When you first gather around the table to play The Dwarf King, you feel the weight of ancient stone and the flicker of torchlight guiding your fellowship. Each player receives eight cards, and you look down to find a mix of warriors, rune-scribes, craftsmen, and artifacts waiting to be claimed. A moment of camaraderie arrives as you each select three cards from your hand and slide them to the left in quiet trust, forging alliances before a single trick is played.

Once the objective card is revealed, its vibrant illustration announces the trump suit for the round and hints at bonus points for daring feats. You tuck that secret objective beside your score track, knowing the path to glory may twist unexpectedly. The player who passed cards to you may now become your rival or your champion, depending on how your hands unfold.

The first leader places a card upon the table, and all eyes follow its lead. If you hold a card of the same suit, you must play it, honoring the ancient code of dwarven courtesy. If you cannot follow suit, you may unleash a trump card or any other treasure in your hand, hoping to claim the trick. The highest card of the leading suit wins unless a trump topples it, and the victor gathers the spoils, laying them before themselves. With each claim, you feel as though you have wrested a gem from the mountain’s heart.

As tricks pile up, you count not only the face value of each captured card but also the extra bounty granted by trumps. When the objective’s condition is met—perhaps capturing a set of emerald artifacts or a trio of onyx runes—you earn a flourish of bonus points that echoes like a horn blast through the caverns. Failure to meet that secret goal may carry a penalty, reminding you that dwarven bargains are never without risk.

Between rounds, laughter ripples through your company as tales of close calls and cunning plays are shared. You remember the time a friend sacrificed a mighty trump to save a lesser card, only to snatch victory on the very next trick. Those moments become the evening’s true treasure, binding you closer than any forged alliance.

When you finally decide that one hundred points marks the proper end of this grand saga, you lift your mugs in salute to the Dwarf King and to each other. In the echoing halls of your home, every hand of cards has woven a new legend, and every player departs with a story worthy of the stone-hewn annals of dwarf-kind.