Based on the first novel of the Die Zwerge tetralogy Eng The Dwarves by author Markus Heitz the goal of the cooperative game Die Zwerge is to keep evil from flooding Girdlegard During set-up players choose one of the dwarves from the novel each of which is equipped with a unique special ability & different stats for fighting crafting & movement Before each player&s turn the forces of evil usually break through one of the four big gates – which are guarded by different dwarven tribes – & further the spread of the Perished Land On his turn a player spends two action points to use two of five actions He can Fight against the advancing enemies (orcs trolls & älfar Ger albae ie dark elves) Travel to other locations Lobby the dwarven council to give advantages to all players – & without the favor of the dwarven council everyone suffers disadvantages Solve a minor quest for rewards Take on the current major quest revealing the next major quest if successful Completing these quests is the only way to win the game For most of these actions a player must succeed in a dice-driven challenge If the players cannot control the flood of evil while simultaneously solving the major quests in time they will lose Players 2-5 Playing time 60-90 Ages 10