In Northgard, you grow a Viking clan through real-time strategy and city building. You lead a clan that lands on a new continent, where you build a settlement from almost nothing while rival clans compete for the same land. You pick a clan at the start, and each one has its own bonuses. Much of the game is about running an economy, so there's less constant micromanagement than in many classic strategy games.
A match starts with a Town Hall, a few workers, and very little land you can use. You scout first, because you can only build on land you have claimed, and any monsters guarding a region have to be defeated before you can claim it. Once you have room, you send villagers into jobs like hunting or cutting wood, and each building works best with a matching resource nearby. Keeping food, wood, stone, and iron flowing while you expand is the core of every session.
The game runs on seasons, and winter is the one you plan around, since farms produce less food in the cold and fires burn through more wood. The match settings decide which victory types are on, so check the setup screen before you start. The usual ones are Domination (destroying rival Town Halls), Fame (earned by claiming land, upgrading buildings, feasting and beating enemies), Wisdom (built from Lore), and Trade (Commercial Influence from paid trade routes).
- Developer
- Shiro Games
- Publisher
- Shiro Games
- Release
- Steam full release: 2018-03-07 · Definitive Edition update: 2025-12-04
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux
Game data
Clans
Northgard's clans are the Viking groups you can lead, and each one has its own lore tree, strengths and, in many cases, special units. Stag, Goat, Wolf, Raven, Bear and Boar come with the original game, and the Definitive Edition adds Snake, Dragon, Horse and Lion. Every other clan is a paid add-on you can buy on its own. The clan you pick at the start shapes your opening, your research and, for most clans, your warchief.
Units
Military units are the fighters each clan trains to defend its lands, raid rivals and claim territory. Most clans share a few basic soldiers, such as the Warrior, and add their own special units and a named warchief on top. The Southern Kingdoms train their own troops, starting with Sentries from a Sentry Camp. Your army size is capped by your warband, which grows as you build military camps, and unit costs rise as your warband grows.
Resources
Resources are what every clan in Northgard runs on. Food feeds your people and pays for new land, wood builds and warms your settlement, and Kröwns cover upkeep. Stone and iron are limited and drive upgrades, while Happiness decides whether new villagers keep joining. Lore, Fame and Commercial Influence feed the long-term victories, and Military Experience unlocks skills on the military paths.
Northgard gameplay tips
- Start with Story Mode before you play multiplayer. It introduces the core mechanics gradually, including getting ready for winter. Playing at least the first few levels gives you the basics before you face other players.
- Build a Scout Camp early and steer your scouts by hand. Unmanaged scouts wander off and explore at random, while scouts you direct cover the ground you care about. They also flag the resources they uncover, so you know where to place your first buildings.
- Stockpile food before winter and move workers onto food when the cold hits. Food is the most important supply through the cold, so pull extra workers off other jobs and send them back to gathering it.
- Keep Happiness positive so new villagers keep joining. Your population only grows while your clan stays happy enough, so a drop in happiness stops new villagers from arriving. Hover over the happiness icon to see what your residents want. A Brewery is a good way to raise it, since each brewer adds happiness.
- Check your Kröwns income before you train a big warband. Kröwns pay for military upkeep, so every soldier you add raises the amount you have to cover over time. A large army you can't afford will drain your Kröwns fast.
- Save Stone for building upgrades and Iron for the Forge. Building upgrades cost Stone, and deposits run out, so spend it on the upgrades that matter most. Iron goes into forging, so keep some back rather than spending it all early.