Overview

Caverna is a worker-placement development strategy game where players take the roles of dwarfs living in caves. Players dig for ore and rubies, furnish caverns into living/working spaces, fell trees, raise farm animals, and grow crops. Each dwarf takes one action per round, placed on shared action spaces. The game lasts 12 rounds with harvest phases that require feeding your dwarfs. At game end, the wealthiest player (most Gold points) wins. Playing time is approximately 30 minutes per player.

Components

• 7 large Home boards (Forest/Mountain)
• Multiple game boards with Action spaces (scaled by player count)
• 4 supply boards for Furnishing tiles
• 12 Action space cards (1 revealed per round)
• Wooden/acrylic tokens: Dogs (20), Sheep (35), Donkeys (30), Wild Boar (30), Cattle (30), Wood (45), Stone (25), Ore (45), Rubies (20), Grain (40), Vegetables (35)
• 7x5 Dwarf discs, 7x3 Stables (in player colors)
• Gold coins (1s, 2s, 10s), Food markers, Weapon strength markers
• 17 Dwelling tiles + 47 unique Furnishing tiles
• Landscape tiles: Tunnels/Caverns, Ruby Mines/Fields, Meadows/Pastures, Ore Mines/Deep Tunnels, Cavern/Tunnel twins, Meadow/Field twins
• 7 Harvest markers, Overview cards, scoring pad

Setup

1. Each player takes a Home board, 5 Dwarfs, 3 Stables of their color. Place 2 Dwarfs in the Entry-level Dwelling.
2. Set up game boards according to player count (different boards for 1-3 vs 4-7 players, plus additional boards for 3, 5, 6-7, 7 players).
3. Shuffle 7 Harvest markers face-down on Round spaces 6-12.
4. Arrange 12 Action space cards by stage (Stage 1 on top, Stage 4 on bottom) without looking.
5. Sort landscape tiles, Furnishing tiles, resources, and animals.
6. Starting Food: Player 1 and Player 2 get 1 Food each; Player 3 gets 2 Food; Players 4+ get 3 Food each.

Turn Structure

The game lasts 12 rounds. Each round has 3 phases:

Phase 1: Add New Action Space

Reveal the top Action space card and place it on the corresponding round space. Replenish accumulating resources on action spaces.

Phase 2: Work Phase

Starting with the start player and proceeding clockwise, each player places one Dwarf on an unoccupied Action space and immediately performs that action. Continue until all players have placed all their Dwarfs. Each Action space can only hold one Dwarf (with minor exceptions).

Phase 3: Return Home

All Dwarfs return to their Home boards. If the round has a Harvest marker, resolve the Harvest:

1. Field phase: Harvest 1 Grain/Vegetable from each sown Field.
2. Feeding phase: Pay 2 Food per Dwarf (1 Food per newborn Dwarf born this round). Food sources: Food markers, Grain (1 Food each), Vegetables (2 Food each), Ruby (trade for 1 Food), animals (varies by cooking method). Unpaid Food = -3 Gold begging marker per missing Food.
3. Breeding phase: Each animal type with at least 2 of that type produces 1 offspring (if you have room).

Actions

Resource Actions

Accumulating spaces that add resources each round: Wood Gathering, Mining (Ore), Ruby Mining, etc. Take all accumulated resources when you use the space.

Farming Actions

• Sow: Plant Grain or Vegetables on prepared Fields. Grain yields 3 Grain per Field; Vegetables yield 2 Vegetables per Field.
• Fences/Pastures: Build fences to create pastures for animals. Each fenced Meadow/Large Pasture can hold pairs of animals. Stables double pasture capacity.

Building Actions

• Furnish a Cavern: Place a Furnishing tile on an empty Cavern space, paying its resource cost. Dwellings house Dwarfs; other furnishings provide various benefits.
• Build a Dwelling: Required to grow your family. Standard Dwelling costs 4 Wood + 3 Stone.
• Excavation: Place Tunnel/Cavern tiles on Mountain spaces, expanding your cave network.
• Clearing: Place Meadow/Field tiles on Forest spaces.

Expedition Actions

Arm a Dwarf with a Weapon (costs Ore). Armed Dwarfs can go on Expeditions when using expedition action spaces. Higher weapon strength allows choosing from better loot options. Loot includes resources, animals, Furnishing tiles, landscape tiles, and more.

Family Growth

Use “Wish for Children” or similar action spaces to add a new Dwarf (from supply to a Dwelling). You must have an available Dwelling space.

Ruby Trading

Rubies can be traded at any time (even during another action) for various goods: 1 Ruby = 1 Food, 1 resource of any type, 1 landscape tile, certain Furnishing tiles.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

At game end (after Round 12), score Gold points:

Category	Points
Animals (each, all types)	1 Gold per animal
Grain (each)	0.5 Gold
Vegetables (each)	1 Gold
Rubies (each)	1 Gold
Gold coins	Face value
Dwarfs (each)	1 Gold
Furnished Caverns	Varies by tile
Pastures	2 Gold each (Small); varies (Large)
Ore Mines	3 Gold each
Ruby Mines	Variable
Fields with crops	Variable
Unused Forest spaces	-1 Gold each
Unused Mountain spaces	-1 Gold each
Begging markers	-3 Gold each

The player with the most Gold points wins. Tiebreaker: most Rubies, then most Gold coins, then most Farm animals, then most Grain/Vegetables.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Each Action space can hold only 1 Dwarf (first come, first served), except for specific spaces noted otherwise.
• Animals must be housed in valid spaces: Dwellings with room for animals, Pastures, Stables (1 animal per Stable on any space), Mines with special furnishings. Animals without valid housing are returned to supply.
• Dogs can guard Sheep in non-pasture spaces (1 Dog per space can guard Sheep equal to Dogs present).
• Newborn Dwarfs require only 1 Food instead of 2 during their first Harvest.
• Harvest does not occur every round – only when a Harvest marker appears (typically rounds 6-12, randomized).
• The Introductory game uses fewer Furnishing tiles for a simpler experience.
• Solo and 2-player games have special setup rules (removed Action space cards, adjusted Harvest markers).

Player Reference

Round structure: Reveal Action Card > Workers place (clockwise, 1 at a time) > Return Home + Harvest (if applicable)

Harvest: Fields produce > Feed Dwarfs (2 Food each, 1 for newborns) > Animals breed (2+ of a type = +1)

Key conversions: | Item | Food Value | |——|———–| | Grain | 1 Food | | Vegetable | 2 Food | | Ruby | 1 Food (or other trades) | | Animals | Requires cooking furnishing |

Scoring negatives: -1 per unused Forest/Mountain space, -3 per Begging marker.

Game length: 12 rounds. ~30 min per player.