulebook.
4. Draw 2 cards and keep 1 of them. The player draws 2 cards and chooses 1 to add to their hand and discards the other. There is no limit of cards that a player can have in his hand.
B. Draw 2 cards and keep 1 of them
The player draws 2 cards and chooses 1 to add to their hand and discards the other.
Battles
The players fight battles using their Warriors, Battle Tactics cards and their Jarl's special abilities. First, the attacker's phase takes place, and then the defender's phase. The battle ends with a comparison of strength.
You cannot attack a player who has no Warriors on their team OR a player who does not have any of their own shields left.
Before the attacker's phase, each player has a chance to use 1 or more Battle Tactics cards that must be used before the battle (those that have the appropriate symbol on the bottom left corner of the card). The attacking player uses those Battle Tactics first, and the defender goes second.
Attacker's Phase
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Roll 6 weapon dice. At the beginning of their phase, the attacking player rolls 6 dice, which are used to arm and send his Warriors into battle.
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Rerolls. During their phase, the attacking player may discard one die in order to reroll any or all of the other weapon dice in their pool. The player chooses which dice to reroll and which to keep, but all those that they wish to reroll must be rolled together. The player can reroll their dice any number of times in combat, although they must first discard one die each time they do so. Discarded dice are set aside and are unavailable to the player for the rest of the battle.
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Play Battle Tactics cards. The attacking player can play any number of Battle Tactics cards during the fight. The player can play cards after rolling the dice, while rerolling or after rerolls. The player cannot use Battle Tactics cards after finishing their phase. They must decide to play cards before they end their attack and the defender throws their dice. Battle Tactics cards raise the overall strength of the team and assist in rerolling and arming more Warriors. After the battle, any Battle Tactics cards which have been played are discarded.
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Arming Warriors. The purpose of rolling the dice is to arm the Warriors. From the rolled (and rerolled) dice, the attacking player chooses those with results matching the symbols on their Warriors. If the player covers all the Weapon Symbols on a Warrior with the required dice, that Warrior is activated and the Strength Value shown on the card is added to the Battle Strength. The player can activate their Warriors with the weapon dice in any combination they choose. The player does not have to activate a particular Warrior, even if they have the necessary dice results. Playing only Battle Tactics cards is not enough to attack, without activating any Warriors.
Ice Giants: Activating Ice Giants works the same way as with any other Warrior card, but they don't have specific weapons assigned. To activate an Ice Giant, a player can use any weapon, but an additional-die weapon symbol cannot be used. All dice with that symbol, just like any other result, may be rerolled using rerolls or Battle Tactics cards. Dice with that symbol cannot be used to activate Warriors.
After activating a Warrior, and using his special power, the player cannot decide to take dice off the Warrior card. This is due to the fact that some Warrior's powers work instantaneously and reversing their effect would be impossible. It is suggested to keep the required weapon dice near the Warrior card until the moment the player wants to activate him.
If the attacking player doesn't arm at least one Warrior, the battle ends without a winner.
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End of the attack phase. When the player does not want to reroll any more dice or play any additional Battle Tactics cards, they end the attack and add up the achieved strength. Battle Strength is the sum of the strength of completely armed Warriors and played Battle Tactics cards.
A description for the special Warrior powers and all the card symbols can be found at the end of the rulebook.
Weapon requirement symbols found on Warrior cards:
- Requires any two weapons (e.g. spear and sword)
- Requires two of the same weapon (e.g. two axes)
- Requires three of the same weapon (e.g. three shields)
- Requires two pairs of the same weapon (e.g. two axes and two bows)
Defender's Phase
The defender's phase looks exactly the same as the attacker's phase.
If the defending player is unable to arm any Warriors, the battle ends and the attacker is the winner. A player may not defend himself with only the strength of the Battle Tactics cards or with Jarls' ability, without activating at least one Warrior.
There are 3 additional dice in the game – if the attacker used some of them to activate his Warriors, the defender may be unable to use his Jarl's ability or play Battle Tactics cards.
Comparison of Strength
After completing the defender's phase, players compare their Battle Strength. The player with the higher Battle Strength wins the battle. In the case of a tie: The attacker wins.
Remember: After the attacker has finished his phase, he cannot play any additional cards during the defender's phase.
If the attacking player won the battle:
- They take one of the defending player's shields (i.e. the ones on the four slots on players board) and places it next to their team. You can never lose a shield gained from your opponent - only your own.
- All the Warriors they activated are sent to their Valhalla.
- Warriors that were only partially armed remain on the player's team.
If the defending player won the battle:
- He does not lose or gain a shield.
- They can choose which of their activated Warriors go to Valhalla. They may decide not to send any Warriors to Valhalla, choose some, or send everyone they activated.
Valhalla is a personal stack of a player's points. Cards are stacked in a face down pile on the right side of a player's board.
Warriors who won in the battle go away in glory. Odin opens the gate and sits with them at the table in Valhalla. The player who lost the fight, whether attacker or a defender, cannot send any Warriors to Valhalla. The warriors who lost the battle return to heal their wounds with their heads bowed in shame. Participation in the fight is not enough - Odin welcomes only the victorious to Valhalla.
After the battle, all the dice are removed from the Warriors and the additional dice go back to the common pool. All of the used Battle Tactics cards are discarded.
End of the Game
Players continue to take their turns in a clockwise order until one of the conditions for ending the game is met:
- One of the players loses their last shield — OR —
- The last card in the deck is drawn
In both cases, the active player completes their turn. Then, each player (including the player who has just finished their turn) performs one final turn.
If a player loses his last shield, he is not eliminated from the game. He participates in Ragnarök and is eligible to win the game.
If the cards in the deck run out at the end of the game, it may happen that players are unable to draw cards when they normally would. They may be unable to draw as many cards as they should.
Ragnarök
After the last round, the mythical Ragnarök takes place. Each player has one last chance to attack with their Warriors.
In Ragnarök, each player in turn rolls 6 dice, arms their Warriors, and if they want, they may use Battle Tactics cards and/or rerolls. Once a player has activated all of their Warriors, or they are unable to activate another one, they complete this phase and pass the dice to the next player. All activated Warriors go to their Valhalla, and the others, along with all the cards from their hand, are discarded.
Ragnarök is not an attack against a different player and there is no chance to win a player's shield during this phase.
During Ragnarök, players can still use their Jarl cards. For the purposes of using the Jarls' special abilities, all players should be treated as attackers during Ragnarök.
Counting Glory Points
The player with the most Glory Points wins the game. In the case of a tie, the player who has more of their opponents' shields wins. If there is still a tie, the player who has more of their own shields remaining wins. If there is still a tie, players share the victory.
Players add up the points gained for their shields and for the cards in their Valhalla. A reference card that shows scoring for a particular number of players may be helpful.
Glory Points for the shields (while counting additional Points for sets of shields, each shield may only be used in one set):
- Each shield won from your opponent is worth 2 Glory Points. No Glory Points are awarded for keeping your own shields.
- Each shield you have (both your own and those won from your enemies) is worth 2 Glory Points. In addition, each set of 2 different shields from your enemies is worth 2 additional Glory Points.
- Each shield you have (both your own and those won from your enemies) is worth 2 Glory Points. In addition, each set of 3 different shields from your enemies is worth 3 additional Glory Points.
- Each shield you have (both your own and those won from your enemies) is worth 2 Glory Points. In addition, each set of 3 different shields from your enemies is worth 2 additional Glory Points, and each set of 4 different shields from your enemies is worth 4 additional Glory Points. Each shield can only be used in 1 set.
- Each shield you have (both your own and those won from your enemies) is worth 2 Glory Points. In addition, each set of 3 different shields from your enemies is worth 3 additional Glory Points, and a set of 4 different shields from your enemies is worth 5 additional Glory Points. Each shield can be used in only 1 set.
(The number of shield sets that award bonus points depends on the number-of-players reference card in use for that game.)
Glory Points for cards in Valhalla: Each Warrior awards Glory Points as indicated in the lower left corner of the card.
Now you know the basic rules of the game. Before playing the game we suggest reading through game variants and the description of the card symbols in the base deck (you can find that on the last page of the rulebook, so it is easily accessible during the game). If you get to know Valhalla, we invite you to try out game expansions – rules for the expansions are laid out on the following pages. Loki's Deception can be incorporated in your first game.
Expansions
We suggest playtesting the expansions with Loki's Deception which can be used even during the first game. Unless otherwise stated, expansions can be used with the main game on their own or with other expansions. Expansions add new aspects to the gameplay, or provide interesting fun in a larger group. The only limitation for some add-ons is that they are for a specific number of players.
Loki's Deception
Loki is the god of tricks, lies and mischief. In Ragnarök, Loki stands in opposition to the other gods and helps those who are losing in battle.
When playing with the Loki's Deception expansion, players put one special card into play. Some of them may influence the number of discarded cards in the game preparation.
When you play for the first time with this expansion, place the card marked "Recommended for the first game" next to the reference cards on the table. In subsequent games using this expansion, you can choose any card or draw one at random. The remaining 9 cards are returned to the box.
The Loki's Deception Card describes what bonus the player who lost a battle receives. That bonus is awarded after the battle, when all other special effects have been applied. After each battle, the Battle Strength of the players participating in it should be compared. Depending on what the difference was, the player who lost receives the bonus indicated on the card. The player can choose not to use the bonus or can also take advantage of a lesser bonus which is below that he is entitled to.
Apart from this change, battle and its consequences remain the same.
Thor's Support
Thor is the god of storms and thunder, son of Odin, and a mighty warrior. In Ragnarök, he is summoned to support warriors by joining battle parties.
When you play with this expansion, shuffle the 14 Thor's Support cards into the deck before step 5 of the game setup.
If a player has a Thor's Support card in his hand, he may play it before the beginning of a battle between two other players – he chooses who is the recipient of Thor's power. Thor's Support cards show who can be the receiver of its power and the battle advantage it grants. Descriptions of the specific powers can be found in the "Symbols" section of the rulebook.
If the supported player wins the battle, the Thor's Support card goes to the Valhalla of the player that played it. It will bring them more Glory Points at the end of the game. If the supported player loses the battle, the card is discarded. Multiple players can play a Thor's Support card before each battle, but each player may play only one card in a single battle.
Valkyries
Daughters of Odin, minor goddesses who bring to Valhalla the souls of the bravest warriors killed in battle, are known as the Einherjar. The Valkyries seek both those who found a glorious death fighting alone against impossible odds and those who distinguished themselves in battle alongside their brothers-in-arms.
Setup: The Valkyries expansion consists of 40 additional cards which should be shuffled into the deck in step 1 of the setup. The discard pile is created only after the Valkyries cards have been added to the deck.
Players use special reference cards (marked +40), which remind them about the changes in the rules.
Changes to the rules: Gameplay with additional cards only differs in the players' turn Phase B. The player draws 3 instead of 2 cards, and then he keeps 1 of them. The remaining cards are placed face up on the discard pile.
Warriors with Valkyries favor: The majority of the Warrior cards in this expansion have a special icon on the bottom left corner which shows the special rule for gaining Glory Points. All the icons are explained in the "Symbols" section of the rulebook. When such a Warrior leaves for Valhalla, it should be checked whether any additional Glory Points have been scored. If this is the case, search the discard pile for a card with this point value and add it to Valhalla with that Warrior.
Additional points are awarded based on the other Warriors on the player's team going to Valhalla. Some Valkyries give a bonus for going to Valhalla alone, others for going in a bigger group, and others for going with a specific Warrior color.
Valkyrie Mission cards: Mission cards give a player 2 additional Glory Points, when he wins a battle and fulfills a special requirement shown on the card. Only one Mission card can be played after a single battle. If the mission requirement is fulfilled, the card goes to Valhalla and is counted as Glory Points.
There are some new Battle Tactics cards and additional Warriors in that expansion.
When players want to combine the Valkyries and Dwarves of Svartalfheim expansions, they use a reference card with a (+80) symbol. The first rule changed in the game when playing this way: in step 5 of the preparation process, 20 additional cards should be discarded from the deck. In a 6-player game, instead of adding the 12 discarded cards in step 9, players discard 8 cards in step 5. The second rule changed is when a player decides to draw cards in Phase A of his turn: instead of drawing 2 cards, the player draws 3 cards and keeps 1 of them.
Dwarves of Svartalfheim
Greedy, cunning, treacherous creatures dwelling in Svartalfheim – the underground world between Midgard and Nilfheim – Dwarves are exceptionally talented blacksmiths, wielding magical, mighty weapons and talismans. They are also extremely dangerous in the battlefield.
Setup: The Dwarves of Svartalfheim expansion consists of 40 additional cards which are shuffled into the deck in step 1 of the setup. The discard pile is created only after the Dwarves of Svartalfheim cards have been added to the deck.
Players use special reference cards (marked +40), which remind them about the changes in the rules.
Changes to the rules: Gameplay with additional cards only differs in a player's turn Phase B. The player draws 3 instead of 2 cards, and then he keeps 1 of them. The remaining cards are placed face up on the discard pile.
Special powers on Dwarves cards: A description of the Warriors' powers and Battle Tactics can be found in the "Symbols" section of the rulebook.
Tyr's Wrath
Tyr, the god of war walks on the battlefield pouring his wrath into warriors. Warriors go into battle with an anger, strength and leadership of the god Tyr.
Tyr's Wrath cards are a new type of cards, that are neither Warrior nor Battle Tactics cards.
If you are playing with this expansion, you should shuffle 14 out of 20 Tyr's Wrath cards into the main deck of cards. Additionally, after choosing the starting hand, each player gets 1 of the remaining 6 cards and adds it to their hand. Any remaining Tyr's Wrath cards are put back in the box.
Tyr's Wrath cards are played in a different way than any other card. When a player adds a Warrior or Warriors to his team, he may decide to enhance the Warrior with a Tyr's Wrath card. The Tyr's Wrath card is placed under the Warrior card so the power on the top is visible.
The special power of a Tyr's Wrath card is applied to the Warrior only after he or she is activated. There are also cards that help activate the Warrior without a specific weapon.
Tyr's Wrath may only be played when the Warrior is played, and it cannot be added later to any Warrior that is already in play. Each Warrior may only be enhanced by 1 Tyr's Wrath card.
If the Warrior is discarded from the team, the Tyr's Wrath card that was assigned to the Warrior is discarded. If such a Warrior goes back to a player's hand, the Tyr's Wrath card goes to the player's hand as well. When the Warrior goes back to Valhalla, the Tyr's Wrath card is discarded.
King of the Hill
In the final battle, as the ground collapses and the flames surround the last patch of earth untouched by destruction, the one who has earned the respect of the gods stands tall. He is not the king of any land or clan, but the most powerful of all Jarls. He is the King of the Hill, taunting his enemies, challenging them to one last fight...
The King of the Hill expansion consists of:
- 2 King cards
- 6 Two-sided bonus cards (each marked with the number of players on the bottom)
King of the Hill (2-5 players): At the beginning of the game, place the King card and the Bonus card corresponding to the number of players in the game on the table. If you have the version of the game with the King of the Hill miniature, every time the rules mention the King card, use the figurine in its place.
All rules remain exactly the same as in the basic game with one difference: After the first battle in the game, the player who won it puts the Bonus card in front of him and uses the King card to mark Level 1 on the Bonus card. They are now the King of the Hill. When anyone wins a battle against the King of the Hill (in attack or defense), that player takes the Bonus card and King card and puts them in their player area, resetting the Bonus card to Level 1.
At the beginning of their turn, the King of the Hill checks whether he has Warriors on his team. If he has no Warriors on his team, he takes his turn as usual. If he has Warriors on his team, he receives Bonus Points as indicated by the level of the Bonus card, he increases the Level by 1 and then takes his turn as usual. The Bonus Points are added by finding cards in the discard pile which add up to the required amount and adding them to that player's Valhalla.
From Level 2, in addition to the growing Bonus Points for the King of the Hill, there is also a bonus for the player who attacks him. Every time someone attacks the King of the Hill at Level 2 or higher, they get a bonus die (or dice, depending on the level) in attack.
At the end of the game, the player who is the King of the Hill gets 1 extra Victory Point.
Kings of the Hill (6 players): The gameplay with this addition differs slightly from the variant for 2-5 players: In this variant, you use 2 Bonus cards and 2 King cards, so for most of the game there will be 2 Kings of the Hill.
The player who is the first one to win the battle gets a King of the Hill card (with the Bonus card). The winner of the next battle, where the King of the Hill did not take part, takes the second King of the Hill card (with the Bonus card). After winning the battle against a King of the Hill, the winner takes the King card with the Bonus card and places it at Level 1 in front of his board.
Whenever there is a battle between 2 Kings of the Hill, the defeated player returns their Bonus card and King card to the middle of the table, ready to be claimed in the next battle that doesn't involve the remaining King of the Hill.
All other rules are the same as in the 2-5 player King of the Hill mode.
Brother in Arms
Partnership of the Jarls: When playing with this expansion, players use special cards to show who they are partnered with. Each player takes the card bearing the shield of the player sitting opposite them - this player will be their partner for the duration of the game.
Changes to the rules in this variant:
- For a Deer (purple) Clan bonus, the player treats Warriors from their partner's team as if they were on their own team. The player grants a Warrior bonus from The Boar Clan (yellow) if the clan indicated on the card appears on their opponent's team, or on their opponent's partner's team.
- In combat (both attacking and defending), the player can activate Warriors on their partner's team, but cannot send them to Valhalla after the battle.
- For the purposes of all Jarl cards and Battle Tactics cards, the player's team refers only to the Warriors on their team. It does not include Warriors on their partner's team.
- You cannot attack a player who has 0 Warriors on their team, even if their partner has Warriors on their team.
- At the end of the game, each player takes 1 of their partner's shields. If that player has none of their own shields left, they do not transfer a shield to their partner.
- Despite cooperating, players count their points separately and only one player is the winner.
All other rules are unchanged.
Alliance of the Jarls: When playing with this expansion, players use special cards to show who they are allied with. Each player takes the card bearing the shield of the player sitting opposite them. This player will be their ally for the duration of the game.
Changes to the rules in this variant:
- For a Deer (purple) Clan bonus, the player treats Warriors from their ally's team as if they were in their own team. The player grants a Warrior bonus from The Boar Clan (yellow) if the clan indicated on the card appears on their opponent's team, or on their opponent's ally's team.
- In combat (both attacking and defending), the player can activate Warriors on their ally's team.
- After winning the battle, activated Warriors (own and on allied team) go to Valhalla, following the standard rules.
- For the purposes of all Jarl cards and Battle Tactics cards, the player's team refers only to the Warriors on their team. It does not include Warriors on their ally's team.
- You cannot attack a player who has 0 Warriors on their team, even if their ally has Warriors on their team.
- At the end of the game, each alliance counts their points together. Players add up all points for the Warriors in their Valhalla and adds them to those of their ally. When it comes to counting bonuses for shields, points are awarded for players' own shields which they managed to keep as normal, but then each alliance pools together the shields won from their opponents to make sets.
- In a 4-player game, use the 3-player Points card. In a 6-player game, use the 5-player Points card.
- Finally, compare the points totals to see which is the winning alliance.
All other rules are unchanged.
Solo Mode
In this mode of Valhalla, a single player takes on the role of a Jarl who leads a team of Warriors into battle against a mighty monster. The player only fights a single monster, but such giant, dangerous and resilient creatures cannot be defeated in just one fight. Only after many successful attacks can the final blow be inflicted and the brave Jarl with his team welcomed to Valhalla.
The solo variant is based on the basic rulebook. We suggest that you play a standard game of Valhalla with 2-6 players, or at least familiarize yourself with the standard rules, before you play the Solo Mode variant.
Each Monster card shows: the monster's battle strength; the maximum additional strength a player can have in his Valhalla; the clans assigned to a particular monster card; the symbols required to activate the monster's attack; and the monster's special powers.
Game preparation
- To begin the game, the player first chooses a monster they wish to fight.
- Each monster consists of a set of cards, that represent a different level of wounds and battle strength.
- After choosing a monster, the player places the monster's cards face up in front of himself. The cards should be organized in ascending order of strength: the highest strength card should be on the bottom, the next highest atop it, and so on. The card with the lowest strength should be at the top of the pile. The card on top of the pile is the monster's active card.
- Before the game, the player may look through the monster's cards in order to get to know their enemy. During the game, the player may only look at the card directly below the active one.
- The player should place a set of 6 dice to the side of the pile of the chosen monster's cards. These dice are assigned to the monster.
- The player places a Reference card for Solo Mode next to the monster. He may also use the Turn Order card and track the phase of the turn by moving any unused shield token.
- The player chooses the difficulty level. In the first game we suggest Level I. The rules below explain the rules for Level I.
- The player places a game board in front of them as well as 4 shields in the color of their choice.
- The player freely chooses a Jarl card and places it to the left of their game board. Many Jarls have a special ability that doesn't apply in the Solo Mode, so the player should only choose one that has a special ability which does apply in Solo Mode. Later in the rulebook, there is a list of Jarls that may be used for solo play. We suggest trying out different Jarls in subsequent games for different experiences during play.
- The deck will now be prepared. The player thoroughly shuffles the 120-card deck and discards 40 cards from the top of the deck, creating a discard pile.
- The player draws 6 cards and keeps all of them in their hand. Before the start of the game, the player may exchange any of the cards in their hand. If they choose to, they place chosen cards aside, draw the same number of new cards, and shuffle the cards placed back into the deck. The player may do that only once, and after drawing new cards, he may not go back to the cards placed aside.
Gameplay
Gameplay is divided into turns. On every turn, the player executes Phase A, Phase B, and then the "monster phase". Phases A and B are exactly the same as those in the standard Valhalla game. During Phase A, the player takes 1 of 4 possible actions, and during Phase B they draw 2 cards, choose one to keep, and discard the other.
Players are still obliged to play a Warrior in Phase A, if his team is empty.
If a player has no Warriors on his team after Phase B, the monster phase is skipped this turn.
After Phase B, the monster phase is resolved:
- The player rolls the monster dice on the right side of the monster card. On the first turn he rolls all 6 of the dice; on subsequent turns there may be fewer dice.
- After the monster's dice are rolled, the player looks for any matches between the rolled weapons and those required to activate the monster. If any of the rolled weapons match those on the monster card, the player places them on the corresponding weapon(s). If all of the weapons on the card are filled, the monster attacks. If only some or none of the weapons are matched, those that were not matched are placed aside, near the monster's deck. Any matched weapons remain on the monster card.
Battle
There are a few rules changes in battles, and some of the cards work slightly differently.
The biggest change to the rules is in the player's Valhalla: All of the Glory Points gathered in the player's Valhalla serve as a constant strength bonus in battles.
In the following sections you will learn what causes Warriors to go to Valhalla.
Cards in Valhalla should be kept in such a way, that the player may easily add up their total Glory Points. In battle – while attacking as well as defending – the player adds the sum of those Glory Points to the sum of their strength (from activated Warriors and played Battle Tactics cards). Player may use two Help cards to keep the Glory Points sum more visible.
Player's attack: If the player decides to attack the monster on their turn, they roll their dice, use Battle Tactics cards and rerolls in order to attempt to win the battle. On the attack, the goal is to match or exceed the Battle Strength shown on the monster's active card.
Victory while attacking: When the player meets or exceeds the strength of the monster, the attack is successful, and the monster is critically wounded. First, all the dice on the Monster card are placed aside with the rest of the monster dice. Then, the defeated card is placed aside, revealing a higher-level monster card — the wounded monster has grown in their wrath and strength.
All of the activated Warriors on the player's team go to the player's Valhalla, unless they exceed the maximum additional strength shown on the newly revealed monster card. Warriors in Valhalla are kept face up to add their Glory Points.
After an attack, the player moves on to Phase B and then to the monster phase.
Defeat while attacking: If the player loses a battle as an attacker, they can send 1 of their activated Warriors to Valhalla, unless they exceed the maximum additional strength shown on the Monster card. After that, the 2 topmost cards from the deck are discarded. All of the monster's dice remain where they are.
Monster's attack: If, during a monster phase, all of the weapons on the monster card are covered with their corresponding dice, the monster attacks the player and the player must defend himself.
The strength shown on the monster's active card is the monster's Battle Strength. The player is the defender and can only successfully defend himself by achieving a Battle Strength higher than the monster's.
All battle rules remain the same as explained above. Regardless of the outcome of the battle, all of the dice on the Monster card are taken off and placed aside.
Victory in defense: After winning a battle in defense, the player may send any of their activated Warriors to Valhalla, unless they exceed the maximum additional strength shown on the Monster card. They decide whether they send some, all or none of their activated Warriors.
When a player wins a battle in defense they do not remove the top Monster card. They may only do so by winning a battle while attacking.
Defeat in defense: If the player is defeated while defending, they can send 1 of their activated Warriors to Valhalla, unless they exceed the maximum additional strength shown on the Monster card. Then they must remove 1 of their shields from their game board and discard the 2 topmost cards from the deck.
Other rules changes in the battle:
- For the purposes of the special abilities of the Boar Clan (yellow), Monster cards have clan colors assigned to them. If the color on a Monster card matches the one on a yellow Warrior with a special power, that Warrior receives 3 additional strength points.
- Special powers of the Ice Giants work slightly differently. The first Ice Giant that the player activates gives them one additional die. After activating that Ice Giant, the player rolls 1 additional die, then adds it to their dice pool. Any other Ice Giants activated in that battle don't give an additional die.
- Battle Tactics that require having a smaller battle team than the opponent work when the player has less Warriors than Warrior symbols shown on the Monster card.
- Some monsters have special abilities shown on the bottom of the Monster card. Battle Tactics cards that deactivate Jarls' powers while attacking deactivate that special ability for one battle.
In your first solo game we advise ignoring monsters' special powers. That will make the gameplay easier and will help the player to familiarize himself with Solo Mode.
The remaining Battle Tactics and abilities work exactly the same as they do in regular gameplay. Just like in standard battles, the player may discard 1 die from their pool of dice to reroll any remaining dice they have. They may freely use their Jarl's abilities and any Battle Tactics cards they have. Used Battle Tactics cards go to the discard pile after the battle.
Maximum additional strength
The sum of the Glory Points of the Warriors in a player's Valhalla may never exceed the limit shown on the Monster card. When the player would send Warriors that would exceed the limit of Glory Points, the excess Warriors are discarded.
Important rule: After winning on the attack, the new monster card is revealed and the new limit is revealed. After that, Warriors go to Valhalla.
Winning and Losing the Solo Variant
Defeat: The player may lose the game in two ways:
- If the player loses in defense and loses his fourth shield. If that happens he immediately loses the game.
- If the player draws (or discards) the last card from the deck, he may attack for the last time, regardless of the moment in the game. It is only possible if the active Monster card is the last one. If any other card is on the top of the monster deck, the player loses immediately. If the player loses the final attack, they lose the game.
Victory: After defeating the last Monster card, the player wins the game. The player is the winner if he won by attacking in Phase A or after making an attack triggered by drawing the final card from the deck.
Jarls available to choose from in Solo Mode: Sigurd, Solveig, Sigvard, Hödr, Agnar, Villsvin, Valgard, Styr, Vingor, Aslaug, Einar, Thord, Ottar, Esbjörn, Egil, Beinir, Bernhard.
Solo Variant – Difficulty Levels
There are 3 difficulty levels to choose from in solo play.
- Difficulty Level I - Casual: After losing a battle (while attacking or defending), the player discards 2 cards from the deck.
- Difficulty Level II - Hardcore: After losing a battle (while attacking or defending), the player discards 4 cards from the deck.
- Difficulty Level III - Insane: After losing a battle (while attacking or defending), the player discards 6 cards from the deck.
Solo Mode with an additional deck
More experienced players may decide to add a 40-card expansion (e.g. Valkyries) to the base 120-card Solo Mode deck. In that variant, the game is prepared the exact same way as in the basic game. During the game, in Phase B, the player draws 3 cards and keeps 1 of them.
In that variant, the monster deck is placed on the reverse side marked with the (+40) symbol. Monsters in this variant are stronger.
Deck expansions that are available to use in this variant:
- Valkyries
- Elves of Alfheim
- Champions of Midgard
- Riders of War
- Warriors of Asgard
Solo Mode may be used with two deck expansions and other expansions using the Valhalla App.
Cooperative Mode
In Cooperative Mode, 2-4 players fight together against the monster. That variant is only available with the Valhalla App.
Base Game Variants
Simplified variant
This variant may be useful in playing with younger players. In order to shorten and simplify the game a bit, you can make two small changes to the game.
- First of all, skip step 3 of the setup, i.e. play without the Jarl cards.
- Secondly, instead of step 9 of the setup, players simply draw 5 cards to make their starting hand.
Advanced variant: Draft starting hand of cards
This option is recommended for players who have played Valhalla and want to add more strategy to the process of selecting their starting hand.
This process replaces step 9 of the setup. Players draw 5 cards each (rather than 7). Then draw 2 cards and place them face up on the table. Players build their hands taking turns in a clock-wise order.
The first player starts the draft stage and has two options:
A. Place 1 card from their hand face up on the table.
B. Complete their hand and drop out of the draft stage.
In the case of option A, the player simply lays 1 card from their hand face up next to the other face-up cards on the table. Together these cards form a common pool. If there is a situation in which a player no longer has cards in hand, they must choose option B.
By choosing option B the player completes their hand by taking cards from the open pool until they have a total of 5 cards in their hand. For example, if they have 3 cards in their hand, they select 2 cards from the table to add to their hand. After completing their hand, the player takes no further part in the draft. Before the next player makes a move, draw 2 more cards from the deck and add them, face up, to the common pool.
After choosing option A or B, the following players take their turns and the draft continues until all the players pass (i.e. pick option B).
As soon as there is only 1 player left in the draft, that player can choose option A 1 more time (assuming they still have at least 1 card in their hand) before they are forced to take option B and complete their hand. All cards remaining in the pool at the end of the draft are discarded.
Advanced option: Choose from 5 Jarls
This variant gives the player an even wider choice of Jarls at the beginning of the game. In step 3 of the setup, players draw 5 Jarl cards instead of 3 and choose 1 of them. This can be combined with the draft variant described above.
Basic Rules Summary
This part of the rulebook explains all the symbols that appear on the Warrior and Battle Tactics cards. At first there is an explanation for the game expansions, and the very last page contains all the symbols from the base deck that appear in each game you play. During the game we suggest keeping the rulebook within easy reach.
Battle Tactics cards:
- Unless stated otherwise, the card may be played only in a player's battle phase, after rolling the 6 dice.
- Player can use as many Battle Tactics cards as he wishes.
- If the player didn't activate any Warrior in battle, he loses the battle. Playing Battle Tactics cards is not sufficient.
Warrior cards:
- Unless stated otherwise, a Warrior's special power is activated after he has all the weapons required for activation.
- After activating a Warrior, and using his special power, the player cannot take the dice off the Warrior card. This is due to the fact that some Warrior powers work instantaneously and reversing their effect would be impossible. It is suggested to keep required weapon dice near the Warrior card until the moment the player wants to activate the Warrior.
Symbols indicating when to play the card
An arrow indicates when the cards are played – either before or after the battle. Symbols in a frame indicate the situation the arrow refers to:
- Before/after the battle
- After winning the battle
- After losing the battle
- If you are the attacker
- If you are the defender
Thor's Support
If a player has such a card in his hand, he may play it before the beginning of a battle between two other players and he chooses who is the recipient of Thor's power. Cards may be played only on a player that meets the requirements shown on the card:
- He has fewer Warriors than his opponent in the battle
- He has fewer or an equal number of Warriors as his opponent in the battle
The player that was a recipient of the card, gets a bonus shown on the card:
- The player draws 1 card before the battle
- 2 or 3 additional strength
- 1 free reroll in the battle
- 1 additional die
- The player draws 1 random card from his opponent in the battle
Valkyries
Additional Glory Points are taken from the discard pile without changing its order. Players look for a card or cards that in sum give the number of Glory Points the player is awarded.
For awarding bonus Glory Points that come with Valkyrie favor, a player considers only his own Warriors that are going to Valhalla. Opposing Warriors do not affect the bonus.
Weapons supply: That card can be treated as a die with a symbol shown on the card. Players may use that weapon to activate a Warrior or Battle Tactics card.
When that Warrior goes to Valhalla (+1): The player adds 1 Glory Point for each other Warrior that goes to Valhalla with him. For example, if that Warrior goes to Valhalla with 2 others, the player adds 2 Glory Points.
Road to Valhalla: That card may be played only in defense. The attacking player chooses one of his activated Warriors and his strength doesn't count towards the attack. If it was the only activated Warrior, the battle continues. After the battle, regardless of the result, the chosen Warrior goes to the attacking player's Valhalla.
When that Warrior goes to Valhalla (+2): The player adds 2 Glory Points, if another Warrior of a specific color goes to Valhalla with him. In the example shown, the player scores 2 Glory Points, if that Warrior went to Valhalla with a Warrior from a yellow clan. These points are awarded only once, regardless of how many Warriors of the specific clan go to Valhalla.
Ice Giants in the Valkyries expansion have a slightly different weapon requirement. If a special symbol appears on an Ice Giant card, it means that all of the weapons used to activate him have to be different. The additional-die symbol still may not be used to activate a Warrior.
When that Warrior is the only one to go to Valhalla (+3): If that Warrior is the only Warrior that goes to Valhalla from the player's team, the player is awarded 3 additional Glory Points.
Valkyrie mission cards: Mission cards give a player 2 additional Glory Points, when he wins a battle and meets a special requirement shown on the card. Only one Mission card can be played after a single battle. If the mission requirement is fulfilled, the card goes to Valhalla and is counted as Glory Points. Example mission requirements:
- If the winner of a battle hasn't used rerolls in the battle. If he played Battle Tactics cards awarding him additional rerolls and used them, he still fulfills this mission.
- If the winner of a battle has gathered a strength in battle higher than his opponent by 5 or more.
- If the winner of a battle has activated 3 or more Warriors.
Dwarves of Svartalfheim
Call to arms: This card may only be played before the battle. A player adds a Warrior to his team from the discard pile. If there is a Warrior on top of the discard pile, he is added to the team. If not, the player looks through the discard pile starting from the top until he finds a Warrior card.
Blocking power (attacking only): That power works only while attacking. After activating that Dwarf, a player blocks one Warrior on the opposing team. After activating, that Dwarf's player chooses and slightly tilts the blocked Warrior – he may not be used for the rest of that battle. That power doesn't work against a player who only has 1 Warrior on his team.
Battle cry - Team (+?): A player is awarded additional strength in battle depending on the number of Warriors he has on his team. He gets 1 strength for each Warrior, e.g. 3 strength if he has 3 Warriors. It doesn't matter if the Warriors are activated, but the player is still required to arm at least one Warrior. (Scale: +1 / +2 / +3 / +4 for 1/2/3/4 Warriors.)
Blocking Valhalla: That power works after the battle, when Warriors are supposed to go to Valhalla. If the opponent is sending Warriors to Valhalla, that power blocks one of them from going to Valhalla. Before the opponent sends Warriors, the player that activated the Dwarf with that power chooses which activated Warrior on the opponent's team doesn't go to Valhalla.
Battle cry – Activated Warriors (+?): Players are awarded additional strength in battle depending on the number of activated Warriors they have on their team. They get 1/2/4/6 strength for having activated 1/2/3/4 Warriors. For example he gets 4 strength for activating 3 Warriors. (Scale: +1 / +2 / +4 / +6.)
Forced discard: That ability forces an opponent to immediately discard a Battle Tactics card from his hand. That player chooses which card to discard. If he doesn't have any Battle Tactics cards, he has to show his hand of cards to prove that.
Discard for strength: That power allows the player, who activated that Dwarf, to discard a chosen card from his hand to add 3 to his strength. The discarded card may be placed near that Dwarf as a reminder of the bonus. After the battle, the card is placed on the discard pile.
Tyr's Wrath
+4: That card gives a Warrior 4 additional strength in a battle, if the opponent has a Warrior from a clan shown on the card.
Weapon reduction: If those cards are placed under a Warrior, he may be activated with one weapon less of the type shown on that card.
+2: That card gives a Warrior 2 additional strength in a battle.
Solo Mode
- After Phase A, before drawing cards, the player discards one card from the deck.
- Before the battle: The player picks and discards one card from his hand.
- After each battle: The player shuffles his hand of cards and discards one at random. This effect is activated even after a successful attack.
- Players' Jarl ability that affects the battle is inactive.
- The player has one fewer spot on his team of Warriors.
- After losing a battle: The player discards 1 Glory Point from his Valhalla.
- After each battle: The player discards 1 Glory Point from his Valhalla. This effect is activated even after a successful attack.
- Special powers of activated Warriors of a specific clan (in the example, purple) don't count towards the strength in the battle.
- Before rolling 6 weapon dice, the player discards 1 of them.
- Players may play up to 2 Battle Tactics cards.
- Players may not play any Battle Tactics cards in battle.
- Before the battle: Players send 1 of the Warriors on his team to the discard pile.
- The player may not use Battle Tactics cards with the Push back or Weapons exchange symbol.
Base deck
Battle Tactics symbols:
- Fury: Add 2 to strength.
- Fury (larger): Add 3 to strength. That card can be played only if the player has fewer Warriors on his team than his opponent in battle.
- Heroic attack: Add 3 to strength and discard any one die from the die pool.
- Heroic attack (+4): Add 4 to strength and discard a die from the die pool that has a specific symbol, shown on the card.
- New weapons: Take 2 additional dice, roll them and pick one to keep. The kept die is placed in the player's pool and the other goes to the common pool.
- Push back: Reroll any dice up to 2 times. Each time, the player may choose different dice to reroll.
- Weapons exchange: Players may turn all the dice to any chosen side. Each additional-die result may be turned to a different side.
- Separate the leader!: This card may only be played while attacking. Special powers (primary and secondary) of the Jarl belonging to the defender are disabled for the rest of that battle. If the Jarl has a power that works before the battle, or outside of the battle, he is immune to this card.
Symbols on Warrior cards:
- If the activated Warrior has the clan-counter power, he adds 3 to his strength value when there is a Warrior of the indicated color (e.g. green) on the opponent's team. Warriors on the opposing team are not required to be activated for that power to work.
- If the activated Warrior has the ally-clan power, he adds 2 to his strength value when there is a Warrior of the indicated color (e.g. yellow) on the player's own team. When the player's team has 2 Warriors of the indicated color, he adds 5 to his strength value instead of 2. Warriors of the indicated color are not required to be activated for that power to work.
- That power appears on Ice Giant cards. When an attacking player activates an Ice Giant, the defender loses 1 die for the remainder of the battle. The power may be used only once per battle. All other activated Ice Giants (by the attacker or defender) only add their strength in battle.
- If an activated Warrior has the multi-clan power, he adds 2 to his strength value when there are 3 different clans (Warriors of 3 different colors) on the player's team. When there are 4 different clans on the player's team, he adds 5 to his strength instead of 2. Warriors of different clans are not required to be activated for that power to work.