Caverna: The Cave Farmers

2013

Caverna: The Cave Farmers is a strategic worker-placement game where you mine, farm, and grow your dwarf family for wealth and victory. Explore caves and go on expeditions for added fun!

210
minutes

1 - 7
player(s)

12+

Medium Heavy

About the game

Caverna: The Cave Farmers is a captivating board game that immerses players in an intriguing world of strategy and survival. In this game, you take on the role of a dwarven family, carving out your existence in a mountain cave while also working to cultivate the surrounding wilderness.

The game’s theme revolves around the juxtaposition of cave exploration and farming, presenting players with the challenge of balancing the improvement of their homestead with the exploration of the vast, mysterious mountain. The setting is a blend of rustic pastoral life and rugged spelunking adventure, which provides a refreshing departure from typical fantasy or sci-fi themes found in other board games.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

Caverna: The Cave Farmers is a strategy board game filled with various game components. Each component has a unique role and interacts with the game in different ways:

1. Game Boards:

Main Board: This is the central game board where players can take actions. It’s used to store and replenish goods, animals, and dwarfs. It also displays the harvest events and action spaces.
Player Boards: Each player gets a player board that represents their cave farm. It’s divided into a forest (for outdoor activities) and a mountain (for cave rooms and mines). Players will place tiles on this board to show their progress.

2. Tiles:

Room Tiles: These represent the different types of rooms that players can build in their caves. Each room has a specific function and provides certain benefits.
Field/Forest Tiles: These are used to represent fields and forests. Fields can be used to grow crops, and forests can be used to cut wood.
Meadow/Mountain Tiles: These represent meadows and mountains. Meadows can hold animals, and mountains can be mined for resources.

3. Tokens:

Resource Tokens: These are used to represent various resources in the game such as wood, stone, ore, rubies, and grain. Players collect and spend these tokens to build and upgrade their cave farms.
Animal Tokens: These tokens represent the different types of animals (sheep, donkeys, cows, and dogs) that players can breed and keep on their farms.

4. Dwarfs:

Dwarf Tokens: Each player starts the game with two dwarf tokens. Dwarfs are used to perform actions on the main board. During the game, players can increase the number of their dwarfs.

5. Other Components:

Harvest Markers: These markers are used to track when a harvest will occur. Harvests are important events where players gather resources from their fields and breed animals.
Action Cards: These cards introduce new actions that players can take on their turn. They are drawn and placed on the main board at the start of each round.
Player Aid Cards: These cards provide a summary of the game rules and can be used as a reference during the game.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

‘Caverna: The Cave Farmers’ is a strategic worker-placement game that requires meticulous planning and careful resource management. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to set up the game:

Step 1: Player Roles

The game does not assign specific roles to players. Each player takes on the role of a dwarf family living in a cave. The goal is to be the most successful family by the end of the game, which is determined by the accumulation of wealth.

Step 2: Initial Setup

Place the main game board in the center of the table. This board has spaces for the accumulation of resources, as well as actions that players can take during their turn.
Each player receives a personal board representing their cave and surrounding wilderness. All personal boards start with a pair of dwarf tokens, representing the player’s family members.
Shuffle the 12 Action cards for Stage I, and place them face up on their designated spaces on the main game board.
Place the additional stages’ Action cards in numerically ascending stacks next to the main game board. The top card of each stack should be face up.

Step 3: Initial Resources

Each player starts the game with a small dwelling and two family members. The players also receive a starting supply of resources: 3 units of food.

Step 4: Random Elements

In ‘Caverna: The Cave Farmers’, the main source of randomness comes from the order in which new actions become available. These actions are represented by Action cards, which are revealed in a certain order throughout the course of the game.

Step 5: Placement of the Buildings

Sort the 24 Basic buildings and 8 Stables by type and place them next to the game board.
Shuffle the 30 Special buildings and place them in three face-down stacks of 10 buildings each next to the game board. Reveal the top building of each stack.

Once the setup is complete, players are ready to start the game. Remember, the key to success in ‘Caverna: The Cave Farmers’ is not only to plan ahead but also to adapt your strategy based on the actions available and the actions of your opponents.

Game flow Round and round we go

Caverna: The Cave Farmers is a strategic board game designed by Uwe Rosenberg where players take on the roles of dwarf clans living in a mountain cave. The game progresses over several rounds, each consisting of multiple phases: replenishing the game board, work phase, return home phase, and harvest phase. At the end of the game, the player with the most points wins.

Replenishing the Game Board Phase:

The first phase of each round involves replenishing the game board. This includes adding resources to the accumulation spaces and revealing a new action space for the round. The number and type of resources depend on the specific accumulation space.

Work Phase:

During the work phase, players take turns placing their dwarves on the action spaces of the game board. Each space allows the player to perform certain actions such as collecting resources, sowing and harvesting crops, building structures, or going on expeditions.
The order of play is determined by the seating order, and each player can only place one dwarf at a time.
Players continue to take turns until all dwarves have been placed. The number of available dwarves per player can increase throughout the game.

Return Home Phase:

In the return home phase, all players return their dwarves from the game board back to their personal home board. No actions are performed during this phase; it is mainly for resetting the game board for the next round.

Harvest Phase:

The harvest phase only occurs in certain rounds, as indicated on the game board. During a harvest, players receive the yield of their sown fields, have to feed their family, and may breed their animals.
The yield from fields varies depending on the type of crop planted. Players need to make sure they have enough food to feed their dwarves, or they may have to face penalties.

After all the rounds are completed, players total their points from various sources such as gold, animals, crops, and buildings. The player with the most points is declared the winner.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

In “Caverna: The Cave Farmers”, each player’s turn consists of a series of actions aimed at developing their own mountainous estate. These actions involve harvesting resources, building structures, cultivating crops and livestock, and more. The decisions made by each player can have a significant impact on the overall strategy and success of their game.

Step 1: Select and Place a Dwarf

At the beginning of each player’s turn, they choose one of their available dwarfs and place it on a vacant action space on the game board. The number of dwarfs each player has can increase throughout the game. The action space chosen determines the type of action the dwarf will perform. However, no two dwarfs can occupy the same action space during the same round.

Step 2: Perform an Action

Based on where the dwarf was placed, the player now performs the corresponding action. Actions can include:

Gathering Resources: This involves collecting a specific amount of wood, stone, ore, rubies, or food. The quantity and type of resource collected are indicated on the action space.
Clearing and Sowing Fields: Players can clear grassland to create fields, which can then be sown with grain or vegetables. Fields provide a recurring source of food during the harvest phase.
Building Structures: Players can build new caverns, rooms, or other structures in their personal player area. These structures provide various benefits and can increase a player’s score.
Animal Husbandry: Players can collect animals (dogs, sheep, donkeys, boars, and cattle) to raise on their farm. Animals can be used for food or to breed more animals.
Expedition: Players can send their dwarf on an expedition to gain various benefits, depending on the level of the dwarf’s weapon.

Step 3: End of Turn

Once the player has performed their chosen action, their turn ends, and the next player takes their turn. Play continues in this manner until all players have placed all of their dwarfs and performed their corresponding actions.

Strategic Choices

Strategic choices in Caverna involve deciding what type of resources to focus on, whether to expand the number of dwarfs in your family, which structures to build, and when to undertake expeditions. Each choice can significantly affect your final score, so it’s important to keep long-term strategy in mind.

End of the Round

At the end of each round, certain events occur such as harvesting crops and feeding your dwarfs. If a player cannot feed all of their dwarfs, they will receive begging tokens, which negatively impact the final score. Additionally, new action spaces may be revealed for the next round.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

‘Caverna: The Cave Farmers’ is a strategic, action-packed board game that requires players to manage their dwarven farm while exploring and building their own cave. The game ends after the last round (usually the 12th round) is played, and victory points are then counted to determine the winner.

At the end of the game, players must perform a series of steps to calculate their final scores. This procedure includes:

Counting animals: Each animal (dogs, sheep, donkeys, pigs, and cattle) on the player’s board contributes to the final score. The method of scoring varies depending on the type of animal.
Tallying crops: Each grain and vegetable harvested also adds to the player’s score.
Evaluating dwarven dwellings and mines: Each player scores points based on the types and number of dwellings and mines they have constructed.
Assessing unused spaces: Points are deducted for each unused space on the player’s board.
Scoring bonus points: Bonus points are awarded for leftover resources, furnishings, and certain adventure actions.

The player with the highest total score after all points have been calculated is declared the winner. In the event of a tie, the player with the most leftover resources is the winner. If there is still a tie, multiple players share the victory.

It’s important to note that strategic planning and efficient resource management are crucial in ‘Caverna: The Cave Farmers’. The game encourages players to balance their focus between expanding their farm, exploring their cave, and collecting resources, making every decision potentially game-changing.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

Caverna: The Cave Farmers is a complex strategy game with many rules and exceptions. Here are some of the more rare or special rules and exceptions that players need to be aware of:

1. Dwarf Action Rules:

Only one dwarf may take each action space per round. Once a dwarf has taken an action, that space is unavailable to other dwarfs until the next round.
A dwarf cannot repeat an action in the same round, even if they have multiple turns due to the use of wish-for-children actions or the family growth action.

2. Room Placement Rules:

Rooms must be placed in the cave section of your player board, and they must be adjacent to at least one other room or tunnel.
A room cannot be placed on a space occupied by another room, tunnel, or animal.
Some rooms have additional placement restrictions, such as the Office (which must be adjacent to at least two dwelling rooms) or the Cuddle Room (which cannot be placed adjacent to any stable or pasture).

3. Harvesting Rules:

During the harvest phase, players must feed their dwarfs. Each dwarf requires two food. If a player cannot provide enough food for all of their dwarfs, they must take a begging token for each food they cannot provide.
Animals do not require food during the harvest phase. However, if a player does not have enough space in their pastures and stables for all of their animals, they must immediately slaughter any excess animals for food.

Rule Clarifications:

1. Furnishing: When a player chooses the furnishing action, they can build as many furnishings as they can afford and have room for. However, they must pay the full cost for each furnishing, even if they are building multiple furnishings of the same type.

2. Adventuring: During an adventure, a player can choose any number of actions, but they can only choose each action once. They must also choose the actions in order from lowest level to highest level. If they skip any levels, they cannot go back and choose those actions later.

3. Animals: Animals cannot be moved from one pasture or stable to another after they have been placed. However, they can be moved to a different pasture or stable during the breeding phase if there is not enough room in their current location.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

Caverna: The Cave Farmers is a complex worker placement board game that requires strategic thinking and careful planning. Below are some advanced strategies, beginner tips, and common mistakes to avoid to help you optimize your gameplay.

Advanced Strategies:

Focus on Leveling Up Your Dwarfs: Leveling up your dwarfs to skilled workers allows you to take two actions instead of one, which can significantly enhance your productivity and resource collection.
Balance Between Farming and Mining: Both farming and mining are crucial in this game. You need food to sustain your family and ore to build weapons and other useful items. Make sure you have a balanced strategy that does not neglect either aspect.
Plan for the Harvest: Harvests happen at regular intervals in the game. You should plan your actions to ensure you have enough food for your dwarfs and animals before the harvest comes.

Beginner Tips:

Start Small: As a beginner, it’s best to start with a small family of dwarfs and slowly expand. This way, you have fewer dwarfs to feed and can focus more on learning the game mechanics.
Understand the Buildings: Each building in the game has its own unique benefits. Take time to understand these benefits and how they can aid your strategy.
Use the Action Spaces Wisely: There are limited action spaces in the game, and once a space is taken, others can’t use it. Make sure to use these spaces wisely and consider your opponents’ potential moves.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

Ignoring Adventure Actions: Adventure actions can provide significant rewards, but they are often overlooked by new players. Don’t forget to make use of these actions whenever possible.
Not Planning Ahead: Caverna is a game that requires strategic planning. One common mistake is not thinking enough turns ahead, which can leave you unprepared for upcoming events.
Not Diversifying: It can be tempting to focus on one aspect of the game, like farming or mining, but this can leave you vulnerable. Make sure to diversify your strategy.

Optimizing Gameplay:

Practice: The best way to get better at Caverna is to play it more. The more you play, the better you’ll understand the game mechanics and be able to develop effective strategies.
Experiment with Different Strategies: Don’t be afraid to try new strategies. Each game of Caverna is different, and what works in one game might not work in another.
Analyze Your Opponents: Pay attention to what strategies your opponents are using and try to anticipate their moves. This can give you a competitive edge.