Dragon's Path
Dragon's Path Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Deckbox Contents
- 2 decks of 25 cards each,
- 10 "Spell" cards,
- 3 dragon tokens,
- 4 player aids,
- This rulesheet.
NB: The "Spell" cards and the dragon tokens are only for the advance mode. All the cards are standard size (64x88mm).
Game Setup
Give to each player a player aid and a deck. Then each player shuffle his/her 25-card deck and place it alongside him/her.
- Each players draws five cards from the deck.
- The first player is the latest who has lost a match.
The zone on the left of the deck is the play area. The one on the right is the discard pile. The cards on the discard piles are always face up and each player can check it every time.
The Elemental Paths
In Dragon's Path there are 5 types of elemental paths to be undertaken. Each element has 2 different effects:
- Fire, Water and Earth have two effects to choose from when they are played on their turn.
- Air and Thunder have an effect when they are played or they can be discarded on the opponent's turn to respond to the opponent using the effect (response).
The effects are:
Fire
- Destroy a card: Put a card in the opposing play area on the owner's discard pile.
- Search your deck for a card, then shuffle the deck and put that card on the top.
Water
- A player draws 3 cards, then discards 3 cards.
- Exchange one player's card in play with another card in the owner's discard pile. It is possible to exchange your card between your playing area and your discard pile or exchange a card between the opposing play area and the opposing discard pile.
Earth
- Play another path from your hand without applies the effect.
- Return a card from your discard pile to your hand.
Wind
- A player discards a card: he chooses a card from his hand and places it in his/her discard pile.
- (response) Cancel the effect of an opponent's card. That card normally enters the playing area.
Thunder
- A player draws a card.
- (response) Return an opponent's card to its owner's hand. The declared effect still resolves.
NB: Using an effect (response) causes the card to be discarded into the discard pile: therefore, the card does not enter the playing area. The effects (response) can only be used on opponents in phase 3 of their turn.
How to Play
Players perform their turns until one reaches a victory condition (see below). A turn is made by the following phases, in this order:
- Draw a card: At the beginning of the turn, a player MUST draw the card at the top of his deck and add it to their hand. This phase is skipped in the first round of the first player.
- Play a Path card declaring which effect you want to use. In this phase, a player MAY play one card from his hand, placing it in his own play area. In doing so, a player MUST declare what effect he wants to apply. NB: The active player may not declare the target of the effect on this phase.
- Wait your opponent for eventual answer. The opponent MIGHT responds to the opponent by discarding up to a card with an effect (response). If he/she does, the effect (response) is applied immediately. If the effect has not been annulled, the current player choses the target and applies the previously declared effect.
Victory
In Dragon's Path the aim of the game is to collect 5 different elemental paths or 4 path cards of the same element in your playing area. If at the end of his turn, a player has reached a victory condition, the game ends, he takes the Dragon token in the middle of the table and is immediately declared the winner. The game also ends when a player has to draw but cannot because he has finished the cards in his deck; in this case the player immediately suffers a defeat by winning the opponent.
Advanced Rules
If you play with the advanced rules you can also use the Spell cards and the dragon tokens to play more matches. The rest of the rules remain unchanged.
Preparation
- Place the Dragon tokens in a reachable position.
- Shuffle the 10 Spell cards and randomly distribute two per player. Place the rest of the advanced cards in the box. Then each player chooses a card to keep for himself and a card to give to the opponent. Each player places his or her spell cards face up next to their play area.
Victory: Best of 3
In the advanced version players will play more matches. When a player wins a game he/her takes one of the three Dragon tokens, the first player to collect two tokens is declared the winner of the game. Spell cards used in a match are returned to the box and can no longer be used in next matches.
Spell Cards
Each spell card has a combination of elements to be played and an effect. These cards have powerful effects and might be used instead of playing a card during their turn discarding the combination of items required and removing the spell card from the game. The opponent cannot respond with effects (response), but can completely cancel the effect only by discarding the same combination of elements from his/her hand.
The Spell card effects are:
- An opponent puts the top 9 cards of his or her deck into his or her discard pile.
- Choose up to 2 cards and shuffle them into the owner's deck.
- Reveal the top card of your deck. Choose a non-(response) effect and put it on your discard pile. You can repeat this up to three times.
- Play the two cards on the top of your deck without using their effects.
- An opponent reveals his or her hand. You choose up to two cards from it. That player discards those cards.
- You control an opponent during that player's next turn. You can't play his/her spell cards. (You see all cards that player could see and make all decisions for the player.)
- Destroy up to 3 cards in the opposing play area. An opponent puts the top card of the deck in its playing area without applying its effect.
- (response) Cancel the effect and delete a card played by an opponent this turn. Then draw a card.
- Switch a card in play with a card in your opponent field. Then you draw two cards.
- Search your deck for a card and play it choosing a non-(response) effect. Then shuffle the deck.
Play with Four Players
If you have two copies of the game, you can play two vs two. In this mode the players will be divided into two teams. The basic rules of the game are the same as those advanced, except for the following changes:
- The players of the same team are positioned side by side in order to have opponents in front of him. The order of play proceeds by alternating the players of one and the other team.
- At the beginning of the game two Spell cards are randomly distributed to each team, placing the remaining cards in the box.
Additional Rules for 4 Players
There is only one shared playing area: cards played in front of you are common. Spell cards are shared and can be used by both players. Each player has his own discard pile. The same team members can not look at the cards in their hands, but can talk or ask for information as long as the other team can hear.
Victory
When at the end of a turn, a team collects 5 different elemental paths or 4 cards of the same element in its playing area, that combination of cards is removed from the game and the team gains a dragon token. The game proceeds until a team collects two dragon tokens and is declared the winner. In the event that one of the players can no longer draw, the game ends in favor of the opposing team.