For Northwood! — Solo Trick-Taking Rules & Strategy

For Northwood! setup

Arrange the eight fief cards in numerical order from 0 to 7. For the introductory game, set aside the 12 crown-marked characters, place the four Jack cards as your allies and shuffle the eight Kings and Queens, dealing one ruler to each fief. Place the visiting marker above the fiefs. Shuffle the 32 dialogue cards and draw a starting hand of eight.

The dialogue deck contains four suits—Claws, Flowers, Leaves and Eyes—with values 1 through 8 in each suit. Set aside space for a discard pile and a score pile.

Five steps of a fief visit

1. Choose a fief you have not visited yet.
2. Optionally replace one or more of your four allies with friendly rulers acquired during previous successful visits.
3. Play dialogues against the chosen ruler until your hand or the dialogue deck is empty.
4. Compare the number of dialogue tricks won against the fief’s exact target.
5. Resolve success or failure, refresh for the next fief and repeat.

Each fief is visited once only. You may choose their order freely, making the decision about which target to pursue with your current hand a major part of play.

Dialogue trick-taking rules

Before each dialogue, you may activate at most one available ally ability. Then reveal the top dialogue card: it is the ruler’s statement. Play one card from your hand in reply.

If you hold a card of the statement’s suit, you must follow suit. Otherwise you may play any card. You win the dialogue if your response is higher than the statement in the same suit, or if you cannot follow suit and play a card of the ruler’s trump suit when the statement belongs to another suit.

Example: the ruler’s trump suit is Eyes. The statement is Leaves 6. If you have Leaves, you must answer with one; Leaves 7 or 8 wins, but Leaves 5 loses. If you have no Leaves, an Eyes card wins regardless of its number.

Place each winning response card in your score pile. Losing responses and ruler statements go to the discard. The total number of winning responses is what you must match to the fief’s target.

Why winning too many tricks can lose the visit

The eight fiefs have exact targets of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 dialogue wins. Your score for a visit is not a normal high-score competition: you must finish with exactly the target number of won tricks.

A zero-target visit requires losing every dialogue. A seven-target visit demands winning seven dialogues. Aiming for an intermediate target can be easier with a mixed hand, particularly when your allies can adjust its composition.

You cannot voluntarily stop a visit early once its target is achieved. You continue until you run out of hand cards or the dialogue deck empties, so abilities that draw or discard cards can also change how many dialogues are played.

How ally abilities work

You have four active ally slots. At most one ally ability may be activated before each ruler statement. Rotate the used ally sideways to show that its ability has been exhausted for the current visit.

The introductory Jack allies provide effects that help manipulate dialogue cards, the deck or hand. Always follow the exact ability printed on the character. An ability that draws cards can lengthen a visit, while an ability that discards or changes card order can help avoid overshooting a low target.

Exhausted allies reset when a visit ends. You are not required to use every ally ability.

Using friendly rulers as substitute allies

After a successful visit, that fief’s ruler becomes friendly. On a later visit, you may temporarily substitute one or more friendly rulers for your regular allies, giving yourself access to different abilities.

A friendly ruler brought along as a substitute is removed from the game after that visit, even if you never used their ability. Importantly, its fief remains friendly and still contributes its stars to your final score.

That makes substitution a significant resource decision: you gain the chance to solve a difficult target now, but you give up that ruler’s ability in future visits. When a visit ends, reset exhausted allies, reshuffle all 32 dialogue cards, and draw eight new cards for the next fief.

Victory points and difficulty thresholds

After visiting all eight fiefs, count the stars printed on the friendly fief cards. Their values range from one to four stars. A fief scores its stars even if its friendly ruler was later consumed as a substitute.

Fiefs near either end of the 0–7 scale tend to be worth more stars. Completing only easy middle targets may be insufficient for a top result. If a victory threshold becomes impossible, you can still finish the game and record your final score.

Full-game setup and challenge booklet

After learning with the four Jacks and the King/Queen rulers, use the full set of 24 character cards. Shuffle them face up and deal until you have one ally from each suit and two rulers of each suit, giving four allies and eight rulers in total.

That introduces a wider ability mix and creates fresh combinations between the rulers you attempt first and the substitutes you might later recruit. The included challenge booklet adds scenarios and special constraints for replayability; read the relevant scenario before altering the normal setup.

Nine strategy principles for solo play

• Let the hand determine your first target. A hand rich in high values may be better suited to a higher target than a zero-win challenge.
• Consider the ruler’s suit. A hand full of trump may be useful for high targets but awkward for deliberately losing.
• Don’t assume the easiest-looking fief is best. Valuable edge fiefs may require specific ally combinations.
• Track your score pile. Knowing how many tricks you have already won is essential to avoiding an overshoot.
• Use allies before the statement. Their timing can alter the hand before you know the next card to beat.
• Protect valuable substitutes. A ruler spent on one visit cannot be brought along again.
• Use a successful early visit to improve your toolkit. A new friendly ruler can help solve harder targets later.
• Estimate the stars you still need. If pursuing 18 or 20, choose high-value fiefs that can realistically close the gap.
• Know when fewer tricks are better. The game rewards accuracy, not simply defeating as many statements as possible.

These are original rules-based strategic suggestions rather than claims of a personal playtest.

For Northwood! frequently asked questions

Is For Northwood! a solo game?

Yes. It is designed specifically for one player.

How many fiefs are there?

Eight, with exact targets numbered 0 through 7.

How many cards do you draw to start a visit?

Eight dialogue cards.

What decides the trump suit?

The suit printed on the ruler of the fief you are visiting.

Can you choose not to follow suit?

No, not when you have a card of the led suit.

Can you stop a visit when you reach its target?

No. Finish when your hand or the dialogue deck is exhausted.

How many ally abilities can be used before a statement?

At most one, and each ally can activate once per visit.

Can a friendly ruler replace an ally?

Yes, on a future visit. The substitute is removed afterward, even if unused.

How many stars do you need to win?

16 for standard victory; 18 and 20 are higher achievements.

What happens if you miss a target?

The ruler is removed and that fief remains unfriendly, yielding no stars.

Can you inspect previously discarded cards?

Yes. You may look through the discard and score piles without changing their order.

Rules references and editorial scope

• For Northwood! complete published rules text
• BoardGameGeek: designer-uploaded rulebook and print-and-play resources
• GateOnGames official Italian edition rulebook

Reviewed October 11, 2026. This is independently written instructional and editorial content, not a claimed personal playtest. Consult the edition-specific rulebook for character ability wording. Editorial policy and corrections.