In the Hall of the Mountain King, players as trolls try to rebuild their abandoned kingdom under the mountain. Using muscle and magic, they unearth riches, excavate collapsed tunnels, and build great halls. At the same time, they raise the fallen statues of their ancestors back to their places of honor in the heart of the mountain.

The flow of the game in "In the Hall of the Mountain King" is driven by innovative production cascades. Timing, tactics and magic help the player to let the halls inside the mountain shine in new splendor and are the key to success and the crown.

Buried statues must be salvaged and re-erected at suitable locations in the heart of the mountain (scoring points) with the help of carts.

An important aspect of the game is the production cascade. Each player starts with four trolls. Each troll possesses a specific combination of resources. When a new troll is hired, it is placed on top of two other trolls, creating a "pyramid". The new troll will activate and receive its resources. Also, all trolls below him will also activate and gain whatever resources they can carry. The more trolls activated in this way, the more resources are generated. The timing of activating new trolls is extremely important. Each player must try to maximize the resources available by activating Trolls. At the same time, you have to keep an eye on the game plan and constantly expand your tunnel system before the other players grab the best places and materials.

The German edition of "In the Hall of the Mountain King" comes with the expansion "Cursed Mountain" and the mini expansion "Champions". "Cursed Mountain" lets you experience the game in solo and cooperative campaign modes, and "Champions" gives each player an individual troll champion.