# Nidavellir: Thingvellir ## General Info - **Year Published**: 2020 - **BGG Rating**: 7.7 - **BGG Rank**: — - **Players**: 2-5 (Best with: 3) - **Duration**: 45 min - **Weight**: 2.48 / 5 - **Designers**: Serge Laget - **Artists**: Jean-Marie Minguez - **Publishers**: GRRRE Games, Evrikus, Galakta, Maldito Games, Reflexshop, Studio Supernova, TLAMA games - **Categories**: Expansion for Base-game, Medieval, Mythology - **Mechanics**: Chaining, Open Drafting, Simultaneous Action Selection, Turn Order: Auction ## Verdict If you already enjoy Nidavellir and want more tactical options and twists, this expansion is a must-have! It adds strategic layers without overcomplicating things.More recruitment optionsDual-class mercenariesPowerful unique artifactsRenewed coin systemFierce competition for CampCan extend playtimeHIGHLY RECOMMENDED ## Description Hey, Nidavellir adventurers! Ready for another epic quest? In 'Thingvellir', the expansion that spices up the base game, the King is serious business and has ordered everyone to visit every tavern. The mission? Recruit the kingdom's most skilled dwarves to save the day, with the help of Queen Dagfid and her mercenaries armed with precious artifacts. Now, the gameplay gets a twist: instead of just grabbing a dwarf or a royal offering at the tavern, you can make a detour to the Camp. Things get intense there, as you might snag a powerful Magic Artifact or hire a Mercenary with dual class abilities. But beware, the Camp is a hot spot! Only the highest bidder for the current tavern gets the privilege to visit it. Ties? Back to the base game's rules, using gem values. If you're the lucky one heading to the Camp but choose a Mercenary or Artifact, the remaining dwarf from the tavern might be discarded to keep things moving. This expansion introduces brand new hero cards, dual-class mercenaries for that extra strategic edge, and artifacts with game-changing powers. Plus, there's an innovative coin-building system that opens up a vast array of strategies. If you love Nidavellir and crave more depth and options, 'Thingvellir' is the way to go! ## How to Play Objective of the Game In Nidavellir: Thingvellir, players are Elvalands, loosely inspired by Nordic and Germanic mythologies, aiming to build the bravest army. While the core objective remains to accumulate the most Bravery Value, this expansion introduces new strategies through Camp cards (Artifacts and Mercenaries) and Hero cards. The game is a strategic journey where players must make difficult choices to counter their opponents and maximize their score. Preparation (Setup) To set up Nidavellir: Thingvellir, follow the setup instructions for the base game first, then proceed with these additional steps: Place the Camp sign above the first tavern sign. Separate the Age 1 and Age 2 Camp cards. Shuffle each deck separately and place them on either side of the Camp sign. Add the 6 neutral Hero cards to one of the card holders. Fluxo do Jogo The game progresses through turns and ages, with specific phases for managing the Camp and resolving Taverns. The expansion introduces new rules for how players interact with the Camp and how certain cards are resolved at the end of each age. Management during the game At the start of each turn, before the DWARVES ENTER the Taverns: Reveal new Camp cards of the current Age in order to have 5 cards face up. Note: If no Camp card was taken in the previous turn and there are 5 cards face up, do not reveal any new ones. New 2 Elvalands rule All Thingvellir rules apply. However, when resolving Taverns: If the Elvaland with the highest bid chooses a card in the Camp, they must also discard a card of their choosing from the three cards in the tavern being resolved. The second Elvaland will then have the choice between the two remaining cards of the tavern being resolved. End of Age 1 At the end of Age 1, after the Distinctions have been awarded, discard all remaining Camp cards. End of Each Age End of Age 1 Enlistment of Mercenaries: The Elvaland who has the most chooses to place them first or last. YLUD place: Consulte o manual para detalhes sobre esta seção. Troop assessments (Distinctions) End of Age 2 Enlistment of Mercenaries: The Elvaland who has the most chooses to place them first or last. YLUD place: Consulte o manual para detalhes sobre esta seção. Departure from THRUD: Consulte o manual para detalhes sobre esta seção. Discard power of BRISINGAMENS Final scoring Note: If the placement of a Mercenary card results in a recruitment of Hero cards, proceed with the recruitment before continuing to place the Mercenary cards. Note: If placing YLUD or a Mercenary card causes HOLDA to recruit and you choose a Mercenary card in Camp, place that Mercenary card immediately into your army. Ações e Como Jogar The core gameplay revolves around bidding for cards in taverns, but Thingvellir introduces the Camp as an alternative source of powerful cards. The Camp The Camp is made up of Artifact and Mercenary cards. The Elvaland with the highest bid can choose to take a card from the Camp (Artifact or Mercenary) instead of taking a card from the tavern being resolved. In the event of a tie, and to determine the highest bid on a current Tavern, refer to the gem values as in the base game. Only the Elvaland with the highest bid can get to the Camp and take a card there. The other Elvalands must, in the order of the bids, take a card from the tavern being resolved. If the Elvaland who played first chooses to take a card from the Camp, the remaining Dwarf card from the tavern must be discarded before moving on to the next tavern's Resolution. Do not shuffle the Camp cards discard pile and the Dwarf cards discard pile. Artifact Cards Place Artifact cards in your Command Zone unless otherwise stated in their description. FAFNIR BÁLEYGR C (Age 1): After taking possession of it and throughout the game, you can go to the Camp on your turn instead of taking a card from the tavern being resolved if the Elvaland that won the bid did not go. This is a Continuous effect. DRAUPNIR (Age 1): At the end of Age 2, when counting points, add to your Final Bravery Value: 6 points per coin of value 15 or more owned. VEGVÍSIR (Age 1): Immediately place this Artifact in the Explorer column of your army. Its pose can trigger the recruitment of a Hero card if it completes a rank line. This artifact counts as an Explorer rank and adds 13 points to your Explorer Bravery Rating. SVALINN (Age 1): At the end of Age 2, when counting points, add to your Final Bravery Value: 5 points per Hero card in your possession. MEGINGJORD (Age 1): During the rest of the game, you can no longer recruit a Hero card by making rank lines. So making rank lines has no effect for you. At the end of Age 2, when counting points, add 28 points to your Final Bravery Value. Note: GJALLARHORN allows you to recruit a Hero card if you have MEGINGJORD. VIDOFNIR & VEDRFÖLNIR (Age 1): Immediately reveal the coins from your pouch and transform one of these coins with a +2 and the other with a +3 (see Converting a coin, basic rules p. 11). If one of the coins on the trade is the Trading coin (the 0 or the Special Hunter 3) then apply a +5 transform to the other coin. Perform coin transformations in any order you want. BRÍSINGAMENS (Age 2): Immediately look at all the cards in the discard pile and choose two (Royal Offering cards and / or Dwarf cards). In the order of your choice: perform coin transformation if you have chosen Royal Offering cards, or place the Dwarf cards in your army (this can result in a Hero card being recruited). At the end of Age 2, before counting points, discard a Dwarf card of your choice from your army. This card can be taken anywhere, in any column, but it cannot be a Hero card. MJÖLLNIR (Age 2): At the end of Age 2, when counting points, add to your Final Bravery Value: 2 points per rank in the class of your choice. HÖFUD (Age 2): Immediately, each other Elvaland chooses and discards a Warrior card from their army. The discarded card can be any card in the Warrior column except a Hero card. HRAFNSMERKI (Age 2): At the end of Age 2, when counting points, add to your Final Bravery Value: 5 points per Mercenary card in your possession. JÁRNGLÓFI (Age 2): Immediately discard your Trading coin (0 or Special Hunter 3). Warning! If this coin was placed on an unresolved tavern, your bid will not be present when it is resolved, and you will not take any cards. At the end of Age 2, when counting points, add 24 points to your Final Bravery Value. GJALLARHORN (Age 2): Immediately recruit a Hero card regardless of your rank line number. To recruit your next Hero card, you will need to validate the golden rule: to have a number of rank lines greater than your number of Hero cards owned. Note 1: GJALLARHORN allows you to recruit a Hero card if you have MEGINGJORD. Note 2: It is not possible to recruit a Hero card if its requirements cannot be respected. For example, it is impossible to recruit DAGDA if you cannot discard two Dwarf cards from two different columns. Mercenary Cards Place Mercenary cards in your Command Zone. At the end of Age 1, before the Distinctions are awarded, and at the end of Age 2, before the final scoring, you must put them in your army. Each Elvaland announces the number of Mercenary cards owned in the Command Zone. The Mercenary cards are laid out in descending order, starting with the Elvaland that has the most to the one that has the least. The Elvaland with the most Mercenary cards in the Command Zone has an advantage! He or she can decide: to place their Mercenary cards first, or to pass and place their Mercenary Cards after the other Elvalands have done so. Ties are resolved by the value of the gems as usual. The highest value wins, but this does not result in a gem trade. When placing them, you choose the class of the card from the two listed above. On your turn, place all of your Mercenary cards in any order you want before passing to the next Elvaland in the order of play. Class tokens: If a column contains just one Mercenary card, place a token of the chosen class on it to remember it. You can remove this token when you have added Dwarf cards of the corresponding class in this column. Placing them can trigger a recruitment of Hero cards. If so, stop placing your Mercenary cards, recruit a Hero card, then resume placing them. Once placed, Mercenary cards can no longer be moved. Hero Abilities Neutral Heroes are placed in your Command Zone unless otherwise stated in their description. ANDUMIA THE NEKROMANKER: Adds 12 points to your Final Bravery Value. When you recruit her, immediately look at all the cards in the discard pile and keep one (Royal Offering card or Dwarf card). If it is a Royal Offering card, its effect is immediately applied, then the card is returned to the discard. If it is a Dwarf card, place it in your army. Its placement can trigger the recruitment of a Hero card. HOLDA THE MINSTREL: Adds 12 points to your Final Bravery Value. When you recruit her, immediately choose a Mercenary or Artifact card available at the Camp. KHRAD THE BEGGAR: Adds 4 points to your Final Bravery Value. When you recruit him, immediately add +1 to your lowest value coin (except the Trading coin, see Converting a coin, basic rules p. 11). JARIKA THE ROGUE C: Adds 8 points to your Final Bravery Value. As a neutral hero, place her in your Command Zone. During a coin transformation or a coin trade (Royal Offering, Warrior Distinction, Grid), increase the value of the desired sum by +2. This is a Continuous effect. OLWYN THE ILLUSIONIST: Adds 9 points to your Final Bravery Value. When you recruit him, also take his two doubles whose Bravery value is 0 and then place each of these cards in two different columns of your choice. Their placement may result in the recruitment of a Hero card. "OLWYN'S DOUBLE" cards are considered Dwarf cards of the class in which they are placed and can be destroyed by the powers of DAGDA, BONFUR, BRISINGAMENS, and HÖFUD. They are not considered Hero Cards. If there's no card other than "OLWYN'S DOUBLE" cards in a column, place a Class token on it to identify this column. ZOLKUR THE GREEDY: Adds 10 points to your Final Bravery Value. When you recruit him, immediately place him on the coins of your pouch. During your next trade, you trade the lower value coin instead of the higher as in a standard exchange. Then return ZOLKUR'S card to the Command Zone. Fim de Jogo e Pontuação The game ends at the conclusion of Age 2, after specific end-of-age steps and before the Final scoring. End of Age 2 Scoring Criteria DRAUPNIR: Add 6 points to your Final Bravery Value per coin of value 15 or more owned. VEGVÍSIR: Adds 13 points to your Explorer Bravery Rating. SVALINN: Add 5 points to your Final Bravery Value per Hero card in your possession. MEGINGJORD: Add 28 points to your Final Bravery Value. MJÖLLNIR: Add 2 points to your Final Bravery Value per rank in the class of your choice. HRAFNSMERKI: Add 5 points to your Final Bravery Value per Mercenary card in your possession. JÁRNGLÓFI: Add 24 points to your Final Bravery Value. ANDUMIA THE NEKROMANKER: Adds 12 points to your Final Bravery Value. HOLDA THE MINSTREL: Adds 12 points to your Final Bravery Value. KHRAD THE BEGGAR: Adds 4 points to your Final Bravery Value. JARIKA THE ROGUE C: Adds 8 points to your Final Bravery Value. OLWYN THE ILLUSIONIST: Adds 9 points to your Final Bravery Value. ZOLKUR THE GREEDY: Adds 10 points to your Final Bravery Value. The player with the highest Final Bravery Value wins the game. Dicas para Vencer Master the Camp: The Camp offers powerful Artifact and Mercenary cards. Prioritize going to the Camp, especially in the first turn, to gain an early advantage with valuable gems. However, don't rely solely on this, as it doesn't guarantee victory. Strategic Mercenary Placement: Pay close attention to the Enlistment of Mercenaries phase at the end of each age. Having the most Mercenary cards gives you the strategic choice to place them first or last, which can be crucial for securing Distinctions or triggering Hero card recruitments. Leverage Hero Abilities: Hero cards offer diverse and powerful abilities. Carefully consider which Heroes complement your strategy. For example, JARIKA THE ROGUE C can significantly boost your coin transformations, while ANDUMIA THE NEKROMANKER can retrieve valuable cards from the discard pile. ## FAQ ### Can this expansion be played on its own? No, 'Thingvellir' is an expansion and requires the base game Nidavellir to be played. ### How many players does this expansion support? The expansion maintains the player count of the base game, which is for 2 to 5 players. ### Does it significantly increase the game's complexity? It adds new options and a bit more complexity, but retains the core essence of the base game. It's a great choice for those who already know the original rules well. ### What does the Camp add that's new? The Camp allows players to recruit dual-class Mercenaries or acquire Magic Artifacts, which offer special powers and new strategies. ### Does the playtime change much with this expansion? There might be a slight increase in playtime, especially in the first few games, due to the new decisions and the competition for the Camp. ### What are the main components included in the box? The expansion includes new hero cards, mercenaries, artifacts, and components related to the Camp and the coin system. ### Who is this expansion recommended for? It's ideal for players who enjoyed Nidavellir and are looking for more strategic depth, card variety, and new ways to score points.