Introduction

Viktory is a board game that revolves around grabbing territory and capturing cities from the opponents. While true, that simple description does not quite do the game justice. Viktory is not set in a historical or even alternate historical setting because the map can and will change every game. Players represent the supreme ruler of their little piece of this fictional world and are charged with expanding their nascent empire at the expense of the other player or players.

Mechanically, Viktory is very simple to understand, at least for the basics of the game. Combat is resolved through dice rolling, and, in the case of my test games, even large battles never went more than a few rounds. The player never really gains an overwhelming number of units because of the logistics of the game. A player receives all casualties back at the end of his/her turn. The only way to gain or lose troops is by building or capturing cities to gain and by having cities conquered the player loses the units represented by that city.

Viktory plays a little like RISK and a little like Chess, providing enough strategy to keep games very interesting.

Presentation

Most players will be familiar with the playing pieces presented in Viktory. They come as the standard Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery, with the addition of Frigates for sea warfare. Frigates are a very powerful unit but I will get to that later.

The map itself consists of differing tiles each representing Water, Plains, Forest, or Mountain. The tiles I had to work with fit together pretty well, but not perfectly. Initially, the group I was playing with was concerned that the map would fly apart at the first touch but surprisingly it did not. I think the variable map, something gamers typically only see in computer games, is a real selling point. Right off the bat it adds some strategy to the game in how the various players will put the map together.

Given the simple game mechanics, most gamers would assume that a game like Viktory would seem targeted towards a less-advanced or -sophisticated gamer. I would not necessarily agree with that, however. Though the game mechanics are simple, the possibilities allow for complex game play. As an example, just the nuances of making the map and deciding which corner to take require a good deal of thought. The result is that Viktory can appeal to the whole gamut of board wargamers and perhaps even those folks who play games like Monopoly but usually have little interest in wargames. It is a game that requires players to use their brains and that can be appealing to a wide range of players.

Preparation & Setup

Typical for any boardgame, preparation for the first game obviously took a little longer. We had to remove the various pieces from the sprues and there was the requisite battle over who would be the black army. (I won : ). Then came the first hurdle: setting up the map. Again, with the first game, things were a little shaky. As I mentioned, we assumed that the map would fall apart at the first touch. Instead we found that once assembled it was quite stable. Players should definitely make allowances to have a large clear playing area, and of course make sure catnip toys are available to distract any cats.

Once the pieces are out and the map is setup there is no further preparation. Players will find once they get the hang of putting maps together, game prep will be a snap. I did not have to contact Morrison Games about any questions but the website and forum seem marginally helpful to players who might have a problem.