The Dwarf King

1.Setup

• The game has 55 cards: 39 basic cards, 14 special cards and 2 reference cards, plus 20 double-sided Quest tiles.
• The basic cards come in three colours, red, blue and green. Each colour runs from 2 to 10, then jack, queen, king and ace: the 2 is the lowest, the ace the highest.
• Special cards are marked with a triangle at the top of the card: the 1 and the two 11s of each colour, and 5 Magic cards, adorned with a golden star.
• Make two decks, the basic cards on one side and the special cards on the other, shuffled separately and placed face down at the edge of the table, with the reference cards.
• With 3 players, the green 2 stays in the box.
• Draw 7 of the 20 Quest tiles at random and stack them at the edge of the table, whichever side is up; the other 13 go back in the box. For a first game, first set aside the tiles marked as the most complex.
• 3 to 5 players, ages 10 and up.

2.How to play

• The game lasts seven deals. Each deal has three stages: dealing and choosing the Quest, playing the tricks, then scoring.
• The owner of the game deals first. After that, the dealer is whoever won the green 5 in the previous deal.
• The dealer turns over the top special card, reads its text aloud and makes sure everyone understands it. They slip that card among the basic cards (39, or 38 with 3 players), shuffle, then deal everything out, one card at a time.
• The player who received the blue 5 shows it, takes it back into their hand and draws the top Quest tile. They read both sides, pick one, place the tile in the middle on that side and explain to the others how it scores.
• The player who received the red 5 shows it, takes it back into their hand and opens the first trick with any card they like.
• The colour of the first card played is the colour led. Going clockwise, each player plays a card of that colour if they have one, higher or lower, it doesn't matter; without that colour, they play any card.
• The trick goes to whoever played the highest card in the colour led. They keep it face down in front of them, each trick in a separate pile, and leads the next trick.
• You may only look at the last trick you won.
• The deal ends when nobody has any cards left in hand.

3.Scoring

• After the last trick, each player works out what they gain or lose under the Quest, looking only at the cards and tricks they won, never at a card left in hand.
• Add whatever the special card of the deal says, if it gives or takes away points.
• Once won, a Magic card loses both colour and value: no Quest counts it.
• A few of the game's Quests: 4 points per 3 and per 4 won; 2 points per trick won in the last four tricks of the deal, or 2 points lost for the reverse Quest; 2 points per trick in your longest run of consecutive tricks won; 1 point lost per card of the people shown on the tile.
• A symbol on some tiles and cards suggests writing points down during the deal rather than at the end.
• The Quest and the special card of the deal then go back in the box.
• In Marquoir, enter each deal the total each player gained or lost; a negative result is entered as it is.

4.End of the game

• After the seventh deal, the highest total wins. When many Quests have taken points away, the winner may have a negative score.
• If players are tied for the lead, play one more deal, and keep going until there is a single winner.

House rules and pitfalls

• The three 5s each have a role: the blue 5 chooses the Quest, the red 5 leads the first trick, and whoever wins the green 5 deals the next deal.
• Only one special card comes into play each deal. For example, the Druid, once played, makes you swap your hand with that of a player of your choice; the Clone takes the colour of the card played just before it and beats it narrowly; the Scout scores 1 point per jack, queen, king or ace played in the same trick, whether its player wins that trick or not.
• Depending on the number of players, each player gets 13 cards with 3 players, 10 with 4 and 8 with 5.
• The Quest tile has two sides: whoever chooses looks at their hand first to keep the more favourable one.
• This rules sheet follows IELLO's 2021 edition, with its Quest tiles; the first edition, from 2011, had different components.

Frequently asked questions

The box

Released

2011

Age

Ages 10+

Designer

Bruno Faidutti

Artwork

Christophe Swal

Publisher

IELLO

Mechanics

Trick-takingHand ManagementObjectives

Contents

• 39 basic cards in three colours, from 2 to ace
• 14 special cards: the 1 and two 11s of each colour, and 5 Magic cards
• 20 double-sided Quest tiles
• 2 reference cards

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