Joining me for this month's episode is a good friend of mine, Genevieve Gornichec, due to our shared passion for all things Norse and I'm delighted to finally after years of talking online about her wonderful Norse Fantasy and Norse History books, 'The Witch's Heart' and 'The Weaver and the Witch Queen'. Learn what inspired both stories about remarkable female figures of mythology and history, her experience writing and publishing, her second life in viking age living history and so much more.

Please discover more about Genevieve and her books at her website: https://genevievegornichec.com/

Return and join us in Valhalla as we conclude Episode 15, Norse Games & Vikings in Games, with special guest academics, Luca Panaro (University of Iceland) and Emma Thompson (University of Leicester) - Part 2!

- If you haven't watched/listened to Part 1 please do so, otherwise you will miss out on the many games and topics of representation discussed -

Games mentioned in Part 2 are as follows:

Roki @PolygonTreehouse

Final Voyage of Draengr Thar (table top role play game for 5e Dungeons & Dragons) by @1ShotJC

Tribes of Midgard @TribesofMidgard @norsfell

Odin's Ravens (table top card-based game for 2 players)

Althingi (table top card-based game for 4 players) @JoshuaMGillingham @outlandentertainment1295

Viking Raders (table top card-based game for up to 4 players) @vikingraiders

When The Wolf Comes (table top role play game, powered by Shadow of the Demon Lord rules) @ianstuartsharpe

Svilland (table top role play game for 5e Dungeons & Dragons) @DRSPublishing

Journey to Ragnarok (table top role play game for 5e Dungeons & Dragons) by Mana Project Studio

Choice of the Viking by Declan Taggart @ChoiceOfGames

Niffelheim @NiffelheimGame

Expedition Viking @LogicArtists

Northgard @Shiro_Games

Bad North @Rawfury

Joining me in this month's episode of Valhalla Conversations are two academics, Luca Panaro, a PhD candidate at the University of Iceland, in the Faculty of Icelandic and Comparative Cultural Studies; and Emma Thompson, a Midlands4Cities (M4C)-funded PhD Researcher at the University of Leicester, in archaeology broadly but specifically looking at Viking Age and Late Anglo-Saxon mortuary identities.

We unite together to dive into the topic of games played by the vikings and the journey to games where we can play as vikings!

Games discussed in Part 1 are as follows:

Hnafltafl aka Tafl - A traditional Norse strategy table top board game.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla & Orlog @assassinscreedUK @Ubisoft

God Of War (2018 onwards) @PlayStation

Valheim @irongateofficial

Norse @ArcticHazard @tripwireinteractive

Atone: Heart of the Elder Tree @WildboyStudios

The Frostrune @grimnirmedia9341

The Banner Saga @StoicStudio

Dead in Vinland @ishtar_games

Jotun @thunderlotus

Jotunnslayer: Hordes of Hell @gamesfarm3558

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice @officialninjatheory

You can also read Luca's "deep dive" article into Norse Mythology retold in God of War 2018 here: https://doi.org/10.22478/ufpb.2595-9107.2021v1n4.60355

Do follow up with Part 2 of our this insightful and interesting conversation!

Join me in discovering a stunning set of special photographs and their talented photographer. We meet a very unique and talented photographer, Jenn Robinson, who is also a near decade long member of Regia Anglorum, and her amazing photographs that have captured moments from the legends of the Norse pantheon.

See them in full glory at her website: https://jenniferpetersphoto.com/reenactment

And find out more about Regia Anglorum, UK's biggest historical re-enactment society: https://regia.org/home.php

Clear the mead benches, lay out fresh straw, roll out the mead barrels and prepare to welcome the most "hapless" group of Norse heroes and heroines to the Hall of the Worthy as we welcome:

Game Master, ‪@ianstuartsharpe‬ aka Mr Vikingverse, who has recently completed an actual play podcast, Vikings & Valkyries, of his uniquely norse Thought & Memory Saga adventure set in the When The Wolf Comes universe. You can listen on YouTube and Spotify. https://vikingverse.com/podcast-episodes

Along with Characters/Players:

Bill Hopkins, a GM-for-hire on StartPlaying (using the stage name MagicLudi). He also has channels on Facebook, Twitch, and Youtube so you can get a taste of his GM style before signing up. https://startplaying.games/gm/magicludi

Steve Madill, a prolific author of science fiction and fantasy, with over a dozen books across three series. http://www.sjmadill.com/ ‪

C J Adrien‬ an award-winning author of Viking historical fiction novels and co-host of the ‪@vikingologypodcast‬ podcast. https//www.cjadrien.com/

Annina Kaski, actress, writer, producer and star of ‪@BardicQuest‬ and Find more of her work at the ‪@theawkwardactress‬.

Taylor Moe, filmmaker, blacksmith and Dungeon Master at Silver Fire Films.

My next special guest in this mini series meeting the many talented and skilled and knowledgable folk who are part of this years ⁨@JORVIK-Viking-Centre⁩ Jorvik Viking Festival - is a truly talented storyteller by the name of Jason Buck.

I chat to him about how he first encountered the Norse myths, how he creates the stories he enchants audiences with, we discuss the nature of stories and their enduring power, the blessing and curse of not knowing all the norse stories ever told, how various folklore share similiarities and many other topics I hope you find interesting.

If you are at all interested in attending one of his live or online story events please visit his website here: https://www.jasonbuckstoryteller.co.uk/

You can begin to experience and listen to his wonderful and skilled story of The Shield Maiden thanks to this video recording he made of it, in two parts, 4 years ago on YouTube - https://youtu.be/LkQv0ZmJbLE?si=WV8hZFwyVSi8hOx0

And if you are interested in the Viking Folklore and Fairytales collection I am currently reading - you can find out more about it here - https://www.flametreepublishing.com/viking-folk-&-fairy-tales-isbn-9781804172308.html

I am delighted to welcome a guest with a unique and special connection to myself, in that we are both Alumni of @hudduni - myself graduating in 2009, whereas Katie Smith, a graphic designer at @yorkarchaeology graduated in 2020.

And thanks to her talent and current position, she was given the almighty task of helping design the very first and most exclusive @TopTrumpsOfficial card set for the @JORVIK-Viking-Centre which were release a month or two before this years Jorvik Viking Festival.

I had a really enjoyable chat with Katie, sharing our connection, learning of her journey from graduate to graphic designer for YAT and her own personal learning curve on Norse Mythology and how it helped her interpretation and depiction of the various gods, goddesses, giants and monsters in the pack.

You can buy the pack from the Jorvik Online Shop here: https://www.jorvikshop.com/products/jorvik-top-trumps

In my 2nd bonus episode, in my Mini Series, Legends of Jorvik, I am pleased to welcome Simon Kirk and Kathy Hipperson, from Time Will Tell Theatre, to share with us the secrets, tricks and tales that were behind their Finale show, "Tyrfing: The Cursed Sword" at this year's ‪@JORVIK-Viking-Centre‬ Viking Festival.

The show was written by Simon Kirk http://time-will-tell.co.uk

The music and soundscape by Jonny Dyer http://swan-dyer.co.uk

The narrators were Kathy Hipperson and Simon Kirk

The play was performed by Time Will Tell Theatre http://time-will-tell.co.uk

You can watch the show in full video and audio via this link: • Tyrfing: The Cursed Sword performed a...

You can also listen to the audio only for their 2024 Finale show: The Realms of Yggdrasil via this link: • The Realms of Yggdrasill - Jorvik Vik...