What is the best mythical creature? One answer of course: Dragons. And the best and greatest of them all is the Dragoness. Together we are going to explore a time when the Dragoness, Dragon Knights, Squire, Page and all of the different dragons came together to celebrate her reign. Let’s take a look at Reign of Dragoness!
Title: Reign of Dragoness
Designer: Apryl Scott
Graphic Design: Brigette Indelicato
Details: 3-8 players, 20-40 mins
Overview:
In Reign of Dragoness players will try to empty their hand of 13 cards from their hand. Each player must match the cards played, winners set the next pattern. The round continues until someone is out and players score points according to the cards they have left. Repeat for 5 rounds, the winner has the most points!
Gameplay:
To begin set the deck of cards based on the amount of players, this will determine how many of the dragon sets you use. Each is numbered 1-12 and have gems on them ranking them by power. You will deal each player 13 cards and then play begins with whoever has the lowest number/gem card. On your turn you can do one of three things. You can play:
-A single card
-A run of three to five
-A set of two or more of the same number
Players must match the single/set/run type played but with a larger number in the mix or a higher gem count. Clockwise around the table players will either pass or play. Once everyone has passed, the last player to play starts the next single/set/run and players must follow or pass. This continues until one player lays down their last card. At this point, the player who does that score 3 points, the next smallest amount of cards in hand player scores 2 points, and finally the next after that scores 1 point. Then all cards are reshuffled into the deck and another round is played.
The game is played like this for five rounds, and the player with the most points at the end is the winner! There is a basic and advanced way to play this game, the advanced version adds Dragon Hordes that can disrupt the patterns played and make it a bit more tricky to get your cards out! There is also a number of extra cards. These include the Knight, Squire and Paige that all represent different number ranges and can be used effectively like a wild for the range they cover. There is also the Dragoness herself, a 13 value Dragon that will end things immediately. The Revive card is another fun card that can restart the value of the current pattern but it also adds everyone back into the competition again.
Impressions:
There is little that doesn’t impress me when it comes to a Grandpa Beck’s Game. Everyone one of them have been instant hits for our family and friends and I find many of them ready to order it as soon as they play! Reign of Dragoness is another in a long line of games that fit that bill for me.
This is a simple to learn card game that does ramp up with more advanced play but overall it is a game you are going to be able to get to the table with family and friends, gamers and non-gamers alike. The player count is one of my favorite parts-you can play up to eight with this one and the turns move so quick and easy that it isn’t a problem to do so!
The art is super solid as well, each Dragon well done and beautifully illustrated from top to bottom. The characters are very well done also-asthetically this game is what you would want in a card game that has you constantly looking at the cards. My only tiny complaint is the six and nine can be hard to distinguish if you look at the cards head-on, I highly recommend keeping all your dragons facing the same position.
We have taught this to some friends who do not love games and it was easy for them to follow and play together with us. They found it to be quick to learn and it was also a game that we could have some snacks, play the cards and still have conversation together. So for a casual meet-up, this is a game that works out well.
Overall the game sings in so many different ways with a lot of different players. I have been enjoying this one and it is definitely going in my game bag, travel bag, ski trip bag-you name it! Reign of Dragoness is going to find its way on to a lot of gaming tables in the near future and I would recommend you find a way to do the same!
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