Odin's Ravens is a simple, straightforward, and slightly addictive game of equal parts strategy and chance. Each of two players controls a raven, belonging to the God-King Odin, and tries to beat their opponent in a race across the various landscapes of the planet on the daily flight to survey the land. Not surprisingly, seeing as how the word "Odin" is in the title, I quite liked it.
Goal:
One wins a game of Odin's Ravens by acquiring 12 points over a series of rounds; points given out per round vary from one to 12 and are awarded from various conditions, so it's possible to win a game in one round, though highly unlikely.
Core Mechanics:
The players have cards in their hand that make up a majority of each players' deck, simply called "flight cards"-- by playing a flight card, which has to be of the same kind of land as the card laid out directly in front of your raven, you can move your raven forward onto that space. This action makes up a majority of the turns taken in "Odin's Ravens". Players can also place flight cards face-down in their "auxiliary deck", however, which can be played during later turns in the reverse order in which they were placed; this way, the amount of cards available to be played is maximized.
There are also "Odin" cards hidden within each player's deck, that have more conventional and familiar mechanics written on them, such as "move your opponent one space back or move yourself one space forward". These cards are far more uncommon than land cards, but significantly more powerful.
One of several "magic way" cards will be selected randomly at the beginning of each round, which will depict two types of land (or a picture of Odin and a type of land). Players can play flight cards next to the magic way card if the flight card land type matches one of the two land types on the magic way card during their turn, and whoever has the most cards next to the magic way card at the end of the round gets three points.
Space of the Game:
The game is played on (at least) nine cards lined up in a single row. Each player has one hand of (at maximum) five cards, and an auxiliary deck of any number of cards. There is one "magic way" card placed at the very edge of the flight path (the nine-card row). There is one deck of land cards between the "magic way" card and the flight path.
Action:
The player draws a card if his hand doesn't already have five cards in it.
The player can then do any of the following actions:
-play up to three flight cards to move his raven along the flight path
-place any number of flight cards into his auxiliary deck for later play
-play an Odin card (if that player has the Odin marker)
-place any number of flight cards next to the magic way card
-play any number of cards from his auxiliary deck in the reverse order that they were placed in (if it's not the player's first turn)
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At the end of the turn, the player can do any of the following actions:
-discard a card from his hand in order to draw until he has a five-card hand again
-place an additional land card from the land deck onto the end of the flight path
Objects:
-two wooden raven figurines
-112 cards
-one Odin marker
States:
Flight - when a player is in the action of moving his or her raven across the flight path
Reserving cards - when a player hoards cards in their auxiliary deck
Odin - when a player has the Odin marker, and is thusly able to play Odin cards
Placing land - when a player chooses to add a land card to the flight path
Magic way - when a player plays a flight card onto the magic way card
Rules:
Only two players can play.
Each player is allowed to play three flight cards per turn with the purpose of moving their raven across the flight path. A mountain flight can only move the raven if the next land card is a mountain card, a cloud flight can only move the raven if the next land card is a sky card, etc.
A player can play Odin cards on their turn if they have the Odin marker-- initially, the Odin marker is given to the player who goes second, and the Odin marker changes owners if the player who has the Odin marker uses an Odin card.
Players may move as many flight cards from their hand into their auxiliary deck or onto the magic way card as they wish on their turn. They may also play as many cards from their auxiliary deck as they wish on their turn, on the condition that they are played in the reverse order in which they were placed.
At the end of the turn, a player may choose to discard a card from their hand to fill up their hand to its maximum size of five cards. A player may also choose to play the topmost land card from the land deck onto the end of the flight path, elongating it.
When one player reaches the end of the flight path, the difference between the number of cards the winner crossed and the number of cards the loser crossed becomes the amount of points that the winner is awarded. Three points are given to the player, winner or loser, who has the most flight cards on the magic way card at the end of any given round. The first player to attain 12 points wins the game.
Skills players learn:
In Odin's Ravens, players learn how to manipulate and fake out their opponent by bluffing their hand and placing hidden cards face-down in their auxiliary deck for later use, and by this they also learn how to appropriately manage the distribution of their cards to the various (and numerous) tasks that each card may address on the board. Deciding whether or not to fly forward, hide a card, or place it on the magic way card is a crucial and difficult problem that is faced on every turn. One ultimately has to become a master of making very difficult decisions according to your play style, or be left in the dust.
There are also "Odin" cards hidden within each player's deck, that have more conventional and familiar mechanics written on them, such as "move your opponent one space back or move yourself one space forward". These cards are far more uncommon than land cards, but significantly more powerful.
One of several "magic way" cards will be selected randomly at the beginning of each round, which will depict two types of land (or a picture of Odin and a type of land). Players can play flight cards next to the magic way card if the flight card land type matches one of the two land types on the magic way card during their turn, and whoever has the most cards next to the magic way card at the end of the round gets three points.
Space of the Game:
The game is played on (at least) nine cards lined up in a single row. Each player has one hand of (at maximum) five cards, and an auxiliary deck of any number of cards. There is one "magic way" card placed at the very edge of the flight path (the nine-card row). There is one deck of land cards between the "magic way" card and the flight path.
Action:
The player draws a card if his hand doesn't already have five cards in it.
The player can then do any of the following actions:
-play up to three flight cards to move his raven along the flight path
-place any number of flight cards into his auxiliary deck for later play
-play an Odin card (if that player has the Odin marker)
-place any number of flight cards next to the magic way card
-play any number of cards from his auxiliary deck in the reverse order that they were placed in (if it's not the player's first turn)
---
At the end of the turn, the player can do any of the following actions:
-discard a card from his hand in order to draw until he has a five-card hand again
-place an additional land card from the land deck onto the end of the flight path
Objects:
-two wooden raven figurines
-112 cards
-one Odin marker
States:
Flight - when a player is in the action of moving his or her raven across the flight path
Reserving cards - when a player hoards cards in their auxiliary deck
Odin - when a player has the Odin marker, and is thusly able to play Odin cards
Placing land - when a player chooses to add a land card to the flight path
Magic way - when a player plays a flight card onto the magic way card
Rules:
Only two players can play.
Each player is allowed to play three flight cards per turn with the purpose of moving their raven across the flight path. A mountain flight can only move the raven if the next land card is a mountain card, a cloud flight can only move the raven if the next land card is a sky card, etc.
A player can play Odin cards on their turn if they have the Odin marker-- initially, the Odin marker is given to the player who goes second, and the Odin marker changes owners if the player who has the Odin marker uses an Odin card.
Players may move as many flight cards from their hand into their auxiliary deck or onto the magic way card as they wish on their turn. They may also play as many cards from their auxiliary deck as they wish on their turn, on the condition that they are played in the reverse order in which they were placed.
At the end of the turn, a player may choose to discard a card from their hand to fill up their hand to its maximum size of five cards. A player may also choose to play the topmost land card from the land deck onto the end of the flight path, elongating it.
When one player reaches the end of the flight path, the difference between the number of cards the winner crossed and the number of cards the loser crossed becomes the amount of points that the winner is awarded. Three points are given to the player, winner or loser, who has the most flight cards on the magic way card at the end of any given round. The first player to attain 12 points wins the game.
Skills players learn:
In Odin's Ravens, players learn how to manipulate and fake out their opponent by bluffing their hand and placing hidden cards face-down in their auxiliary deck for later use, and by this they also learn how to appropriately manage the distribution of their cards to the various (and numerous) tasks that each card may address on the board. Deciding whether or not to fly forward, hide a card, or place it on the magic way card is a crucial and difficult problem that is faced on every turn. One ultimately has to become a master of making very difficult decisions according to your play style, or be left in the dust.
