Eketorp

Game time: 2 hours (or thereabouts) for 2-6 players. More players is best.
The aim on Eketorp is to win.
Winning is achieved by having the most victory points.

Each player receives 6-8 Vikings (depending on the number of players), 5 tokens, four battle cards, a village name, a mini board and a blind.
The main board is made up of six villages (one per player), six resource fields and a hospital.
Players choose a village by putting their village name next to it – sensible players choose the village closet to where they’re sitting. Positions of villages are irrelevant.
The first of ten resource cards is drawn and the 6 resource fields is populated according to its instruction.
Behind their blinds, players simultaneously place their Vikings on the mini board which corresponds to the playable areas on the big board.
Choices are:
– Your own village: As many Vikings as desired can be kept in the village to defend against sieges
– Another village: Each village has three points of attack, only 1 Viking can occupy each position
– A resource field: As many Vikings as desired can be committed to gathering the resources.
Once all pieces are place, battles are sorted out. Basically, only 1 Viking can be left standing at each of the siege points around villages and only 1 Viking per resource brick can be left standing in each resource field (unless they belong to the same player).
Sieges are a means to steal other players’ resources and demolish segments of their castle.
Each battle is fought by playing one of the four battle cards (number 1-6). Players swap the cards they play against each other with each other but must play all four cards to pick up their new cards.
Vikings that draw or lose a battle end up in hospital. The hospital has 4 wards, each corresponding to the number of turns that Viking needs to recuperate and then return to the player. The difference between the two played battle cards will determine which ward a wounded Viking will end up in.
Once all battles are completed, the victors return to their village with their hard-won bricks and go towards the 18 brick wall each player is trying to build round their village.
The tokens can be used to swap a battle card with a fresh one from the deck.
At turn’s end, the wounded Vikings move up one ward or are discharged and return to the players, and the next resource card is drawn.

The game ends when either a player manages to complete their 18 brick wall or all the resource cards are played out and fought over (i.e. ten rounds are completed).
Players the score up the values of their bricks (4 brick types, 4 values) their tokens and a 5 point bonus for a completed wall.
The winner is the one with the most points.