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Cavum

Cavum

Eagle-Gryphon Games · 2008
2–4120 min12+ yrs3.6/5 complexity6.7 BGG#3.648 BGG2,2 KStrategy
short answer

How do you play Cavum?

In the mountain there are veins of precious stones. The players build tunnels in the mountain, establish stations in the mountain and in the city, discover veins of precious stones, acquire precious stones, and sell them.

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Cavum box art
official art · Eagle-Gryphon Games

In the mountain there are veins of precious stones. The players build tunnels in the mountain, establish stations in the mountain and in the city, discover veins of precious stones, acquire precious stones, and sell them. The players get points for stations in the city and for selling precious stones. The winner is the player with the most points.

Game Summary The board is a hex grid, with city spaces along most of the edges. The center hex is a vein of yellow gems: place all 9 in a stack there. The rest of the gems go in their individual market areas (priced 1-9 based on supply).Each round (3 in game), add 5 contracts (showing gem combinations; score big VP if completing them; lose some VP if cannot) to the display. Then auction (using VP) turn order chips 1-4. Players then each get the same set of tiles (hexes with various numbers of track exits, prospecting tiles, veins, option tiles, etc.) plus a dynamite hex based on their turn order chip. Take turns taking contracts until everyone passes.

Then, on your turn, play 1-4 of your 12 actions. These allow you to place tracks (expanding previous tunnels; you can also cover track tiles with tiles having more exits), stations, or veins (which you supply with gems of your choice). Gems (6 types, 9 tokens each) each have their own market where they are stored and which set their max sell price. The last action is prospecting, where you create a path from one of your stations to another, passing through as many veins as possible: take one gem from each vein.

After everyone's 12 actions are used, any exposed dynamite tracks explode and take the adjacent tracks as well (all these are placed in the Buy Pool, which can be accessed by turning in Option tiles)! You score for stations in cities based on the number of empty hexes. Then, for each gem type, players bid (Dutch auction style, bidding for the lowest price they'll accept) and may sell their gems for VP at their bid price.

At game end (after 3 rounds), players sell off all their remaining gems (with lowest VP selling next gem), there's another city scoring, and players lose VP for incomplete orders. Most VP wins!

🔬 game anatomy
Complexity3.6 / 5
BGG rating6.7 / 10
Vibe
Strategy
Language dependence
No in-game text needed
🌐 plays without English
Play time
120 min
Players
2–4
Recommended age
12+ yrs
BGG rank
#3.648

from Trișache · verified

Frequently asked questions

Q1How much does Cavum cost?
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Q2Where can I buy Cavum cheapest?
Check the Prices tab — howtoplay.ro aggregates offers from 7+ Romanian board-game stores and tracks price history.
Q3How do you play Cavum?
Cavum is a american west game, for 2–4 players, taking ~120 minutes, featuring action points. Check the Rules tab for setup, gameplay, and scoring, or ask Trișache anything about Cavum — our AI assistant built by howtoplay.ro and trained specifically on board game rulebooks.
Q4How many players does Cavum support?
Cavum is played by 2–4 players.
Q5How long does a game of Cavum take?
A game of Cavum takes about 120 minutes. (The first game doesn't count. It never counts.)
Q6What age is Cavum for?
Cavum is recommended from age 12.
Q7How complex is Cavum?
Cavum has a BoardGameGeek complexity of 3.6 out of 5.
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