Dwellings of Eldervale

To set up Dwellings of Eldervale, place the central board featuring the glory track, elemental tracks, and orb rewards in the center of the table. Form the game world by shuffling and arranging the elemental realm tiles and ruin tiles based on player count according to the rulebook. Each player selects a faction board, taking the corresponding miniature units, worker meeples, dice, and markers. Distribute starting cards, resources, and orbs as specified for solo or multiplayer setup, and place the dungeon and magic card trays within easy reach.

The main objective of Dwellings of Eldervale is to accumulate the highest number of victory points by the end of the game. Players achieve this by exploring elemental realms, building dwellings on realm tiles, collecting magical items and cards, winning tactical battles against opponents and monsters, and advancing on glory and elemental tracks.

A player's turn consists of two main choices: placing a unit or regrouping. When placing a unit, you take one worker from your ready area and place it onto an unoccupied space in an elemental realm to trigger that realm's action, such as gathering resources, purchasing cards, or summoning new units. When you choose to regroup, you retrieve all your deployed units from the board, potentially triggering card actions or returning fallen units from the underworld back to your ready area.

Scoring happens incrementally throughout the game and culminates at the end. Players earn points for unspent orbs, advancement on elemental tracks, constructed dwellings, tableau and starter cards, and completed adventure cards. Battles won also push players up the glory track, granting substantial end-game points and bonuses.

The game concludes when specific trigger conditions outlined in the rules are met, such as emptying certain resource stacks or triggering endgame milestones. After a final round of play, comprehensive end-game scoring is tallied across all categories.