Caverna Scoring Explained: Animals, Mines, Crops & Penalties
Caverna uses a broad final score rather than a small set of capped categories. Most developed parts of the farm are worth their printed or direct Gold-point value, while missing farm-animal species and unused home-board spaces create penalties.
Furnishing tiles
Score the Gold points printed on your furnishing tiles. Some furnishings also provide additional end-game bonuses; resolve those separately according to the tile text.
Animals: 1 point each
Every animal is worth 1 Gold point, including dogs and the four farm-animal species: sheep, donkeys, wild boar and cattle.
You also lose 2 points for each farm-animal species you are missing. The missing-species penalty applies to sheep, donkeys, wild boar and cattle—not to dogs.
Pastures and mines
Pastures score the point values printed on their tiles. Ore mines and ruby mines likewise score their printed values, so use the physical tile/score sheet rather than assuming every mine or pasture is identical.
Vegetables, rubies and gold: 1 point each
Each vegetable, each ruby and each Gold is worth 1 Gold point at final scoring.
Grain: ½ point each, rounded up
Count all your grain, including grain that has not yet been harvested from fields. Grain is worth half a Gold point each, with the total rounded up.
Dwarfs: 1 point each
Every dwarf in your family is worth 1 Gold point. Family growth therefore provides both extra worker actions during the game and a direct final-scoring contribution.
Unused home-board spaces: -1 each
Lose 1 point for each unused space on your home board. This makes incomplete cave and farm development costly even if your resource engine is otherwise strong.
Add furnishing bonuses last
Some rooms score additional points for animals, resources, board features or other conditions. Calculate these card/tile-specific bonuses after the ordinary categories so they are not counted twice.
Winner
The player with the most Gold points wins. Use the official score pad to total the categories consistently.
Continue learning
Source: Lookout Games: official Caverna rules. Checked September 20, 2026.