One of the fascinating aspects of the resurgence of interest in board gaming is how they have demonstrated a knack for making pedestrian or even administrative processes engrossing. Vikings on Board, superficially a game themed around preparing for a journey, is a superb example. It’s not quite a packing-your-suitcase simulator, yet the gameplay remains focused on managing a workforce and moving supplies around a harbour, all with a view to dominating the northern territories with a clan of Norsemen.

The mechanics might seem at odds with the game’s claim to be a family-friendly strategy title. However, thanks to its captivating Viking theme and a riveting betting mechanic, which sees players trying to balance predicting the fortunes of their rivals with racing to claim victory, Vikings on Board shines, whether played with the family or over drinks with adult friends. Elaborate, enthralling and lavishly produced, it can feel a little convoluted when played at the family table, but if your own Viking clan doesn’t mind flexing its grey matter, it is well worth paying attention.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘A back-stabber’s delight’… Elections of US America Election: The Card Game. Photograph: aurochdigital.com

If the thought of something even loosely connected to preparing for a journey sends a shudder down the spine, there’s another new release focusing on an equally familiar, if recently overwhelming, process. Elections of US America Election: The Card Game , as the rather eccentric title alludes to, visits that most thorny of contemporary topics – the recent new hire at the White House.

The gameplay focuses on players assuming the role of a candidate’s campaign manager, but what this boisterous, easily learned release is really about is back-stabbing your friends, laughing together and making snarky asides at the political process.

Intelligently written and sometimes cuttingly cynical, Elections of US America Election brings a refreshing levity to the serious mood around global politics. Considering the high-energy atmosphere a session can engender, when a single game occasionally hits the three-hour mark it can feel a little drawn out, but this opportunity to play at rewriting recent history still makes for a wonderful evening.

For those who feel that revisiting Donald Trump’s rise to power feels rather too much too soon, then a programming game might be more down to earth. Veteran tabletop gamers may remember 1994 hit RoboRally, created by renowned designer Richard Garfield. Now the icon is back, revised and reworked for a new audience.

As before, RoboRally focuses on the weekend exploits of a band of automotive assembly-line robots, which compete on the factory floor in their own sport when the humans clock off.

The programming, then, is really a matter of preparing for battle. In the newly reinvented game, players must code and customise automatons, before sending them into an aggressive race around the factory. The pace is hectic and games fly by at a considerable speed, with plenty of shifts in tempo – refreshing, when so many modern strategy board games can get bogged down in a quagmire of rules and jargon.

It’s a shame that RoboRally’s components have a slightly cheap feel this time around. But in being refined by Garfield himself, this updated classic will appeal to the nostalgic and it’s an opportunity for new players to try a key piece of work from one of the tabletop gaming greats.