Villagers of the Oak Dell

About this board game

Villagers of the Oak Dell is a dynamic euro-style roll-and-write game for 1–100 players, played in about 40 minutes. Players develop a new village by building roads and structures, growing the population, mining precious resources, and competing to create the most magnificent settlement.

The game unfolds across eleven rounds. At the start of each round, one player rolls four dice and assigns them to sections of a special Dice Sheet. The symbols determine the resources available to everyone, while sword symbols represent unpredictable marauder attacks that all players must mark on their sheets.

Players then choose one die simultaneously and independently, placing their pawn beside it before using the resources shown on their Village Sheet. Any number of players can select the same die. Unless a sword symbol has been rolled, each die provides two resources: one from the outer circle and one from the inner circle of the Dice Sheet.

• Construct buildings and roads to expand your settlement.
• Find additional resources in the mine and manage supplies in the warehouse.
• Recruit knights to prevent marked swords from becoming negative points.
• Trigger special actions from buildings marked with red flags.

Additional resources can be acquired through construction, mining, and other village developments. Every few rounds, certain red-flag buildings activate special actions, creating new opportunities as your settlement grows.

At the end of the game, players score their structures, warehouse resources, and other scoring conditions. Villagers of the Oak Dell also includes a campaign mode—and a cow—adding extra character to its village-building experience. Released in 2023, it combines accessible simultaneous dice selection with strategic planning and a constant threat from marauders.