Valhalla - a first game...

Phil came over last night with his Saxons for our trial game of Valhalla.I fielded Picts.I had mainly unarmoured troops including four mounted warriors. My opponent's men were mail armoured  with shield and helmet.

Opposing benches ( name for units in the game) come to grips between the houses and the wattle surrounded field.

A tense moment as the mounted Picts are surrounded...

The last stand as others flee or meet their end.
All in all an enjoyable first outing for the rules.Being unarmoured does not help and missile fire is not too effective.You begin to identify with the named figures, each with their own strengths and weaknesses as generated by the website when you upload pictures and put in data with what they are armed with etc.We played this as a trial so set up no scenario with objectives.next time we will add a back story and see how that plays out.After the game we counted points and discovered the Picts fielded 157 points of troops to the Saxon's 202 points.That too may have helped the Picts to lose.
All in all I would recommend the rules as great fun and an excellent portrayal of the visceral nature of the period.
For more info here is the game's page with loads more details-
http://valhalla.eaststreetgames.com/
You can download the rules from the site and have a go yourself...
Do pop over you'll not regret it...