Nidavellir

First, remove any dwarf cards marked for 5+ players if you have fewer than 5 players. Each player receives a personal player board, one random crystal, and a set of coins with values 0, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Then, three dwarf cards are revealed face-up at each of the three taverns on the main board. These dwarves represent different classes that players will recruit.

The main objective of Nidavellir is to assemble the most formidable army of dwarves to defeat the dragon. This is achieved by collecting the most victory points, which are primarily gained through recruiting dwarves of various classes, acquiring powerful heroes, and strategically upgrading your coins throughout the game.

Players simultaneously select three coins from their hand to bid on the three taverns. Once all players have chosen, they reveal their bids. Bids are resolved from left to right across the taverns. In each tavern, the player with the highest coin value gets to choose a dwarf card first. If there's a tie in bids, players use their crystals to break the tie, with the higher crystal value winning. After a tie, crystals are exchanged between the tied players. The chosen dwarf cards are added to the player's collection, and any remaining coins are returned to the players' hands.

Victory points are calculated at the end of the game based on the dwarves in your collection. Hunters (green) and Blacksmiths (purple) score points based on the number of flags on their cards. Warriors (red) score points equal to the value of their highest coin if they have the most warrior flags. Explorers (blue) score points based on the sum of flags on their cards. Miners (orange) score points equal to the product of the sum of flags and the number of miner flags. Heroes provide unique scoring opportunities, often based on specific dwarf combinations or other game elements. Additionally, upgraded coins contribute to your final score.

The game concludes after two epochs (rounds). Each epoch consists of several bidding phases until all dwarf cards from that epoch's deck are distributed. After the first epoch, an intermediate scoring occurs where players with the most flags in each dwarf class receive a bonus. The final scoring takes place after the second epoch, where players tally their total victory points from all collected dwarves, heroes, and their upgraded coins. The player with the highest total victory points wins the game and is declared the best dwarf recruiter.