| 👨👩👧👦 | Players: 2-4 |
| ⏳ | Time: 20 minutes |
| 🎂 | Ages: 8+ |
| ⚙️ | Mechanisms: Open drafting, set collection |
A new game has been hitting my table, and I’ve been absolutely charmed by the adorable dragons in it. Dragonkeepers from Kosmos is a fun new card game, with art and design by Michael Menzel (of Legends of Andor and The Adventures of Robin Hood fame).
Can I pet that dawg?
In Dragonkeepers, players collect and play dragons and are rewarded with amulets and dragon eggs that award points at the end of the game. But the interesting part is the mechanisms for placing dragons!
The back sides of the two decks of cards create a spellbook that dictates the exact number and colour of dragons that MUST be played if a player wants to play dragons. The pages of the spellbook change (and therefore number/colour of dragons) as players draw new cards – using the spellbook to refill the empty card spaces. A page can also be changed by the active player who can use one of their cards to change the number value or dragon colour before playing cards. Each player will then get a chance to play cards if they can.
The spellbook, and the cards players can select from below it.
There is another placement rule that adds a bit of a twist. When placing dragons, you create stacks of the dragons of the same colour (1 stack for each colour). When a new dragon colour is played, a new stack is started to the left or right of the stacks already created. Once a stack of dragons is surrounded on both sides, no more dragons can be played on it (eg. if you have 3 stacks, you can only play dragons on the 2 outermost stacks). So you need to carefully decide when to start your next dragon colour to maximise placement and point-scoring opportunities.
This player can no longer play orange dragons. Once a stack is surrounded no dragons may be played there.
I’m really enjoying Dragonkeepers. It’s light and easy to play, yet the placement rules create plenty of interesting decisions to keep things engaging. Should I play 1 or 2 dragons, or hold out for bigger rewards? Play it safe and keep playing 1 or 2 colours? Is it risky because no one else is playing that colour? So much to consider!
This would be great for families or those new to the hobby. However, I had a few clarity issues with the rulebook in some places. I recommend using the Kosmos Helper App to learn how to play – it’s much clearer and does a fantastic job of walking you through how to play.
You can see this post on Instagram here. For further information about Dragonkeepers, check out the publisher’s website.
The copy of Dragonkeepers used for this review was provided to Board All The Time by VR Distribution.
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