8 Dragons Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• A Quick Flyover
• Components
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • I. Fly & Activate Location Effects
• Overview: Locations and their Effects
• Expand Lair
  • Types of Tiles
  • Mission Limit
  • Large Chambers
• End of the Game
  • Scoring
• 2-Player Game
• Royal Challenges (Advanced)
• Turn Examples
• Missions

A Quick Flyover

You fly with your Dragon along the figure-8 route around the kingdoms. Wyrmlings learn to fly and join other Dragons to form a Swarm. Aureus is an exceptional, Golden Wyrmling who always helps the active Dragon.

You protect the Villages of the Elves, Gnomes, Fairies and Goblins. Out of gratitude, they help you expand your Lair. Along the way you'll find various Locations. When you land there, you trigger its effect. Trolls carry a sack full of gold – with a hole in it. You collect the visible gold along the Troll Path. Merchant Tiles enrich your lair and often come with missions.

The snowy North lies above, the sunny South below. The Snow Line runs between them. The Valley of the Winds lies at the centre, with the Dragon Rock above. From there, Wyrmlings join passing Swarms. Lair Tiles expand your Lair, chamber by chamber.

Components

• 1 double-layered game board with the two kingdoms Sinistra and Dextra
• 1 Dragon in each of 4 colours, 1 Golden Dragon named Aurea
• 3 Wyrmlings in each of 4 colours, 1 Golden Wyrmling named Aureus
• 13 Level-1 Lair Tiles in each colour (Elves, Gnomes, Goblins, Fairies)
• 10 Level-2 Lair Tiles in each colour
• 5 Location Tiles for Sinistra, 5 Location Tiles for Dextra
• 8 Bonfire Tiles
• 1 Dragon Egg
• 39 1-Coins, 16 3-Coins, 16 5-Coins, 12 10-Coins, 8 50-Coins
• 12 Elves, 12 Gnomes, 12 Goblins, 12 Fairies (Villagers)
• 2 Trolls
• 12 Treasure Chests
• 8 Player Aids
• 8 Royal Challenge Cards
• 4 Starting Tiles
• 4 Starting Missions
• 22 Merchant Tiles

Setup

1. Place the game board in the centre of the table.
2. Place the Location Tiles marked with the Sinistra symbol in Sinistra and those marked with the Dextra symbol in Dextra. Distribute them freely across the designated spaces. For your first game, follow the starting setup printed on the board.
3. Shuffle the Treasure Chests, form two face-down stacks of 6 Treasure Chests each, and place one stack on each "Treasure Chest" location.
4. Take 3 of each: Elves, Gnomes, Goblins and Fairies. Distribute them randomly across the spaces marked on the villages. Set the remaining ones aside near the game board.
5. Place the Trolls on the middle space of the Troll paths.
6. Shuffle the Level-1 and Level-2 Lair Tiles in separate stacks by level and colour. Remove the following number of tiles from each stack and return them to the box without looking at them: 2-Player Game: 3 tiles | 3-Player Game: 2 tiles | 4-Player Game: 1 tile. Place 1 Bonfire Tile at the 4th position from the bottom of each face-down stack. Place the stacks beneath their respective symbols next to the game board.
7. Shuffle the Merchant Tiles and divide them into two equal stacks. Place one face-down next to the lighthouse and one next to the castle. Then reveal 2 Merchant Tiles from each stack and place them in the slots.
8. Place all gold coins as the general supply next to the game board.
9. Place 3 Gold on each "Dragon Shrine" location.

Now for the personal setup:

10. Each player chooses a colour. Take the matching Starting Tile, your Dragon and 2 Wyrmlings in your colour. 2-Player Game: each take 1 additional Wyrmling. Place the Starting Tile in front of you, your Lair starts here. Leave enough room around it to expand.
11. Randomly deal 1 Starting Mission to each player and place it with an open edge (without a wall) adjacent to your Starting Mission. 2-Player Game: Deal 2 Starting Missions per player and place them in your Lair.
12. The last player that looked up at the sky is the starting Dragon. Take the Dragon Egg and flip your Starting Tile to the side showing the egg. Turn order proceeds clockwise.
13. Stack your Dragons in turn order on the space to the left of the Dragon Rock, starting Dragon (1.) on top (1. 2. 3. 4.). Place your Wyrmlings on the Dragon Rock, the frontmost one on the circle space.
    • 2-Player Game: Each place 2 Wyrmlings in your Lair and 1 Wyrmling on the Dragon Rock in the following order: 2. 1.
    • 3-Player Game: Each place 1 Wyrmling in your Lair and 1 Wyrmling on the Dragon Rock in the following order: 3. 1. 2.
    • 4-Player Game: Each place 1 Wyrmling in your Lair and 1 Wyrmling on the Dragon Rock in the following order: 4. 1. 2. 3.
14. Place Aureus at the rearmost position on the Dragon Rock.
15. 2-Player Game: Additionally place Aurea on the space to the right of the Dragon Rock (see "2-Player Game").

Gameplay

8 Dragons is played in turns, clockwise. On your turn, you are the active Dragon. If Wyrmlings – of any colour – are attached to your Dragon, you form a Swarm and they benefit from your turn. Likewise, your Wyrmlings also benefit when they fly along with others.

Each turn consists of two phases:

I. Fly & Activate Location Effects II. Expand Lair – all players with new tiles do this simultaneously

Once your turn ends, the next player becomes the active Dragon and flies.

I. Fly & Activate Location Effects

Fly. On the figure-8 route you fly with your Dragon across the two kingdoms. On your turn you must fly: move your Dragon at least 1 space forward. You may fly as far as you like – but you may only cross the Snow Line once. In other words: if your Dragon is in the snowy north, you may fly at most as far as the south – and vice versa. Only your Dragon's position matters for how far you may fly – not that of the Wyrmlings in the Swarm (see "Form a Swarm"). When passing through the Valley of the Winds, you choose whether to continue to Sinistra (left) or Dextra (right). Important: Dragons and all attached Wyrmlings must land on marked spaces and may never end their movement in the Valley of the Winds. The storms there are so fierce that any Swarm caught inside is swept onward by the wind.

Form a Swarm. Most of the time you don't fly alone, but in a Swarm: a Swarm consists of one Dragon and any number of Wyrmlings, regardless of their colour. Every time a Dragon passes through the Valley of the Winds, the frontmost Wyrmling on the circle space of the Dragon Rock attaches to the back of the Swarm – colour doesn't matter and nobody can prevent it. The remaining Wyrmlings then advance. If no Wyrmling is waiting on the Dragon Rock, none attaches. Once the Wyrmling has joined, the flight continues – as you may never stop in the Valley of the Winds.

Note: At the start of the game, Wyrmlings are already waiting on the Dragon Rock; they join one by one in the first few turns.

Push Dragons. If any Dragons or Swarms are ahead of your Dragon, you may push them forward – even several at once. If you push a Dragon or Swarm into the Valley of the Winds, the player whose Dragon is being pushed decides whether to continue to Sinistra or Dextra. Movement ends once the pushed Dragon and all attached Wyrmlings have left the Valley. The pushed Dragon makes no flight of its own – it is simply carried along by the wind.

Important: If a Wyrmling is waiting on the Dragon Rock and a pushed Dragon or Swarm passes through the Valley of the Winds, the frontmost Wyrmling attaches as usual.

Activate Location Effects. Every space corresponds to a Location. After your flight, all moved Dragons and Wyrmlings must activate the Location Effect of the space they are on if possible, one after another. This also applies to pushed Dragons, swarms and other players' Wyrmlings in a Swarm. The activation proceeds from front to back. From the active Dragon's perspective – pushed Dragons are ahead of you. First all Dragons and Wyrmlings in the same kingdom as the active Dragon, then all in the other kingdom, also from front to back.

At Locations you activate effects, gain Gold, Lair Tiles or Merchant Tiles.

Important: All involved players activate their Locations in order before placing any gained tiles. Placing tiles happens afterwards, simultaneously for everyone involved, during the "Expand Lair" phase.

Aureus: The Golden Wyrmling. Like all Wyrmlings, Aureus wants to learn to fly and attaches himself to passing Dragons or entire Swarms. He helps everyone: whenever he is moved, he always activates the Location Effect for the active Dragon – regardless of which Swarm he is currently part of.

Overview: Locations and their Effects

The kingdoms are full of wondrous locations where you gain Gold, tiles or activate powerful effects. How much Gold each player hoards is public information at all times. Whenever "the other kingdom" is mentioned, it always refers to the opposite kingdom. Remember: All Location Effects must be activated if possible. Activate all Location Effects in order before placing any gained tiles. Placing tiles happens afterwards, simultaneously for everyone involved, during the "Expand Lair" phase.

The Villages: Take Lair Tiles. The Villagers give you Lair Tiles, usually of their Folk. You may also use them to gain tiles of other Folks, though you'll need twice as many Villagers to do so.

• 1 Villager: 1 matching Level-1 Lair Tile
• 2 Villagers: 2 matching Level-1 Lair Tiles, or 1 matching Level-2 Lair Tile, or 1 Level-1 Lair Tile of another Folk (2:1)
• 4 Villagers: any valid combination, or 1 Level-2 Lair Tile of another Folk (2:1)

The Villager pieces always remain in the villages.

Example: Greenyra's Dragon is at an Elf village with 3 Villagers. She decides to take 1 Level-2 Elf Tile and 1 Level-1 Elf Tile. Blakkar's Wyrmling is up next. He is at a Gnome village with 1 Villager and takes 1 Level-1 Gnome Tile. Whytera's Wyrmling is next and is at a Fairy village with 3 Villagers. She takes 1 Level-1 Fairy Tile and 1 Level-1 Goblin Tile (2:1).

The Villages Grow: Place 1 additional Villager. A village welcomes a new Villager: place 1 Villager of the same Folk in any village of that Folk – for example, another Fairy alongside a Fairy. You decide which village in which kingdom you place the new Villager, as long as there is still space (max. 4 per village).

Gathering: Take 1 Level-1 Tile. The Folks come together and share their knowledge. Take any 1 Level-1 Lair Tile from any Lair Tile stack.

Dragon Towers and Dragon Rock: Summon 1 Wyrmling to the Dragon Rock. Choose 1 Wyrmling – whether your own, another player's, or Aureus – and place it at the rearmost position on the Dragon Rock. From there it will join a passing Dragon or Swarm once it advances to the front (see "Form a Swarm"). Wyrmlings may be summoned to the Dragon Rock from Lairs or from a Swarm. When a Wyrmling activates this Location Effect, it may not summon itself. You may not choose a Wyrmling from the player who is the sole player with the fewest Wyrmlings across all Swarms. You might have to choose one of your own sometimes.

If summoning a Wyrmling from a Swarm creates a gap, the Wyrmlings behind advance automatically – as they never fly alone. This may reassign subsequent Location Effects. If a Wyrmling has already activated a Location Effect this turn, advancing does not activate an additional one. However, if the advancing occurs within a Swarm that was not moved this turn, it does not count as movement and activates no Location Effects.

Troll the Troll: Take the Gold up to the Troll, move the Troll towards you. The Troll keeps dropping Gold along his path as he grumpily paces back and forth trying to protect it. Take the Gold shown on the path up to his current position from the general supply. Then move the Troll 1 space towards you, if possible.

Example: Rhed takes 1 Gold and moves the Troll 1 space towards him. Had the Troll already been standing there, Rhed would have gained nothing.

Psst: The sack on the Troll's back has a hole in it. Don't tell him – he's easily riled up.

Dragon Shrine: Take all Gold and place 3 Gold in the other kingdom. The Dragon Shrines of the kingdoms fill with offerings. Take all Gold from the Shrine. If the Shrine is empty, you gain nothing. Now a pilgrim sets off for the other kingdom: place 3 Gold from the general supply on the Dragon Shrine there in any case – even if you gained nothing.

Treasure Chest: Take 1 Treasure Chest. Valuable Treasure Chests hold precious Artifacts. Take the top Treasure Chest – look at it, but keep it secret. At the end of the game you may place it in your Lair and score it (see Scoring). If there are no more Treasure Chests at that Location, take 3 Gold from the general supply instead.

Lighthouse and Castle: Buy 1 Merchant Tile (optional) and place 1 new one in the other kingdom. Merchants at these Locations offer particularly valuable tiles. You may buy 1 Merchant Tile for 5 Gold. Pay the Gold into the general supply and take the tile. You'll place it later in your Lair, during the "Expand Lair" phase. Important: Do not place a new tile here!

The merchants in the other kingdom are eager for visitors too – and they've just refreshed their offer: Place 1 new Merchant Tile face-up there, from the face-down stack – in any case, even if you did not buy anything. If there is no free slot, take 1 face-up Merchant Tile of your choice and place it face-down at the bottom of the stack. Place the new tile in the freed slot. If a stack is empty, take the tile from the stack in the other kingdom.

A complete overview of all Merchant Tile Missions can be found later in this rulebook.

Example: Whytera buys 1 Merchant Tile at the Lighthouse in Sinistra. She pays 5 Gold and takes the tile. She will only place it in her Lair during the "Expand Lair" phase. She does not place a new tile here. She then refreshes a tile from the stack in Dextra. Since both slots are occupied, she must first place one of the two Merchant Tiles of her choice at the bottom of the stack.

Expand Lair

As a Dragon you want to expand your Lair to find Gold and precious Artifacts. If you collected tiles at Locations, you must now place them in your Lair – simultaneously.

Tiles have open edges and edges closed off by walls. Place each new tile so that at least one open edge is adjacent to an open edge of an already placed tile – this creates a connected path, as the Villagers expand your Lair further, digging ever deeper. A new tile is allowed if it is placed with at least one open edge adjacent to another open edge; it is not allowed if a wall is placed adjacent to a wall with no open edge adjacent to another open edge.

Types of Tiles

Lair Tiles expand your Lair chamber by chamber. Each one may hold Gold, precious Artifacts or even both. The four colours represent a Folk – and the Artifact most precious to them:

• Elves: Books
• Gnomes: Gears
• Goblins: Ore
• Fairies: Crystals

Merchant Tiles cost 5 Gold but are particularly valuable. Many show a merchant's Mission on parchment. They require certain Artifacts or large Chambers (see "Large Chambers") to craft things, and potentially reward you with much Gold at the end of the game. Other Merchant Tiles contain many Artifacts or Gold. A complete overview of all Missions and their scoring can be found later in this rulebook.

Mission Limit

Note: Your Lair may contain a maximum of 5 Missions. If you buy another one, you must first remove 1 Mission and place it face-down under a Merchant Tile stack of your choice. Then replace the removed Mission with the new one – your Starting Mission may also be replaced. When replacing a Mission you gain no Gold for any newly formed large Chambers (see "Large Chambers").

Important: Gold coins shown on tiles of any kind only count during final scoring. Do not take them from the general supply during the game.

Large Chambers

Tiles show circle segments wherever two open edges meet. When you place a tile that connects three open edges and completes a circle, a large Chamber is formed.

You immediately gain 1 Gold from the general supply if the three tiles involved show either three different colours or the same colour.

If placing one tile closes multiple circles, you gain 1 Gold for each large Chamber formed.

You gain no Gold if at least one of the three edges is a wall, or if the three tiles show exactly two colours.

Tiles with a special background are each a Joker and count as all colours at all times.

Bonfire Tiles are shuffled into the Lair Tile stacks during setup. When a Bonfire Tile is revealed – as soon as the tile above it is drawn – place it next to the game board immediately. The tiles beneath it remain in the stack and are still available. Once 4 Bonfire Tiles have been placed next to the game board, the bonfire is lit and the end of the game begins (see End of the Game).

End of the Game

The end of the game is triggered as soon as the 4th Bonfire Tile is revealed. Complete the current round until the player to the right of the starting Dragon has taken their turn. After that, everyone takes one final turn.

To adjust the playing time, trigger the end game after revealing 3 Bonfire Tiles for a shorter game, or 5 for a longer one.

Scoring

1. If you have collected Treasure Chests, you may now place them face-up on any tile in your Lair, one per tile. Placing a Treasure Chest on a tile completely replaces any symbols already shown there (Artifact, Gold or Mission) – only the Artifact of the Treasure Chest counts for scoring. Any Artifacts on Treasure Chests you choose not to place in your Lair are not scored.
2. Count the Gold Coins shown on your tiles and take the corresponding amount of Gold from the general supply.
3. Now score your Missions. Tally up the Gold you gain for each Mission and take it from the general supply (see tips below). Important: Each Artifact counts once for every Mission in which it appears. Artifacts not required by any of your Missions score no Gold.

Count all your Gold – behold your hoard! Whoever has hoarded the most Gold wins.

In case of a tie, the player with the smallest Lair wins. Count all the tiles in your Lair to find out.

If there is still a tie, it's time for the Wyrmlings' favourite game: place the Dragon Egg in the centre of the table. All tied players flick 1 Gold coin as close to it as possible. Whoever's coin lands closest to the Egg takes all the flicked coins – and wins the game.

Tips: Feel free to use the scoring aid on your Player Aid: place 1 Villager of each Folk on the corresponding field to count your Artifacts. You can also place earned coins on scored Mission tiles to keep track. When scoring large Chambers, place a 1-Gold coin on each closed circle to count them more easily.

2-Player Game

In a 2-player game, you each get 1 additional Wyrmling in your colour. Place it in your Lair at the start of the game. Remove 3 tiles from each stack. Aurea, the Golden Dragon, also joins the game – place her on the space to the right of the Dragon Rock.

Aurea does not fly on her own – she only moves when pushed. When she does, she activates the Location Effect for the active Dragon.

If you push Aurea into the Valley of the Winds and Wyrmlings are waiting on the Dragon Rock, the frontmost one attaches to her as usual, forming her own Swarm. If Aurea is pushed through the Valley of the Winds and another Dragon follows her on the same turn, she always chooses the other kingdom than the one following her. If you pushed Aurea but remained in the north, the other player decides which kingdom she is pushed to by the wind.

All other rules remain unchanged.

Royal Challenges (Advanced)

For those who want to compete for the favour of the kingdoms while expanding their Lairs: take on the Royal Challenges.

Setup: At the start of the game, draw 2 random Challenges from Sinistra and 2 from Dextra and place them face-up.

Gameplay: All Challenges relate to your Lairs. During the game you try to fulfil the revealed Challenges. Dextra demands size and grandeur, while Sinistra honours modesty.

The Challenges are: the smallest Lair, the fewest Artifacts, the longest continuous Gold chain (not counting branches), and the longest continuous Wall (not counting branches).

Scoring: At the end of the game each Challenge is scored one after another. 1st place gains the upper amount of Gold, 2nd place the lower amount. In case of a tie, all players in that place gain the corresponding Gold. Take it from the general supply. If there is a tie for first place, 2nd place still gains the lower amount of Gold.

Turn Examples

Example 1: Blakkar is the active Dragon, in search of Gold and Artifacts for his Mission Tile. He decides to fly south to Sinistra, where plenty of helpful Gnomes and Elves are ready to assist. Since Aureus is at the front of the Dragon Rock, he'll join Blakkar's Swarm as soon as Blakkar passes through the Valley of the Winds.

Blakkar has pushed Rhed's Swarm. Now all who were moved activate Location Effects from front to back:

1. Rhed adds a Villager to the village he will also activate later this turn.
2. Greenyra takes 3 Gold along the Troll path. The Troll is not happy about this and moves one space in her direction.
3. Rhed takes 2 Level-1 Elf Tiles.
4. Blakkar takes 1 Level-2 Gnome Tile and 1 Level-1 Gnome Tile.
5. Blakkar takes 1 Level-2 Elf Tile.
6. Aureus helps the active Dragon Blakkar. Blakkar chooses 1 Level-1 Gnome Tile.

After all Location Effects have been activated, the Dragons may look at their tiles and expand their Lairs simultaneously. If they form any single-colour or three-colour large Chambers, they each gain 1 Gold.

Example 2: Greenyra is the active Dragon. She wants to take some Fairy Tiles, so she flies north. In doing so, she pushes two Swarms into the Valley of the Winds. Rhed lets the wind carry him to Dextra. First, the frontmost Wyrmling attaches to Rhed's Swarm. Part of Blakkar's Swarm is now in the Valley of the Winds. Blakkar could have been pushed to Dextra, but he values the Gnomes – and with the new Wyrmling from the Dragon Rock, his Swarm is long enough to be pushed all the way to them.

Now it's time to reap the rewards. Blakkar's Swarm is in the same kingdom as the active Dragon Greenyra. Since Blakkar was pushed, his Swarm activates first. Then Greenyra's Swarm, and finally Rhed's Swarm, as it is in the other kingdom.

1. Blakkar takes 1 Level-2 and 2 Level-1 Gnome Tiles.
2. Aureus gives Greenyra 2 Level-1 Elf Tiles.
3. Greenyra takes 1 Level-1 Fairy Tile.
4. Blakkar adds a Gnome Villager to the village in Dextra.
5. Greenyra takes 3 Level-1 Fairy Tiles.
6. Rhed takes 1 Level-1 Fairy Tile.
7. Rhed takes 1 Level-1 Gnome Tile.
8. Greenyra takes 1 Level-1 Fairy Tile.
9. Blakkar adds an Elf Villager to the village in Sinistra.

Now all players expand their Lairs simultaneously. If any single-colour or three-colour large Chambers are formed, they each gain 1 Gold per large Chamber.

Missions

Reminder: Artifacts required for Missions must be on tiles in your Lair, or in Treasure Chests placed on those tiles. A Treasure Chest placed on a tile replaces all symbols beneath it.

• Market Stalls (Starting Missions): 2 Gold per depicted Artifact.
• Craftsmen: 4 Gold per set of the two depicted Artifacts.
• Alchemists: 7 Gold per set of the three depicted Artifacts.
• Specialists: 3 Gold per large Chamber of the depicted colour.
• Lair Tours: 2 Gold per large Chamber where all three tiles show the same colour.
• Chest Collectors: 2 Gold per Treasure Chest, even outside the Lair.