Red North

Send your best warriors north. Keep enough back for the end of the world.

Battle horns echo across the North and the time for conquest has come. You're commanding a warband of raiders, jarls and heroes, competing to seize control of the Northern Outposts — and the whole game turns on how much you're willing to show.

How it works

Outposts belong to factions, and you conquer them by committing warriors of the matching faction from your hidden hand. The catch is that every warrior you deploy is a warrior your opponents can see. Commit early and hard, and you take the outpost — but you've also just told everyone at the table exactly what you're holding and exactly where you're weak.

Warriors are scarce. Spend too freely and you'll arrive at the final Ragnarok round with nothing left to fight with, which is the round where the Norse gods themselves get involved and the scales can tip entirely. Early glory counts for very little if you can't survive the end of the world.

Knowing when to bow out

The best players here aren't the most aggressive ones. They're the ones who work out which battles their rivals have already over-committed to, quietly concede those, and bank their strength for the fights that actually decide it. It's a bluffing game wearing a war game's clothes. It plays well at any count, but three is where the second-guessing really bites.

Where it came from

Red North is a new edition of Sær, originally published by La Mame Games in 2024. Designer James Dickinson has remixed the outpost abilities — some now hand out tokens you can use even without owning the outpost — and added eight unique gods to the Ragnarok round. Artwork by Giacomo Vichi.

The details
Players: 2–4 (best with 3) | Playing time: 25–45 minutes | Age: 10+ | Complexity: light-medium
Designer: James Dickinson | Artist: Giacomo Vichi | Publishers: Mighty Boards & La Mame Games

Perfect for: Bluffers, Norse mythology enthusiasts, and anyone who has ever gone all-in on turn two and spent the rest of the evening regretting it.