In line with its predecessor (Agricola), Caverna is essentially a worker-placement game with an emphasis on farming. In the game you are the bearded leader of a small dwarf family living in a cave in the mountains. You start the game with a farmer and his wife, with each member of the farmer's family representing an action that the player can perform each turn. Together you cultivate the forest in front of your cave and dig deeper into the mountain. You design the caves as places for your descendants to live and as workspaces for small businesses.

It's up to you how much ore you want to mine. You'll need it to forge weapons that will allow you to go on expeditions to obtain bonus items and actions. As you dig through the mountain, you may come across water springs and discover ore and ruby ​​mines that will help you increase your wealth. Right in front of your cave you can increase your wealth even further with farming: you can clear the forest to sow fields and fence meadows to hold your animals. You can also expand your family as your farm grows. Ultimately, the player with the most efficiently developed home game board wins.

You can also play the solo version of this game to familiarize yourself with the 48 different layout tiles for your cave. Caverna, with a playing time of approximately 30 minutes per player, is a complete redesign of Agricola that replaces the maps from the previous game with a set of buildings, while adding the ability to purchase weapons and send your peasants on quests to further obtain resources.

Designer Uwe Rosenberg says the game contains parts of Agricola, but also has new ideas, especially the part of your game board where the cave is, where you can build mines and look for rubies. The game also features two new animals: dogs and donkeys.