My Dwarves Fly
My Dwarves Fly Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Let's Go! (Es geht los!)
"My Dwarves Fly High" contains:
- 88 playing cards (10 battle, 42 creature, 22 skill and 14 event cards)
- 5 dice, 4 gold markers, 4 battle markers, 40 gold coins
- Rulebook, game board, 4 reference sheets to cut out
Setup (Spielaufbau):
First, place the game board in the middle so everyone can see it.
Each player takes two game pieces of the same colour. They show your battle value and your treasure value.
Sort the cards by the colour on their backs into two decks, which are placed face down next to the game board. Of course you must shuffle them first.
Place the gold coins and dice next to the game board.
The player with the dirtiest fingers starts. If all players have clean hands, the eldest begins. This player draws a card from either of the two decks, then the next player clockwise follows, until each player has five cards in hand.
Now It Begins! (Jetzt geht es los!)
Whoever is on turn may choose one of the following four options:
- Play a creature card in front of yourself.
- Lay a skill card next to the corresponding creature.
- Play a battle card.
- Discard a card.
At the end of the turn, you draw cards until you have five cards in hand again.
Whoever has 15 or more pieces of gold stolen at the end of a turn wins the game, even if it was a fellow player's turn.
Playing a Creature Card in Front of You
The creature is placed face up in front of you. Creatures of the same kind should be placed together, but in such a way that their number can still be seen.
Some creatures do not want to fight in a team together with other creatures. Whoever has such an aversion against whom is shown on the respective card.
Example: The dwarf drives away the orcs, because the dwarf card says: "When I come, your orcs go." The effects only affect the player who played this card.
In addition, the following also applies: If two dwarves are already on the table and a third one comes along, then all orcs on the table leave.
The two dwarf creatures already played may belong to any player, not necessarily to the player who plays the third dwarf card.
If further dwarves are played, nothing further happens.
Another example: The troll drives away orcs and dwarves only if the "Troll" card is played. If the "Troll" card is already lying face up in front of a player, then dwarves or orcs may be played afterwards, because dwarves or orcs have nothing against trolls.
Creatures that leave you or your fellow players take their skills with them. The skill cards go onto the corresponding discard pile.
Laying a Skill Card on the Corresponding Creature
Skill cards may only be played if they can be assigned to a creature card or group of creature cards already on the table. It does not matter whether they are your own creatures or those of others. If a skill card already lies with the creature(s), the new card replaces the old one. Each creature race may only have one skill card lying with it.
Additional skills from the skill cards can only be used in battles by creatures that also take part in the battle.
The last creature of the same race that leaves the team after a fight or because of aversions takes its skill card with it. It goes onto the corresponding discard pile.
Example: The player has two orcs, to which a skill card belongs. If one of the two orcs leaves the team, this skill card does not yet go onto the discard pile. That only happens when the second orc also leaves the team.
Playing a Battle Card
Battles are the salt of this game. There are five different battles, for 1 to 5 creatures per player. How many creatures may take part in a battle and what is there to win is printed on the respective card. When a battle is played, all players must take part. The only exception: a player has no creature at all. Otherwise everyone joins in; ducking out does not count!
Starting with the player who played the card (the starting player), each player determines the creature(s) that take part in the battle.
The Fight (Der Kampf)
The starting player rolls for each creature, with the number of dice shown on the card. The rolled numbers are added per creature (battle value) and marked on the game board with the "Sword" marker on the corresponding number. Every rolled 1 is added to the treasure value and marked with the "Treasure" marker on the corresponding number as well. Then the player rolls for the next of their own creatures and adds both results (battle value and treasure value) to the previous results. This continues until every one of their own creatures has rolled once. Clockwise, the next player follows, until all players have had a turn.
During this phase, the additional skills from the corresponding cards of the creatures taking part in the battle may be used, but only once per creature.
Example: In a skirmish a player determines their battle value and treasure value. Since they have taken a dwarf and an elf into the battle, they first roll three dice for the dwarf and get 6, 1, 2. For the elf they roll two dice and get 6 and 5. In total they achieve a battle value of 20 (6+1+2+6+5) and a treasure value of 1 (the 1 of the dwarf). Had the skill card "Greedy" been lying on the dwarf, the player's treasure value would have been 2 (the dwarf finds gold at 1 and 2 thanks to the skill card). If the player wins the skirmish, they receive 2 additional pieces of gold (see the battle card).
Diplomacy (Die Diplomatie)
After the fight, the starting player now has the option to play an event card face down. If they do not want to play a card or have none in hand, they may also play any other card to bluff their fellow players. Once everyone has played a card, the cards are revealed simultaneously. The newly gained options are used starting from the starting player, clockwise.
Exception: The "Forget it!" card may immediately be thrown onto any other event card (except onto another "Forget it!" card) to cancel its advantage.
Sharing (Das Teilen)
After all event cards that influence the battle have also been resolved, the gold is distributed. The winner of a battle (highest battle value) receives the gold they found (treasure value) and the gold stated on the battle card. The creature with the most battle dice (skill cards also count) leaves the winner afterwards. If two creatures have the same number of battle dice, the winner decides which creature leaves them. Naturally, advantages from event cards are now taken into account. If two or more players have equally the highest battle value after a fight, they all count as winners. Each receives the gold they may have found as well as the gold stated on the battle card, and puts down the strongest of their creatures.
Translator's note: the German here reads "verlässt danach den Sieger" (literally "leaves the winner afterwards"); it is rendered literally.
Drawing (Das Ziehen)
Starting with the starting player, all players refill their hands to 5 cards. If at the end of this phase a player has 15 or more gold, the game ends and that player has won.
Discarding a Card (Eine Karte abwerfen)
The player may discard any card face up onto the discard pile and draw a card from either of the two decks. This ends their turn and the next player is on turn.
End of the Game (Spielende)
Whoever has 15 or more pieces of gold stolen at the end of a turn wins the game. Who was on turn does not matter.
If at the end two or more players have 15 or more pieces of gold, the one who has more gold wins. If different players have the same amount of treasures, the one with the most creatures wins. The number of creatures is decisive, not the number of battle dice! Only if these are also equal are the battle dice counted.
And remember: this is only a game! Ha, ha, ha!
Example of Play (Eine Spielsituation)
The printed example is shown as a series of numbered steps, in the order of the numbers printed in the figure.
(1) Michael, who has chosen the yellow game pieces, plays a dwarf (creature card). Two creatures now lie in front of him, an elf and a dwarf.
(2) Maike, who has chosen the red game pieces, also plays a creature card, a goblin. She has an aversion against elves. Two creature cards now lie in front of Maike as well: an orc and a goblin. The orc is not affected by the aversion of Michael's dwarf, because that aversion only applies to his own orcs. It would be different if two dwarves were already on the table and Michael played the third: then all orcs on the table would have to leave, including Maike's.
(3) Michael lays the skill card "My Dwarves Fly High" to his dwarf. He may now force an opposing creature to repeat its dice roll in every battle.
(4) Maike plays a battle card. It is a skirmish, in which two creatures per player take part.
(5) Maike begins, since the battle card comes from her. For the orc, which fights with three dice, she rolls 6, 5 and 1. Michael finds that Maike has rolled too well and plays his skill card "My Dwarves Fly High". Maike must repeat the dice roll and this time achieves only 4, 2 and 1. On the game board she moves her battle marker to the field (4+2+1 =) 7. Because of the rolled 1, the orc finds gold once. Maike moves her gold marker to 1. Maike's goblin fights with two dice. She rolls 6 and 3 and moves her battle marker forward to field (7+6+3 =) 16.
(6) Michael is on turn. For his elf, two dice, he achieves 5 and 1. He sets his battle marker to 6 and his gold marker to 1. For his dwarf, three dice, he achieves 4, 3 and 1. He moves his battle marker to 14 with it, and his gold marker to 2.
(7) The skirmish is over, and Maike has won (highest battle value!). Since neither of the two players plays an event card, Maike as the winner receives, in addition to the gold found, two further pieces of gold, as noted on the battle card. Maike therefore takes three gold coins. Neither Maike nor Michael has ended this turn with 15 pieces of gold, so both players draw cards until they have 5 in hand again. Then a new turn begins.
Illustration notes (from the printed figure): The dwarf has an aversion against orcs. If Michael had an orc in front of him, it would have to be discarded. The figure labels the face-down decks as "Creature deck (face down)" and "Action deck (face down)".