Viking Route uses a compass-and-magnets mechanic that was first implemented in “The Faceless”, a game published in 2018 and designed by Martino Chiacchiera and Guido Albini. The game designer Luca Maragno joined the team to create a new game with this mechanic, with a new setting perfect for exploring the magnetism in the gameplay. He tells us how Viking Route was created in this Designer Diary.

Luca Maragno, co-designer of Viking Route.

It all started with an idea by Martino Chiacchiera and Guido Albini: using magnetism in a board game. That idea became “The Faceless” in 2018. In 2022, Martino asked me if I would be interested in reinventing it, in a Viking setting. I was immediately thrilled. I had the opportunity to work with a very experienced game designer and, above all, the project seemed really titillating: a compass representing a ship, its navigation depending on the manipulation of magnets that would orient its needle.

A matter of emotion

The first goal I set for myself was to make the gaming experience emotionally engaging. Using a compass in the gameplay is a fantastic idea, but the item itself is not exciting. Where is the ship in the game? Or the Vikings who sail it? They couldn't remain only in the players' imagination; they needed to somehow be represented on the table.

“Legends of Andor part II: Journey to the North" came to mind; I had not played it, but I was fascinated by the mechanic of the ship being on the game board and the characters on a ship-sheet next to it. I followed this idea, and it turned out to be a perfect fit for the game’s core concept, navigation. By manipulating the Ravens' miniatures, which contain a magnet, players could influence the needle of the Drakkar-compass, and therefore the direction in which it was sailing. But through interaction with the Vikings on the ship there could be an additional layer of navigation management: direction could be further influenced through the tiller (i.e. steering the tiller right moves the Drakkar-compass in the space to the right of the one indicated by the needle) and speed could be regulated through the sails (from struck sails, with which the Drakkar-compass stays still, to battle sails, with which it moves 2 spaces). At that point adding other elements to the ship, such as a ballista or a hold, came easy.

It felt like the right direction, but making everything work in a fun and simple way turned out to be quite complex.

The Drakkar evolution

The evolution of the Drakkar, from the simple square grid with six zones to a Deck zone that connects all others, and the idea of making it 3D.

One of the hardest problems to overcome was mapping out the Drakkar zones. I started with a simple square grid and the game was at once quite fun. Martino really liked the idea, so we cleaned everything up and decided to start presenting it. I immediately thought of Ares Games, as I really respect Roberto Di Meglio (the production manager), and I would have loved to work with him. In addition, my partner Mathias Mazzetti (who oversees graphic design) and I were looking for a development contract for our Dam Things, and I knew that Ares Games as a publisher appreciates this kind of collaboration. This proved to be the right choice. The project convinced them, so we immediately got to work to develop it. And then my torment began.

The game was fun, but in some turns the characters could not reach the zones they needed to face the current emergency, in others instead they did not have much to do. I felt that we were not making full use of the potential of all the game mechanics. I took a 15-day break, dedicating myself to another game, hoping to reset my mind. Sometimes "distracting" yourself for a while is enough to get back to an old problem and find new solutions that you could not see before. So, I picked up the game again and completely took the gameplay apart. I kept stubbornly looking for optimal solutions to the Drakkar zones problem and when I finally left the grid layout behind and thought of alternative shapes, the solution came to me: a Deck zone connecting all others, so that the characters would always be no more than two zones away from any point of the ship. Now the game had the right rhythm, keeping players on edge.

Solved the zones issue, I started to think it would be cool if we could make the Drakkar 3D! Mathias was immediately enthusiastic about the idea and thought of a way to make it a reality: the three-dimensionality of the Drakkar is the result of his effort.

A first prototype, with magnet pedestals made with air drying clay.

A matter of magnetism

Understanding how magnetism works is rather elementary. The magnet in the Ravens’ bases has the positive pole on the beak side, so it attracts the compass needle, while the tail side repels it. The closer the magnet is to the compass, the greater its influence. The result is that after a first "wow" moment, manipulating the Ravens in order to direct the compass becomes quite simple. Initially there was supposed to be an element of "disorder": Loki would always be in game as a magnetic miniature that would "chase" the Drakkar on the map. This made the behavior of the magnetic forces on the field more unpredictable, but unfortunately if he got too close to the compass he would "break" the game, because his influence on the needle was too overpowering compared to that of the Ravens, who were still confined to the edge of the map. We had reached a dead end: without Loki the magnetism was too predictable, with Loki it could become unmanageable.

I decided that it was better to take Loki out of the equation, and for a while it seemed that we would finalize the game like that. Then, I thought of the Wind. A magnetic miniature fixed in the center of the map. It could be rotated but not moved, either by players, under particular conditions, or in certain random situations. It was a motionless "Loki": it scrambled the magnetism enough to make it more unpredictable, without causing the earlier problems. It was the solution we were looking for. At that point it was easy to transform it into Kári, the personification of wind in Norse mythology.

In the pictures, Luca Maragno and Mathias Mazzetti assembling a prototype, and Margot, one of the boss fights in the "box" scenario.

Worlds and Gods

Once we figured the gameplay out, we had the foundations to create different scenarios, drawing from Norse myths for the creation of worlds and enemies. Corrupt Valkyries had to be a common obstacle to all scenarios, but each world had to have a special feature, usually a type of space on the game board that would make something unique happen. So, in Midgard there are the vortices that push the Drakkar towards random directions; in the swamps the fog that covers the compass, hiding the direction of the needle; in Asgard, pieces of Bifrost that teleport the Vikings from one point to another. Coming up with diversified boss fights was fun and we believe we managed to give a soul to all the enemies that the Vikings must face: the Kraken squeezes the Drakkar between its tentacles, the giant Fenrir Wolf charges like a bull and throws the Vikings overboard, Hela puts them into the sleep of death, and so on.

A matter of Aesthetics


Our primary target was boardgamers, but it was clear that the gameplay really was suitable for everyone. We thought a cartoon style could be the way to go, but it had to have a strong aesthetic, be instantly recognizable and not make you think of a children's game. I immediately recalled the wonderful movies made by Irish studio Cartoon Saloon (Wolfwalkers, Song of the sea). I went through my illustrators file (the one where I write down the names of artists who strike me when something catches my eye) and there were some that could go very well with what I had in mind. In particular, there was this one wonderful book on Norse myths illustrated by a certain Alberto Orso. Once the editor approved our direction, we asked Alberto for a few sketches: as soon as they arrived, we knew that he was exactly the one we were looking for.

The characters creation is essentially Martino Chiacchiera’s doing. At first, I was perplexed about some choices, like including Kuba, a kind of Shaman Bear. I wasn't sure about pushing so hard on the fantasy part and I was afraid that the audience might turn up their noses. I'm quite conservative and I like classics, so Kuba was a little out of my zone, but I also knew that a distinctive element could be a strength. And in the end Kuba has become one of the characters I like the most, especially after seeing Orso’s splendid illustration: I need a Kuba teddy at home!

Helga with and without helmet.

We polished many details along the way. For example, Helga: at first Martino had imagined her wearing a helmet with horns, one of which was broken. Then we abandoned the idea. First, because Viking helmets never had horns. But this had marginal importance in a rather fantastical game, as we could take all liberties necessary. The helmet, however, gave her an excessively warlike look. All in all, without it she was beautiful, proud, and with a look to which you just can't say no.

A matter of millimeters

In this project, we needed to pay particular attention to measurements. Martino Chiacchiera and Guido Albini had already calculated everything: the compass diameter, the size of the magnets, and consequently the size of spaces and game boards at large. From there, they determined the sizes of the Ravens and Wind pedestals into which to insert the magnets.

These initially had to be inserted by the players in holes on the pedestals and then blocked with colored bases. However, Roberto Di Meglio found a much better alternative: magnets pre-inserted in closed pedestals, so that when players would open their game box wouldn’t have to assemble anything and everything would be ready-made.

The heart of the game is magnetism, and we built everything else around that to make the most of it. If Viking Route exists today, it is mainly thanks to the millimetric design of Martino and Guido, and the dedication that Martino Chiacchiera put into supervising the entire project until the final phase. If you try it, we are positive that you will be magnetized. And you, too, will discover that sometimes finding the right direction is a matter of millimeters.

Viking Route is now live on Kickstarter. For more info, check the Overview article, read about the Heroes and the Worlds and Enemies, and visit the Kickstarter Project page.

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