If you're a fan of Nidavellir, Serge Laget's bidding game about recruiting dwarven heroes (BGG rating: 7.6, and a Dice Tower Top 100 Game of All Time pick), there's a new way to visit the kingdom. Trök has just arrived on Board Game Arena, and it's free to play.
Published by GRRRE Games, the same studio behind Nidavellir, Trök swaps army recruitment for tavern bartering. The game is set in the drinking halls of the dwarven kingdom, where haggling over equipment is a tradition as old as the mines themselves.
Each turn follows a simple rhythm. Players receive equipment cards, then secretly choose three to reveal simultaneously. The player with the highest total value becomes the master of trade, deciding how cards get exchanged. From there, everyone takes turns collecting or swapping cards with opponents or the market, creating a tense chain of bluffs and calculated risks. Collecting identical sets earns you Aare (the game's currency), while different sets unlock strategic upgrades to your trading abilities.
It's lighter and faster than Nidavellir, leaning into set collection and push-your-luck rather than the sealed-bid auction mechanics of the original. The simultaneous reveals and forced exchanges keep downtime low and the table talk high.
Trök joins Nidavellir on Board Game Arena's library of over 1,200 games playable in your browser. If you've never tried Nidavellir, Trök could be a good entry point into the world. And if you already love the original, this is a different flavour of dwarven scheming worth checking out.
Sources: Board Game Arena | BoardGameGeek - Nidavellir | GRRRE Games