Drachenhort
Drachenhort Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Idea
Players sponsor a band of adventurers trying to escape from the dragon hoard. Who sponsors which adventurers remain secret until the end of the game! Who can keep his adventurers away from the dragon as far as possible? And who hinders the others most successfully in their escapes?
Winning the Game
The winner is the player with the most victory points at the end of the game.
Game Components
- 1 double-side game board
- 1 Dragon
- 7 Adventurers
- 2x7 Victory point tokens (7 silver and 7 gold)
- 1 Victory point scoreboard
- 7 Adventure party cards
- 24 Gems (various colors, each worth 1 VP)
- 1 Die (1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 6)
Game Preparation
Before the first game, punch all parts carefully from their frames.
Place the game board face up in the middle of the table. The front side shows The Great Treasure Hall with a reddish shimmering staircase in the lower left corner. On the back side, the staircase is blocked.
The game board consists of 32 spaces, including The Great Treasure Hall and the Starting Space as well as 30 rooms leading out of the labyrinthine-like dungeon.
Put the dragon in The Great Treasure Hall and the 7 adventurers adjacent to it on the Starting Space.
Note: The 7 adventurers are always in the game, no matter how many players participate.
Place a gem in each room marked with a white spot. Set the remaining 12 gems aside which will be needed for "The second escape".
Place the VP scoreboard next to the game board and put the silver and gold VP tokens nearby. Both sets of VP tokens show the values: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8. The gold VP tokens are needed for "The second escape".
Shuffle the 7 adventure party cards face down and deal one randomly to each player. Set any remaining aside unseen by all players. The card you receive shows you which 3 adventurers will bring you VPs at the end of the game. You should pay attention to them particularly well during the entire game without making it too noticeable to the other players which 3 adventurers you sponsor. You will keep your card secret throughout the game so that no other player can see it.
Game History
The game goes over in two "escapes". The first escape is played on the front of the board, the second on the back.
An escape always consists of several runs in which the adventurers are moved. Each run ends with the dragon moving, chasing after the adventurers to catch them.
After that, a new run starts and so on until the escape ends which occurs when an adventurer escapes out of the dungeon (there is one exit shown on each board) or the penultimate adventurer is caught by the dragon.
Then the second escape takes place similarly. After the second escape is over, the game ends, and the winner is determined (see "Game End").
The First Escape
The oldest player begins and then play continues clockwise around the table until the escape ends. On your turn you roll the die:
- If the die shows a 1, 3, 4, or 6, choose any one adventurer who is either still in the Starting Space or standing in the illuminated part of a room. Any adventurer standing in the dark area of a room cannot be moved on a roll of 1, 3, 4, or 6.
- If the die shows a 2, you may move any adventurer forward no matter where he is in the dungeon. In other words, only with a 2 can an adventurer be moved from the dark area of a room.
An adventurer must always move forward by the exact number shown on the die. You always count only the unoccupied rooms, skip those rooms in which there is another adventurer. At the end of the movement, you must try to put the adventurer into the dark area of the room (if available; see the fully illuminated rooms on the back of the board!).
Gems
If the adventurer's movement ends in a room containing a gem, you put the gem in front of you. Each of your gems will earn you a VP at the end of the game.
Traps
If the adventurer's movement ends in a trap, you immediately put him back in the space where the dragon is standing. From there you then move the adventurer forward by exactly three rooms and put him there in the dark area (if available). The usual movement rules apply and thus do not count occupied rooms and traps.
Example
You rolled a 3.
If you move the green adventurer, he lands in a trap and must go back to the dragon's space, and then move forward 3 spaces from there.
You cannot move the red or orange adventurer with the 3 since they are in the dark area.
If you move the blue adventurer, he lands in a room with a green gem, which you then take.
If you had rolled a 2 instead, you could have moved one of the four adventurers: Green two rooms forward (ending up behind red); Red or blue or orange to the room with a red gem (and take it).
The Dragon Is Coming!
If all adventurers are in dark areas after an adventurer's move, the first escape ends. Briefly interrupt the game:
- First, put all the adventurers back in the illuminated area of their rooms (if available; see the fully dark rooms on the front of the board!).
- Then you move the dragon by moving it one space from The Great Treasure Hall in the middle of the board to the adjacent Starting Space. Nothing is happening yet, not yet...!
Now continue the game with the next player, in turn, starting a run, until all adventurers are in the dark areas and the run ends. From now on, the following applies to the movement of the dragon at the end of each run:
- First, put all the adventurers back in the illuminated area of their rooms (if available; see the fully dark rooms on the front of the board!).
- Then, move the dragon forward by up to five rooms. If it reaches an adventurer, it captures him and immediately ends its movement, i.e., the dragon stops in that room, and forfeits remaining movement points.
- Remove the captured adventurer and put him next to the VP scoreboard. Place the lowest valued and available silver VP token (starting from the silver 1-token, then silver 2-token, and so on) on the upper slot of the adventurer portrait on the VP scoreboard matching the color of the captured adventurer.
- During the first escape, you gradually cover the seven upper slots.
- Captured adventurers are "out of the race", they are no longer available for movement during the current escape.
The First Escape Ends
The first escape ends as soon as an adventurer leaves the dungeon, i.e., is moved off from the game board (surplus movement points ignored). Now place the silver 8-token on the upper slot of the recalled adventurer's portrait on the VP scoreboard.
Afterwards, place all remaining VP tokens on the upper slots of the VP scoreboard corresponding to the position of the remaining adventurers in the dungeon, with higher value given to the adventurer who is farthest away from the dragon.
Example
The blue adventurer has just been moved out of the dungeon: Place the 8-token on the upper blue slot of the VP scoreboard. Then place the 6-token on the red, the 5-token on the green, and the 4-token on the orange slot of the VP scoreboard. The second escape can begin...
The first escape also ends when the dragon captures the second last adventurer. Place the silver 6-token on the upper slot of the VP scoreboard corresponding to the color of the captured adventurer and put the silver 8-token on the upper slot of the portrait with the color of the last surviving adventurer.
The Second Escape
The second escape can begin: Remove all adventurers, the dragon, and any uncollected gems from the board. Turn the board over, put the dragon back in the Great Treasure Hall (now with a buried secret passage) and all 7 adventurers on the adjacent Starting Space.
Place a gem in each of the 12 marked rooms. Prepare the set of gold VP tokens next to the VP scoreboard. And let's go...
Note: Of course, each player keeps his secret party card and his gems from the first escape. And the seven VP tokens of the first escape will remain in the upper row of the VP board.
Game End
Once the second escape is over (either because an adventurer escaped out of the dungeon or the penultimate adventurer was caught by the dragon), the game ends.
For each adventurer, there are now two VP tokens displayed on their portrait on the VP scoreboard.
Now reveal your adventurer party card and determine your VPs: The sum of the two VP tokens (silver + gold) for each of your three adventurers plus gems you collected. Whoever has the most total VPs is the winner. In case of a tie, there are shared winners.
Example
You played with this secret card (shown in the picture) and collected 6 gems from the two escapes. At game end, you score VPs as follows: 6 (green) + 5 (red) + 9 (white) + 6 (gems) = 26 (total). Is it enough to win the game...?