Dragon's Cave Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Contents
• Object of the Game
• Set Up
• Playing a Round
  • Remember
• End of the Game
• 2 Player Variation
  • Set Up
  • Rounds
  • End of the Game

Game Contents

• 1 Board
• 1 Dragon
• 4 Dwarves
• 4 Treasure Chests
• 44 Gold Coins
• 4 Purses
• 24 Cards (4 sets of 6 cards)

Players: 2-4. Age 7+. 25 min.

Object of the Game

Carefully make your way into the cave and gather as many gold coins as possible. The richest player at the end of the game wins!

Set Up

(see 2 Player Variation at the end of rules)

• Place the board in the centre of the table with the coins arranged next to the Dragon's lair. This is the Dragon's Treasure.
• Players choose a colour and take all the items corresponding to their chosen colour:
  • 1 Dwarf,
  • 1 set of 6 different cards (The backs of the cards correspond the colours of the dwarves),
  • 1 Treasure Chest,
  • 1 Purse.

Players place their Dwarves on the 'Start' square (outside the cave).

The youngest player places the dragon in front of him. For this round, he is playing the Dragon. In the next round, the next player on the left takes on the role of the Dragon.

Playing a Round

One player is the Dragon. The other players play as their Dwarves during this round.

The Dwarves try to move forward along the path by secretly choosing one of their cards which they place in front of them, face-down.

The player in control of the Dragon then places the Dragon on one of the 5 squares in its lair.

Players reveal their cards!

• Players who have chosen a different square from the one the Dragon is sitting on move their Dwarf to the first square of this colour situated in front of their Dwarf. Then, they take as many gold coins from the Dragon's Treasure as is shown on their square, placing this into their Purse (not in their Chest). It's possible for several Dwarves to end up on the same square.

  The cards which have just been played are left in front of the players, face-up.

• The unlucky players who have chosen the same square as the Dragon are scared. Because of this, they must move their Dwarf to the nearest square of the same colour situated behind them (if there isn't one, the Dwarf goes back to the starting square) and they don't get any gold coins.

  Will these unhappy players lose their gold?: Each unlucky player secretly distributes all of their gold from their Purse between their two hands (Note: They can put all of their coins in just one hand if they want). Then they present their two hands, firmly closed, to the Dragon, who must choose one of them. All the gold coins hidden in whichever hand the Dragon chooses must be returned to the Dragon's pile of Treasure. The coins which were in the other hand go back into the players' Purses and these players return their cards to their hands, including those already laid out.

• Players who have chosen the Chest card don't move their Dwarf. They can't be caught by the Dragon during this round of the game. Moreover, they can protect the gold coins in their Purses by placing these in their Chests. These coins are completely protected until the end of the game. The contents of the Treasure Chests can't be checked.

  This also allows them to take back all their cards.

Remember

• Cards that have been played remain in front of the players, face-up, until the Dragon catches you or that you have played a Treasure Chest card.
• The player in control of the Dragon doesn't play any cards and their Dwarf doesn't move during this round. Their Dwarf cannot, therefore, be caught by the Dragon.
• The coins placed in the Treasure Chests can't be taken by the Dragon.

Note: To get to the Dragon's lair, players must choose a card corresponding to one of the squares in the Dragon's lair. What's more, the Dragon must not choose this same square during this round.

The player in control of the Dragon now passes the Dragon to the player on their left, and a new round begins.

End of the Game

The game ends at the end of a round where at least one player has managed to reach the Dragon's lair.

Any player who gets to the entrance of the Dragon's lair wins 4 coins.

All players count the number of coins found in their Purse and in their Chest. The player with the most gold coins wins the game. In the case of a draw, the player who is closest to the Dragon's lair wins. If a tie persists, the victory is shared.

Note: Very rarely, the game can end immediately when there are no more coins in the Dragon's pile of Treasure. If there aren't enough coins in the Dragon's Treasure when players go to collect their gold coins, then the remaining coins are distributed equally among all the players who have won some gold during this round. If the amount of coins is not divisible by the number of players involved then the extra coins are not given out.

2 Player Variation

Set Up

Each player takes 2 Dwarves, 1 Purse, 1 Chest and 1 set of 6 different cards.

Rounds

The 2 Player variation is played in the same way as the 3 and 4 Player version, except for the fact that there is only one player playing the Dragon and one player playing the Dwarves in play each round, and players must swap roles throughout the game.

In each round, the Dwarf player plays with both Dwarves. In each round, they must choose which of the 2 Dwarves to move. Only the Dwarf who is moving can be caught by the Dragon. The other is protected.

The players only switch their Dragon/Dwarf roles in one of the following cases:

• The Dwarf player is caught by the Dragon.
• The Dwarf player plays a Treasure Chest card.

End of the Game

The game ends when a player's 2 Dwarves reach the Dragon's lair. The richest player (counting gold coins in their Purse and Chest) wins.