How to Play Nains

Game Objective

In Nains, you are a Lord leading a dwarven city-state-fortress. Your objective is to recruit the most skilled dwarves and the bravest Fighters to restore the splendor of the dwarven territories and assert your dominance in the region. To do this, you can even collaborate with the Wanderers to secure supplies and turn a blind eye to liquor production.

The ultimate goal is to gather the most prestigious dwarves and Fighters (Heroes) in your city-state-fortress to obtain the highest Bravery value and win the game.

Setup

1. Give each Lord an individual board and 5 Bronze Coins (A).
2. Take the Gems according to the number of Lords:
   • 5 Lords: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
   • 4 Lords: 2, 3, 4, 5
   • 3 Lords: 3, 4, 5
   • 2 Lords: 4, 5
   The Gems must be assembled before the first game, following the numbers in the slots. One Gem is placed in the slot of the individual board, face up.
3. Place the 3 tavern signs in the center of the table in the following order: Yjdad's Mug, Roasted Pig, and Tasty Halberd (C), and the Gem exchange markers (D).
4. Place all Fighter (E) and Mercenary (F) cards in 4 card holders, slightly overlapping with the left side of the cards visible.
5. Place, randomly, the 5 Elite Fighter (G) cards and then the Liquor Certification in a card holder, slightly overlapping with the left side of the cards visible.
6. Remove the Royal Treasury (H) from the box and check that each Coin is in its corresponding place.
7. If you play with fewer than 5 Lords, separate the cards with a symbol in the bottom right corner; they will not be used in this game. For a 5-Lord game, add the cards with a symbol in the bottom right corner to the corresponding deck for Era 1 and Era 2.
8. Shuffle the Era 1 cards and place them in a deck next to the Royal Treasury (I).
9. Do the same with the Era 2 (J) cards.
10. Place the Coin 3 – Trade (K) and the Pariah markers (L) next to the Royal Treasury.

2-Lord Setup

All rules apply, but:

• When Dwarves Enter, place 3 Dwarf cards in each tavern at the start of each round.
• In the first and third taverns: Each Lord chooses one Dwarf card in the order defined by the bets, and the last card (the unchosen one) is discarded.
• In the second tavern: The Lord with the highest bet chooses one Dwarf card which is placed in their army, then discards one of the two remaining cards. Finally, the opposing Lord no longer has a choice, must take the remaining card and place it in their army.

Game Flow

The game unfolds in 2 Eras.

The duration of each Era varies according to the number of Lords:

• For 2 to 3 Lords: each Era lasts 4 turns.
• For 4 to 5 Lords: each Era lasts 3 turns.

Turn Overview

1. Turn Preparation
   1. Dwarves Enter: Place X cards from the current Era, face up, in each tavern. X is equal to the number of Lords in the game (except in a 2-Lord game, where it's 3 cards per tavern).
   2. Bets: During this phase, each Lord plays simultaneously. Look at your 5 Coins and place a Coin of your choice face down on each Tavern spot of your individual board. The 2 unused Coins are placed face down in the pouch space of your individual board. The value of the Coin bet will determine the order in which each Lord will play when resolving each tavern.
2. Tavern Resolution

   Resolve each tavern one after the other, starting with Yjdad's Mug, then the Roasted Pig, and finally the Tasty Halberd.

   1. Bet Revelation: This phase occurs simultaneously. Reveal the Coin on the Tavern spot being resolved on your individual board. The Coin with the highest value determines the active Lord. Ties are resolved with the Gems: the Gem with the highest value wins. Resolution continues in decreasing order of Gem value until each tied Lord has played.
   2. Active Lord's Turn: Perform the following steps in this order:
      • Choose a Dwarf card from the tavern being resolved, then place the Dwarf card in your Army, without forgetting to apply the effects, when applicable, of the Order of Retaliation or the Wanderers.
      • Recruit a Fighter if the conditions are met.
      • Perform the Coin exchange if you played your 0-value Coin.
      In decreasing order of the Coins bet, or Gems in case of a tie, the next Lord becomes the active Lord and begins their turn.
   3. Gem Exchange: When each Lord has played their turn, perform any Gem exchanges between the Lords whose Coin values were tied at the Bet Revelation. Then, move on to the next tavern resolution.
3. Next Turn: When all taverns have been resolved, take your Coins back into your hand and proceed to the next turn.

End of Era 1: Order Evaluation

At the end of the turn in which the Era 1 deck is exhausted, an Order Evaluation is performed.

• The Lord who has the most ranks in each Order receives an Elite Fighter.
• In case of a tie for an Order, the corresponding Elite Fighter is not awarded to any Lord. Gems do not resolve ties during Order Evaluation.
• The Elite Fighter cards and the Liquor Certification are awarded in the order of the card holder, and then placed in your command area.
• Attention! Majorities are the number of ranks in each Order in your armies, not the sum of Points or the number of cards.

The Liquor Certification is awarded to the player who has the most Malt icons in their city-state-fortress, counting the army and the command area. This player places it in their command area.

Actions and How to Play

Placing a Dwarf Card in Your Army

When you choose a Dwarf card from the tavern being resolved, immediately place it in your Army:

• Creating a new column if you don't have any Dwarf cards of this Order.
• Adding it to an already existing column that matches the Order of this card if you already have cards of this Order.

The ranks must always be visible.

Recruiting a Fighter

If, by placing a Dwarf card in your Army, you create a row composed of one rank from each Order, you will immediately recruit 1 available Fighter.

• A Fighter whose colored rank belongs to one of the 5 Orders must be placed in the corresponding column in your Army. If, by placing this Fighter, a new row is completed, immediately recruit a new Fighter. Several rows can be completed at once by placing a Fighter.
• A Fighter with a White rank must be placed in your command area, on the left side of your individual board.
• A Fighter with a Black rank or an Ally with a multicolored rank will be placed in your Army in the column of your choice. This can lead to the completion of a new row of 5 different Orders, and thus to another Fighter recruitment.

Order Effects

• Order of Retaliation: When you recruit a Retaliation Dwarf card, you must upgrade the Coin you used to recruit it, adding +1 to its value. You exchange your Coin for the immediately superior value Coin in the Royal Treasury. If the 0-value Coin is used for this, add 1 to one of the Coins in your pouch, then perform the Coin exchange as usual.
• Order of Wanderers: When you recruit a card from the Order of Wanderers and you already have a card of the same value in the Wanderers column of your Army: place a Pariah marker on the rank of the card you just recruited. At the end of the game, the Bravery Value of the Wanderers column is equal to the sum of the visible Bravery points, i.e., those not covered by a marker. The marker only cancels the card's value, not the rank or the Malt icon.
• Order of the Temple: Your Bravery Value is equal to the sum of your Bravery points multiplied by the number of Hidden icons you have in your city-state-fortress, including your Army and command area. If you have Black rank Fighter cards in this column, their Bravery points are added to the Bravery Value of the Order of the Temple after multiplication.
• Order of the Shield: Your Bravery Value is equal to the value indicated on your individual board corresponding to the number of ranks in your Army.
• Order of the Forge: Your Bravery Value is equal to the sum of your Bravery points added to the number of different runes present in your city-state-fortress squared, including your Army and command area.

Coin Exchange

The 0-value Coin can never be upgraded by an Order of Retaliation ability.

When you play a 0-value Coin:

• Reveal the Coins in your pouch.
• Sum the value of these 2 Coins.
• Discard the Coin with the higher value.
• Take the Coin corresponding to the sum from the Royal Treasury and place it in your pouch.
• Place the Coins back in your pouch, face down.

Important: When you play a 0-value Coin, take a Dwarf card from the tavern being resolved before proceeding to the Coin exchange.

Discarding Coins

During an exchange or transformation, a Coin must be discarded:

• If it is a Bronze Coin (red), this Coin is returned to the game box and will not be used for the rest of the game.
• If it is a Royal Treasury Gold Coin (yellow), this Coin is returned to its place, corresponding to the value, in the Royal Treasury.

Special Case of Coin Exchange

• If the Coin of the desired value is not available in the Royal Treasury, take the next available Coin of a higher value.
• In the rare case that there are no more Coins of a higher value available, take the first available Coin of a lower value from the Royal Treasury.

Important: You cannot take a Coin of the same value you just discarded during an exchange or transformation with the Royal Treasury.

Gem Exchange

At the end of a tavern's resolution, the Gem exchange is performed by the Lords whose Coin values were tied when the Bets were revealed. Once the exchanges are complete, the Gems are placed back in their slots.

• Tie between 2 Lords: They exchange Gems with each other.
• Tie between 3 Lords: Only the lowest value Gem and the highest value Gem are exchanged. The middle value Gem is not exchanged.
• Tie between 4 Lords: The lowest value Gem and the highest value Gem are exchanged. The other two Gems are exchanged with each other.
• Tie between 5 Lords: The exchange occurs as with 4 Lords. The middle value Gem is not exchanged.

The Gem exchange is done at the end of each tavern's resolution to ensure the Lords' play order.

Colored Rank Fighters

These Fighters are placed in your Army.

• Ararun (Order of the Temple): Has 2 ranks. Adds 2 points and 1 Hidden icon.
• Fey (Order of the Temple): Has 1 rank. Adds 5 points.
• Svara (Order of the Shield): Has 1 rank. After placing her in the Shield column, look at the first 5 cards of the Era 2 deck, choose a Dwarf card and place it in your Army