How to Play Nidavellir: Tavern Bids, Dwarves, Heroes & Coin Building
Nidavellir is a simultaneous-bidding set-collection game. Each player has five coins and secretly assigns three of them to the three taverns. Bids determine who chooses dwarves first, while the special zero coin drives the game’s coin-building system.
Scope: base game only, excluding Thingvellir and Idavoll.
Secretly assign one coin to each tavern
Every round, place one coin facedown at each tavern and leave the other two coins available for the zero-coin upgrade system. Reveal tavern bids together when instructed.
Highest bid chooses first
Resolve the taverns in order. Players rank their revealed bids, using gems/tiebreak rules when values are equal. The highest bidder chooses one available dwarf first, followed by the remaining players.
Dwarves join one of five classes
Recruited dwarves are placed in their class column: Warriors, Hunters, Miners, Blacksmiths or Explorers. Each class uses a different final Bravery formula, so the same card value can matter differently depending on the class.
Complete class sets to recruit Heroes
When your army reaches the required rank diversity across all five classes, recruit an available Hero according to the rules. Heroes can change scoring, class strength or bidding economy.
Use the zero coin to improve another coin
The zero coin intentionally loses its tavern bid but enables coin building: compare the two unused coins and replace the appropriate coin with a stronger value from the Royal Treasure following the printed procedure.
Age I ends with Distinctions
After the first Age, compare the five class columns and award the class Distinctions according to the rulebook. These bonuses can materially change the second Age.
After Age II, calculate total Bravery
Score each class using its unique formula, add Heroes and other bonuses, then compare total Bravery. Highest final Bravery wins.
Publisher reference: GRRRE Games: Nidavellir. Checked September 21, 2026.