The Danes, a standalone heavyweight worker placement game from Gernot Köpke, is heading to crowdfunding in Q2 2026. If A Feast for Odin is your idea of a perfect Saturday, you will want to pay attention.
Köpke co-designed The Norwegians with Uwe Rosenberg, the acclaimed expansion for A Feast for Odin (rated 8.2 on BGG, ranked #22). The Danes started life as another expansion nearly a decade ago but outgrew its origins. Rosenberg is involved as a collaborator, and Dennis Lohausen returns on art.
At its core, this is a Viking resource management game for 1-4 players lasting 90 to 180 minutes. You lead a small community through hunting, animal breeding, and trade with distant territories, trying to feed your people while building up enough wealth to win. The BGG weight sits at 3.8 out of 5, which places it squarely alongside games like Barrage and Kanban EV. This is a game for people who want to spend three hours making optimal Viking decisions, and it makes no apologies for that.
What separates The Danes from a simple expansion-turned-standalone is Köpke's ambition. The Swedes and The Normans are already planned as follow-ups, each exploring a different Viking culture. If the series delivers, it could become the definitive collection for fans of heavy historical euros.
The crowdfunding platform and exact launch date have not been confirmed yet, but the game is already sitting on BoardGameGeek's 2026 Most Anticipated list and was highlighted by Board Game Quest among the year's most anticipated releases.
Sources: BoardGameGeek | Board Game Quest | Mr Board Games