The fascination with Vikings and hoarding gold is showing no signs of abating. And it is into this Scandinavian fixation that Coin Master attempts to tap.

Coin Master is probably best known through Facebook as it lets you and millions of players internationally play together. Coin Master lets you build your very own Viking village into a stronghold by spinning the wheel of fortune or attacking and raiding the village of friends and foes alike.

There truly is no honor among thieves as you fight your way to the top and be crowned Coin Master.

Features

● Choice of character including pirate, king, hippy, warrior, or Viking

● Wheel of fortune to earn easy coins

● Set up raids on other villages and steal their coins

● Collect cards as well as coins to raid the next village

● Multiplayer mode for Facebook to play and trade cards

More

Before diving into the plot, you should probably be aware of some limitations with Coin Master.

Firstly, if you don't have a Facebook account, you can only play as a guest. Plus, you can't play offline as there's no way to raid other villages.

While the whole game concept could be considered cute, it is rather undermined by the algorithm, which seems overly keen to engineer players into buying in-app purchases.

That said, the shortcomings are not enough to deter millions of players from battling it out for the loot. However, it is not all raiding parties and digging up buried coins; there is a significant defensive element.

The aim is to build a strong village that can withstand attacks. Attacking villages for coins is a two-way street. You need to win shields to protect your village and your hard-earned/stolen treasure trove.

PROS

● Multiplayer action

● Impressive help section on the developer's website

● Nice graphics

● Multi-language support

● Great strategy game

CONS

● It may feel slightly vanilla to hardcore gamers

Price - Free but with in-app purchases for extra coins

How to use

Coin Master is downloadable from Google Play and Apple's App Store. Although free to download and play, you will be offered in-app purchases for extra coins. These purchases range from $0.99 to $49.99.

Storage requirements for the Android version vary by device, but you need to run at least Android 4.4.

You should note, too, that Google Play rates the game as a 12+ due to simulated gambling.

Meanwhile, iOS users will need to part company with 327.1 MB of storage space and run iOS 10.0 or later.

Interestingly, the App Store places a 17+ age rating on Coin Master due to what they call frequent and intense simulated gambling. So this is worth remembering for younger teens with Apple devices.

There is also a significant difference of opinion between the two platforms on Coin Master's game rating.

Some six million Google Play reviewers reckon Coin Master deserves a 4.3 out of five-star rating.

Over at the App Store, the iOS reviewers have been somewhat kinder with their 4.7 out of five ranking for Coin Master.