Men of the Sword is a two-player game that represents violent clashes of small forces in the Viking Age (late 8th to the mid 11th century). These conflicts pit two warbands of five to ten warriors against each other, battling until only one warband remains! The movement, position of warriors and combat is abstract in Men of the Sword so only a small space is required to play the game. Once players are used to the rules a game can be played in under two hours. Custom dice are rolled to determine attack results, and the unique play deck represents occurrences during battle that can turn the tide for good or ill. Norsemen strongly believed in fate and this force often takes a hand in Men of the Sword, with cards sometimes playable only by spending fate tokens. —description from the designer