Nidavellir: Rapid Review
Information:
Mechanics: Set Collection, Drafting, Bidding, Victory Point, Point Salad
Player Age: 10+ Player Count: 2 - 5 PlayersTime to Play: 45 Minutes
Game Designer: Serge Laget
Player Age: 10+
Game Designer: Serge Laget
Rundown:
You have been summoned to build the best army of dwarves possible to slay the mighty dragon who is torching the land. There are five different dwarves that will each score in different ways. Warriors who will add their value together and the player with the most banners at the end of the game will score their largest coin a second time. Hunters will score based on the number of symbols they have displayed on the board. Blacksmiths will score in the same way as the Hunters but with a different incremental increase in value. Explorers will score the exact sum of their values, and the Miners will score as their total multiplied by the number of banners.
Each round, players will bid for each tavern using face down coins and the player with the highest value is able to choose their card first followed by the other players in bidding order. If a player collects one of each type of dwarf they gain a special hero of their choice. This is going to happen several times throughout the game. Players will also focus on particular types of dwarves as midway through the game the player with the majority in each dwarf grouping is going to score a distinction card. These cards will have unique bonuses such as upgrading coins, gaining more cards, etc. At the end of the game a players dwarves and coins will score. Whoever has the most points will win and go on a quest to slay the dragon with their newly completed team.
Alteration:
This is a point salad game where you have many opportunities to score. This is where the alteration comes from; each game will use all 21 heroes and every one of them besides the five Dwergs will score differently. You will gain these heroes when you have a complete row of one of each type of dwarf.
Production:
There is a recent trend of card trays being included in games lately. This is a fantastic production trend and Nidavellir has been included in this trend. Four card trays are included with the game that is used to display the distinction and hero cards. There is also a cardboard coin rack designed for the game that holds the coins for upgrades throughout the game. This cardboard is not great quality and will most likely start to break after repeated plays. The art has a great and somewhat simplified look with a greyscale colour tone that amplifies the important details by using pops of colour.
Interaction:
This is a highly interactive game between players. This is mainly through the bidding. Players will be aiming to gain the cards you want to either build on a strategy or to hate draft the card away. The hate drafting can happen at the basic dwarf level, as well as at the heroes level. When the coins are revealed for each tavern, if a zero coin is revealed the player is still involved in the tavern and will have the last option of card. However, they will be able to upgrade a coin as well. This upgrade is performed with the two leftover coins being added together and the larger coin being exchanged for the new value. For example: a 8 plus a 5 coin will create a 13. This number 13 coin will now replace the 8 coin for the rest of the game.
Determination:
Pros:
- Great art
- Interesting bidding mechanism
- Many ways to score throughout the game
Cons:
- The coin rack will break eventually.
- I wish there were more heroes and they were randomly dealt for each game.
- Pasted on theme
Nidavellir is a great point salad game with numerous pathways to victory. The bidding mechanism is very unique to this game as you will have to sacrifice your choice of the current tavern to upgrade a coin. Upgrading is something you must do as higher value coins give you points during scoring and can also be used to win taverns during the rounds. The catch with this upgrade system is that you have to determine when it is the most beneficial to exchange coins and which coins are worth upgrading. This is a great bid and draft game that will stay in my collection for any more plays and has earned a 'Silver Seal of Approval'.
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