Dragon Clans
Dragon Clans Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Objective
Be the one who manages to breed the most difficult Dragons. The more difficult your Dragons are, the more points you will earn. Be careful with the Dragon Eggs, but take risks in your final move to get the best creature.
Components
- 30 Dragon Cards.
- 5 Reference Cards.
- 6 Egg Dice of two colours (one for each type of die).
Setup
- Shuffle the Dragon cards and place them face-down at the centre of the table, forming a deck.
- Draw 3 Dragon cards from the deck and place them face-up (so that everyone can see them).
- Place the remaining cards nearby with the Barrier side visible (the back). A zone right next to them is reserved for the discard pile.
- Each player is dealt a Reference Card according to the mode they want to play (see page 8).
- A starting player is chosen, to whom the 6 Egg Dice are passed.
The rulebook includes a 2-player game setup example showing the Dragon cards, the Barrier stack and the discard pile.
Gameplay
Each player may roll the dice up to 3 times during their turn. They may keep as many dice as they wish on each roll and may re-roll the rest. The dice selected in each roll cannot be re-rolled for the whole round.
Once the 3 rolls are spent, or when the player decides to stick with the results, he will have to choose the best combination of Eggs to take one of the Dragons on the table. If they don't get any Dragons, they must return a Dragon from their playing area to the centre of the table, along with the rest of the Dragons.
To take a Dragon to your playing area (near each player) from the cards available on the table, you must obtain at least the 4 Eggs shown at the bottom of the card, on the pink crystal nest.
Note: The Rainbow Egg on the die can be exchanged for any of the eggs that require a Dragon card.
If you have enough eggs to take a Dragon from the centre of the table, the player who took it places the obtained Dragon in their playing area. It's already been bred! It must always be visible to the other players, though.
The active player may also gain the Egg on the right side of each Dragon if they wish to protect it. In this case, they receive a Barrier from the stack (back of the card) which may be added underneath the card, but still visible, as a protective element for the next rolls. In addition, if the Barrier is kept at the end of the game, it scores an extra point.
Bred Dragons
Each Bred Dragon must be placed face-up near its controller.
When the second Dragon is obtained, it must be placed next to the first one (either to the left or to the right, whichever you prefer), thus forming an Egg between the two cards.
The maximum number of visible Dragons is two; so if you already have two Dragons on the table, the new one you obtain must cover one of the previous Dragons. You may choose which one to cover, making sure there is only one Egg available at any time.
At the end of the game, all Dragons (both visible and covered) will score points.
The rulebook shows an example of 2 Dragons completing a Fire Egg together.
The power obtained by forming an Egg of any type can be used only once per turn (see powers on page 8).
A Roman numeral is shown on the cards to indicate the evolution, which awards 5 extra points at the end of the game if you manage to have both Dragons forming the evolution. Type and value must match.
Example: The power of the completed Egg (a Blue Egg can be used as a wild card) is available to us at any time during the turn. In addition, we have managed to obtain the Water Dragon 3 evolution, which will grant 5 points at the end of the game.
Once the new Dragon has been placed in the playing area, it cannot be moved until another new Dragon is obtained from the centre of the table or from someone else.
Note: With the power of the variant "Petty Thief" (see page 8), we can steal a Dragon from another player. But for this there is an added difficulty:
Whoever wants to steal, must have all the Eggs plus one extra (5 Eggs) from a Dragon with its three rolls. If the Dragon is also protected by a Barrier, the player who wants to steal it will have an even harder time, as he must also obtain an extra Red Egg. If he succeeds, the Barrier card is discarded and the Dragon is stolen.
Failing to Breed a Dragon
In the event that someone has failed to breed a Dragon on their turn, they return a card of their choice from their playing area to the centre of the table, unless they have a Dragon protected by a Barrier, in which case, if they wish, they may discard the Barrier instead of losing a creature.
Note: The card that is returned to the table is available for the next players. Only if there are already 5 cards in the centre, it is discarded into the discard pile.
End of the Turn
Any missing cards (from the deck) are replenished to ensure that there are always at least 3 Dragons in the centre of the table, and then the turn passes to the next player, clockwise.
End of the Game
The game ends IMMEDIATELY if no Dragons can be replenished in the centre (two or less cards left).
The game also ends if someone has reached a certain number of Dragons in their playing area (depending on the number of trainers). In this case, the rest of the players will complete one more round, and it is even possible to steal from the first one who managed to breed all their Dragons first.
- For 2 trainers: 6 Dragons.
- For 3 or more trainers: 5 Dragons.
Victory
The winner is the player with the most points. The final score is the sum of:
- 1 point for each Barrier held at the end of the game.
- The points for each Bred Dragon that remains in our playing area (shown in the top left corner).
- 5 extra points for each evolution we have achieved.
In case of a tie, the winner is the one with the highest number of Dragons. If still tied, congratulate each other for your great work!
Powers and Variants
Some Dragons possess a power that can be used once per turn or, in the case of the shield, be a protective item. You can consult these powers on the basic help card.
The Dragon Powers listed on the reference card are:
- Extra roll: You may roll a fourth time if necessary.
- Re-roll: You may re-roll a single die.
- Extra Egg: You have an extra Fire Egg available.
- Exchange: A Blue Egg may be used as a wild card.
- Steal: You may steal an opponent's Dragon.
- Protection: No one can steal any of your Dragons.
Petty Thief Variant
Use the help card "Dragon Powers – Petty Thief".
During EACH round, you can try to steal a Dragon from someone, using the 5 Eggs to do so.
If this Dragon has a barrier, an extra Fire Egg is required.
If the Dragons are protected by the "Protection" power, they cannot be stolen from that player.
Apprentice Variant (Children's Version)
To play, simply use 4 of the 6 dice available.
In addition, we will create 3 Dragon piles placed face-up in the centre of the table using all the cards.
In turn, a player can up to 3 times to try to get the 4 Eggs needed to catch the Dragon.
In this variant you can reserve and re-roll as many dice as you wish.
Once the Dragon is obtained, it is brought to the playing area. Unlike the basic mode, Dragons here can be placed next to each other, trying to form as many Eggs of the same colour as possible.
If someone manages to collect Eggs of the same colour, an additional point is added at the end of the game.
In case you don't get anything, move on to the next person without losing anything.