A player becomes either a disciple of the Great Dragon, vying to free him from his stony prison, or a minion of the evil wizard, ensuring the dragon sleeps forever.
Object of the Game
In this two player game one player is the a disciple of the Great Dragon and the other a minion of the evil wizard.
The disciple is trying to break the wizards spell and free the dragon. The minion is trying to prevent the freeing of the dragon. To accomplish these goals, the two players take turns placing cards on the board in order to collect cards for their score piles. Each of the cards are worth one to four points, and at the end of the game, the player with the most points succeeds at his goal and wins the game.
Components
The components for "Dragonheart" are of great quality (as we would expect of a Fantasy Flight Game). The plastic Great Dragon Figure really serves no purpose, but is still a great piece. I really like the artwork for this game as well. The game board is a nice thick cardboard. The board is placed in the center of the gable and the Great Dragon figure is placed to the right of the petrified dragon space, above the dwarf space.
Each player now chooses which deck to take, the red or the green. Both decks are exactly the same, except for the color on the back. These decks are shuffled and the players each draw five cards for their starting hand. The remaining cards form the draw deck. These are placed face-down in front of the player.
The youngest player chooses who plays first and that person starts the game.
Game Play
Players will alternate their turns. Each turn consists of three steps: play cards, collect cards, and draw cards. The active player will complete all three steps before the second player takes their turn.
Step 1: Play Cards: During this step the player will play one or more cards face-up to the game board. The cards played must have the same picture and that picture must correspond to the picture on the game board. For example all the cards played must be Sorceress and be placed on the Sorceress space. The player must also reveal the point values of the cards as they are played. The player does not need to play every card that he has with the same picture but at least one card must be played during this step.
Some spaces on the board have a single outline while others have multiple card outlines. The number of outlines indicates how many cards are needed to activate the space's effect. Space effects give the activating player the ability to take cards and place them in their score pile. No matter how many card are added, the effect only activates once per turn. Not every space has an effect.
On spaces with only one card outline, any number of cards may be placed. There is no limit. Cards are placed in a stack with only the top card visible. Players may not look at cards below the top card.
Spaces with multiple outlines can only hold as many cards as there are outlines. Cards placed in these spots are placed in a slightly offset stack. All cards are at least partially visible.
Step 2: Collect Cards: If possible, the player now collects cards from the game board. If a player has activated a space effect during the Play Cards step that allows him to collect cards, he may do so. These cards are placed into the players score pile. The score pile cards may be examined by the player at any time.
When a player activates a space and there are no cards for the player to collect, the player does not get to take any cards. Also, when necessary, the Huntress, Knight, and Ship cards are removed from the board during this step, as well.
Step 3: Draw Cards: During the third step the player draws cards from their draw pile to refill their hand up to its maximum size (usually five). After this it his the opponents turn to begin.
Space Effects
The board uses arrows to help remind players of which spaces effect each other.
Treasure Chest: This is where the wealth of the dwarfs accumulates. It lures fire dragons and sorceresses. Playing cards to the treasure chest does not trigger an effect.
Fire Dragon: Playing cards to the Fire Dragon space allows the player to take all the cards on the Treasure Chest space (as indicated by the arrow on the board). The Fire Dragons carry off the dwarfs treasure at the direction of the evil wizard.
Petrified Dragon: Cards played here do not trigger an effect. The Petrified Dragon sits silently in accusations against those who imprisoned him. The Dragonheart flickers with life, until the day when the spell can be broken.
Sorceress: The Sorceresses know what they want: great wealth and the magic of the Dragonheart for themselves. They work their craft on the Petrified Dragon to unlock the secret of its powers. Playing cards to the Sorceress allows the player to take all the treasure chest cards or al of the cards on the Petrified Dragon space. Regardless of how many sorceress cards are player, the player may only take the cards from one of those two spaces.
If the player takes at least one Petrified Dragon card, they also take the Great Dragon figure and places in front of them. Now the player has a hand size of six cards. If the Great Dragon was taken from an opponent the opponent must reduce their hand size to five cards. The new owner of the great dragon takes a random card from their opponents hand and places it on top of the opponents draw deck.
Troll: The evil wizard has sent trolls after the Sorceress because of their meddling, yet they only threaten the powerful Sorceress. When a card is played to the troll space it allows the player to take all the cards on the Sorceress space.
Dwarf: Driven by the search and not the wealth the Dwarfs seek treasure. Once they have uncovered enough, they display their discoveries on the highest mountain top to sparkle in the sun. When four Dwarfs meet they tell tales of their finds while they are deep in their cups. The player who plays the fourth card to the Dwarf space takes all four cards on the space.
Knight: Where there is a monster there is a knight to fight it. Mostly the knights fight trolls, if there are no trolls they carry the sorceresses to safety (whether the sorceresses wants them to or not.) When a player places the second knight card on the space they may takes all the Sorceress cards or all the troll cards. The player may only take cards from one of the spaces. Next, the knight cards are placed face-up in the stack below the ship space.
Huntress: Brave Huntress stalk the fire dragons sent by the evil wizard. The player who plays the third card to the Huntress space takes all the cards on the Fire Dragon space. Next, the Huntress cards are placed face-up below the ships space.
Ship: Distant lands and new adventures call the Knights and Huntress. Once their work in this land is done, they board their ships and when the time is right, set sail for distant lands. The player who plays the third card to the Ship space takes all the cards below the ship space (Knights / Huntress). Next, the three ship cards are placed in a face-up stack next to the game board. The second time three ship cards are on the board, they are placed next to the first stack. The third time three ship cards are placed it is the end of the game.
End of the Game
Once the third stack of ship cards are placed next to the game board the ending of the game is signalled. After the player who placed the third stack has ended his turn, the opponent takes one final turn.The game can also end before the third stack of Ship cards are placed if one player is unable to draw any cards from their draw deck. The turn in which the player has no cards to draw is their final turn. The opponent may take one final turn.
Once the final turn of the game is over, the players return the remaining cards in their hands to the box. These cards have no value. Then, each player totals the point values of the cards in their score pile. The player who possesses the Great Dragon figure scores three more points.
The player with the highest point total wins, freeing or keeping the Great Dragon petrified, depending his they were the green or red player. In case of a tie the player with the Great Dragon figure wins.
My Thoughts
Dragonheart was a surprise hit for and my husband and me. Last Thanksgiving, we bought this game from the Fantasy Flight Holiday sale and didn't expect too much. Once played, we realized we had a light, beautiful and enjoyable two player game that makes a great filler, week night game, and gateway game.
A card game usually equals a lot of luck and that is certainly true in this game. You may be forced to make a move you really don't want to make because of your hand. This was true for me a few times. Sometimes you choose the best of the worst and sometimes you just get lucky. For example putting down a five treasure card you can't get next turn or laying down one fire dragon and taking 15 points of treasure. The choices you make are certainly meaningful but at the same time not deep enough to leave one stuck in analysis paralysis. Also don't underestimate the Dragonheart, a six card can certainly prove its worth.
Had I been paying attention better I may have been able to change my tactics, gone after the higher point cards, and tried to keep the game going longer.
In my opinion this would be a great couple's game. I certainly enjoy battling this one out, with my husband. The easy rules, beautiful artwork, and quick game play lend themselves towards this end. And, because the game is quick to play it's easy to get a few plays in; best three out of five maybe?
Designer: Rüdiger Dorn
Artist: Michael Menzel
Publishers: Fantasy Flight Games, Kosmos, Filosofia Edition, Galakta, Giochi Uniti, MINDOK, Smart Ltd, Stupor Mundi
Number of Players: 2
Game Length: 30 minutes
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