Steering a Viking longship by waving magnets around sounds like a mechanic dreamed up after one too many meads, and yet Viking Route might be the most interesting thing at UK Games Expo this year. Italian publisher Ares Games (the studio behind War of the Ring and Sword & Sorcery) is bringing the cooperative game to UKGE 2026 as a pre-release, with copies actually heading home in attendees bags.
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Find events near youThe hook is the table presence. Viking Route comes with a 3D wooden Drakkar sitting on a separate scenario board, and the longship is represented by a working compass. To steer it, players manipulate magnets, representing Odins ravens and the winds of fate, to nudge the compass and chart their course toward the Worlds Edge. Along the way you fight Norse beasts, complete quests, and prepare for a final showdown that decides whether you avert Ragnarök.
Viking Route funded on Kickstarter back in December 2024, so UKGE is the first proper chance for UK players to get hands-on with the production version before its Q2 2026 retail release. Ares is on stand 3-A-402 and showing four other games alongside it: roll-and-write TEDOKU, late-WW2 strategy game WunderWaffen, party word-guesser Perfect Mismatch, and Quartermaster General: South Front. The 5th Battle of Birmingham wargaming event also runs at the show, with Quartermaster General fans battling for the trophy.
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See how it worksUKGE turns 20 this year and runs Friday 29 to Sunday 31 May 2026 at the NEC, with all eight halls filled for the first time. If you are heading down with mates, find a community of UK gamers for the show.
Sources: Ares Games | UK Games Expo
