Dragonsgate College Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Game Setup
• Turn Sequence
• Playing the Game
  • 1. Preparation Phase
  • 2. Income Phase
  • 3. Dice Roll Phase
  • 4. Action Phase
  • 5. Clean-up Phase
  • 6. Scoring Phase
• Available Actions
  • Free Action
• Careers
• Wizardry Cards
• Assembling the Dice Pool
• Trophies and Seals
• Game End
  • Scoring Phase
• Extra Combined Action Die Variant
• Buildings

Components

• This rules booklet
• Game Board
• 4 Player Boards
• Tokens and tiles:
  • 12 Level tiles
  • 12 Mastery tiles
  • 30 Career tiles (Wizards, Rogues and Warriors)
  • 44 Apprentice tiles (3 in each player colour, 32 generic)
  • 30 Professor tiles (3 in each player colour, 18 generic)
  • 36 Building tiles
  • 16 Imp tokens
  • 36 Coin tokens (values 1 and 5)
• 50 Wizardry cards
• 4 Turn Summary, Starting Resources and Prestige at Game End cards
• 16 wooden marker cubes in 4 player colours
• 16 wooden marker discs in 4 player colours
• 21 dice (3 in each player colour, 8 neutral dice, 1 combined action die)
• 2 wooden columns (1 Starting Player marker and 1 Turn Marker)

Game Setup

1. Unfold the game board and place it in the middle of the table. If this is your first time playing Dragonsgate College, carefully punch out all tokens before separating them according to type.

2. Place all of the Imp tokens on the Imp Tower space on the board. Place all other types of tokens, all marker cubes and discs, as well as all dice next to the board. Shuffle all Wizardry cards and place the deck face-down on the game board in the space provided.

3. Shuffle the three types of Career tiles separately, and place 1 random face-up Career tile on each Career space on the game board. Make sure that you cover each space with a random, face up Career tile of the same type as the space. Repeat this process for Level and Mastery tiles. Place any leftover Level and Mastery tiles back in the game box.

4. Shuffle all generic Apprentice tiles face down, create a stack and place it on its space on the board. From the stack, place 1 tile face-up on each Apprentice space. If you are playing with 2 or 3 players, do not fill the spaces marked with a 4+ symbol. Repeat this process for Professor tiles.

5. Place all of the Building tiles next to the board, face-up, within easy reach of all players. The players may look through the Building tiles at any time during the game. If you are playing with more than 2 players, remove the Trophy Hall (you will find it among the largest buildings) from the mix and place it back into the game box.

6. Give each player a player board (placing it with the A side facing up – you can play the B-sides when you gain some experience with the game), all starting Apprentices and Professors, as well as all marker cubes and all dice of their chosen colour. Place all Apprentice tiles on the corresponding spaces provided on your player board. Choose 2 of the starting Professors and place them on the two spaces on your board. The unused starting Professor should be placed back into the game box.

   Each player should collect their marker cubes and discs. One marker cube is placed:

   • On the 0 space of Sorcery, Stealth and Brawn tracks (player board). Then, each player should adjust their positions by adding the extra skills provided by their chosen starting Professors.
   • On the start space of the Maintenance Track (player board).

   One marker disc is placed:

   • Next to the Subterfuge track (game board).
   • Next to the Player Order Track (game board).
   • On the start space of one of the Training Dungeon track (game board).
   • On the 6th space of the prestige track (around the board).

7. Each player should now place 2 of the dice in their chosen colour on the space provided on the player board. The third dice is placed in the Ready Dice Pool space on the board. Add a number of neutral (white) dice to the Ready Dice Pool so that the total number of all dice is equal to double the number of players. Leave the special Combined Action die to the side for now.

You are now ready to play Dragonsgate College!

When you've played the game at least once, you can turn the player boards to the B side. All A sides are identical, but the B sides are different, making everyone's game unique. As you are handing out player boards either give them randomly, or allow players to draft them, starting with the last player (the player furthest in game order from the starting player).

Turn Sequence

Dragonsgate College is played over five turns. Each turn is divided into five phases. The last turn of the game also features an extra sixth phase for the final scoring of Prestige:

1. Preparation Phase
2. Income Phase
3. Dice Roll Phase
4. Action Phase
5. Clean-up Phase
6. Scoring Phase

Playing the Game

Below follows a list of all of the phases with detailed explanations.

1. Preparation Phase

All of the empty Professor and Apprentice spaces are filled with new tiles. When playing with fewer than 4 players, note that some of the spaces are only filled when playing with 4 players. Discarded Apprentice and Professor tiles are placed in face-up discard piles next to the board. If you ever exhaust any of those token stacks, simply reshuffle the appropriate discard to form a new face-down token stack.

Skip this phase in the first turn of the game.

2. Income Phase

Each player receives 2 Coins. Please note that some of the buildings on your House grounds may provide you with additional income (some of them will also provide you with Imps or Wizardry cards).

3. Dice Roll Phase

The Starting Player gathers the appropriate dice and rolls them. After the roll all dice are placed on the Ready Dice pool box on the game board.

• On turns 1 and 2: roll 2 dice per player (4 dice with 2 players, 6 dice with 3 players, 8 dice with 4 players).
• On turns 3 and 4: roll 3 dice per player (6 dice with 2 players, 9 dice with 3 players, 12 dice with 4 players).
• On turn 5: roll 3 dice per player, plus one Combined Action die (6 dice with 2 players, 9 dice with 3 players, 12 dice with 4 players, and 1 Combined Action die).

The dice pool always contains at least 1 die of each player colour. One of the actions allows players to swap out some of the neutral dice with their own dice (from the player board). Any player dice that are not on player boards should always be used when assembling a dice pool. The rest of the dice used to reach the number for the round should be neutral dice. It is entirely possible that on some turns there will be no neutral dice in the pool at all.

The Combined Action die is added as shown on the turn track regardless of any other dice in the pool. It can never be swapped out for a player die.

Example 1: On turn 1 with 3 players (Red, Blue and Yellow), the dice pool will consist of 6 dice total: 1 red die, 1 blue die, 1 yellow die, and 3 white (neutral) dice.

If a player drafts the Combined Action die, all other players can perform a free action. The drafting player will always perform the action first, and the other players will perform the action in clockwise succession.

You will find a detailed description of all the actions in the Available Actions section.

4. Action Phase

The Action Phase is divided into individual player activations. When activated, a player drafts one die from the Ready pool, and performs one of the actions on the game board. After the action is completed, the die is moved to the Used Dice space on the board, and the next player in player order activates. This process repeats until all dice have moved from the Ready Dice pool to the Used Dice space.

In order to perform a given action, a player must draft a die with a value that corresponds to one of the dice values next to the selected Action Space. A player may use one or more Imps to adjust the die value by +1 or -1 for each Imp used. Please note that a 6 may be adjusted with an imp to become a 1, and vice versa.

If a player drafts a coloured die belonging to another player, that player may also perform an action using that die. After the drafting player completes their action, the owner of the coloured die may immediately perform a free action. Any changes to the die value made using Imps are made only for the player that drafted the die. The owner of the die receives the die with the value it started in the Ready Dice pool (and may use Imps to adjust the die value).

Example 2: The Blue player drafted Red player's die. The die was a 6, but the Blue player discarded an Imp token to change the value to a 5. After Blue player's action was completed, the Red player can also use the value 6 die to resolve an action. The Red player decides to use an Imp token to change the value to a 1 before performing the action.

5. Clean-up Phase

After all of the dice were moved to the Used Dice space on the game board, all remaining Professor and Apprentice tiles are removed from the game board and placed into their respective discard piles.

Next, each player must also pay maintenance costs. The maintenance track indicates the number of Coins a player must pay.

For each 1 Coin a player is unable or unwilling to pay, that player immediately loses 2 Prestige. If a player is on 0 Prestige they must pay as much of the cost using Coins as possible (until they have 0 Coins). If a player has no more Prestige and Coins, and they still have to pay maintenance costs, nothing happens.

Finally, check the Player Order Track. The Starting Player token goes to the player with their disc on the leftmost position. If there are no discs on the Player Order Track, the Starting Player token moves clockwise to the next player. Remove all discs from the Player Order Track. Move the Turn Marker to the new turn space.

6. Scoring Phase

This Phase is only performed at the end of the game. See Game End section of this rulebook for details.

Available Actions

Below follows a list of all of the available actions a player can take during their player activation. Each action is represented by a space on the board with specific value of dice. Each action can be taken multiple times, with the exception of Turn Order action, which can be taken by each player no more than once per turn (if there are still empty spaces on the Turn Order track).

Action 1 — Dice values: 1 Exchange 1 white die from the Used Dice box on the game board with one of your coloured dice. You may not perform this action if you have no more coloured dice on your player board, or if there are no white dice in the Used Dice box on the game board.

Action 2 — Dice values: 2, 3, 4 Collect a number of Coins equal to the value of the drafted die (2, 3 or 4 Coins).

Action 3 — Dice values: 1, 3, 5 Pay 3 Coins to immediately receive 1 Prestige or pay 7 Coins to immediately receive 3 Prestige.

Action 4 — Dice values: 3, 4 Choose one of the face-up Apprentices, or pay 1 Coin and draw the top face-down Apprentice from the stack, and place them on your House grounds. You may place the Apprentice only on one of the corresponding spaces on your player board. If you have no vacancies, you must either discard one of the Apprentices from your player board to make room for the new one, or discard the Apprentice just taken.

Action 5 — Dice values: 1, 2 Choose one of the face-up Professors, or pay 2 Coins and draw the top face-down Professor from the stack, and place them on your House grounds. You may place the Professor only on one of the corresponding spaces on your player board. If you have no vacancies, you must first discard one of the Professors from your player board to make room for the new one, or discard the Professor just taken. Each Professor adds their skill values (Sorcery, Stealth, Brawn) to those of your House, so adjust the positions of marker cubes on corresponding tracks immediately.

Some Professors will also add some Coins to your coffers or give you Prestige – this, however, is a one-time bonus. If you discard a Professor from your Player Board you must adjust the positions of the cubes on your Skill Tracks accordingly. You do not lose any of the one-time bonuses (like Prestige or Coins) when you remove a Professor that provided them.

Action 6 — Dice values: 5, 6 Choose one of the available buildings and place it on your House Grounds. For each square the building occupies (size 1, 2 or 3), pay 2 Coins, progress the marker cube 1 position to the right on your Maintenance Track and receive 1 prestige.

You may never buy a building you are unable to place on your House Grounds without covering up a part of an existing building (placed or printed). The tile you buy must also fit in its entirety on the House Grounds grid on your player board. Each building offers one or more special abilities shown on the building tile, and explained in detail in the Buildings section.

If you cover any of the spaces with a one-time building bonus (e.g. +1 Coin, +1 Imp, +1 Brawn, etc.), immediately receive the bonus by taking an appropriate card or token, or by adjusting the position of the cubes on your Skill Tracks.

Action 7 — Dice values: 4, 5, 6 Move your marker disc 1, 2 or 3 spaces forward on the Training Dungeon track (depending on the die used), and collect any benefits from any spaces you enter during this movement. If your disc reaches the final space of the track, move it to the Treasure Room area, and place it on the topmost available position (without a marker disc belonging to another player). At Game End you will also score Prestige depending on your position on the track.

Action 8 — Dice values: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Place your marker disc on an empty space on the Turn Order track. If a bonus is printed on the space chosen, immediately receive the corresponding benefit (1 Imp or 1 Coin). If your disc is already on one of the spaces, or there are no more free spaces on the track, you may not take this action.

Action 9 — Dice values: 1, 3, 6 Choose a career for one of your Apprentices. You will find a detailed description of this action in the Careers section below.

Free Action

Additionally, once per player activation and immediately before drafting a die, a player may pay 4 Coins to receive 1 Imp from the Imp Tower.

Careers

Choosing Careers for your Apprentices is a crucial action in Dragonsgate College. Whenever performing this action, follow the steps below:

1. Choose one of the Apprentices on your player board and a suitable career tile you wish to obtain. Each career (Wizard, Rogue, Warrior) has one skill associated with it (Sorcery, Stealth and Brawn respectively). In order for the Apprentice to choose a career, they must have at least 1 point in the suitable skill printed on their tile. Each career also has a level, with level 1 Careers being easiest to obtain, and level 3 being the hardest.

2. Add the values of the appropriate skill tracks on your player board to the skill values of your Apprentice.

3. Compare the skill values of the Apprentice modified by your House skill values to the values of the Level tile. The top (large) value of the level tile always corresponds to the skill associated with the Career chosen (if you want to obtain a Warrior Career tile, the top value becomes Brawn; for a Rogue the top value becomes Stealth, and for the Wizard it becomes Sorcery), and the Apprentice's modified skill value must meet or exceed it. The bottom value is the minimum value for each of the two other skills of the Apprentice (plus any bonuses provided by your House). If any of these values is too low, you may pay the difference in Coins: pay 1 Coin for each level missing (the main skill may not be paid with Coins).

Example 3: The Blue Player wants to obtain a level 1 Wizard Career tile, using an Apprentice with 1 in Sorcery, 1 in Brawn and 0 in Stealth. The Career requires the Apprentice to have 3 in the main skill (Sorcery), and 2 in both other skills (Brawn and Stealth). The Blue Player looks at their player board: the Skill Tracks show a +2 in Sorcery, +2 in Brawn, and +1 in Stealth. The Sorcery total (1+2=3) meets the requirement of 3. The Brawn total (1+2=3) not only meets, but even exceeds the requirement of 2. Stealth comes up 1 short, but the Blue Player immediately spends 1 Coin to successfully make their Apprentice a Wizard.

4. If you chose a Level II or Level III Career, you must also meet the requirements of the Mastery tile. A mastery tile will require you to have on your player board 1 or 2 Career tokens of a given type. Some Mastery tiles are blank. In such a case, the tile introduces no further requirements. Finally, there are also Mastery tiles which require you to have 1 or 2 Career tokens of the same type as the chosen Career.

5. If you fulfilled all of the requirements, collect the reward associated with the space chosen, take the Career tile and place it on your player board, in one of the spaces provided. If you cover up a one-time bonus (e.g. +1 Coin, +1 Sorcery, +1 Brawn, etc.), immediately receive the bonus by taking an appropriate card or token, or by adjusting the position of the cubes on your Skill Tracks. Also, receive the reward from the just obtained Career tile:

   • A Wizard Career will allow you to draw a Wizardry card from the deck. Wizardry cards are explained in further detail below.
   • A Warrior Career will allow you to immediately gain Prestige or Coins, as depicted on the tiles. They may also offer a gold, silver or bronze Trophy, which will score you points at Game End.
   • A Rogue Career moves your marker disc up on the Subterfuge track either 1 or 2 spaces forward, and possibly receive an Imp token. Some Rogue Career tiles will also grant you a seal icon. These are used when breaking ties on the Subterfuge track at Game End.

6. Finally, discard the Apprentice used.

Wizardry Cards

You may play Wizardry cards whenever you are allowed to take an action (either after drafting a die, or as a result of receiving an extra action). A played Wizardry card is placed face-down under the Wizardry deck. A player may hold a maximum of 2 Wizardry cards at any time. Whenever you are above that limit, you have to bring it down by either playing or discarding any cards from your hand (by placing them under the deck without effect).

Some Wizardry cards must be played immediately. These cards may not be kept, and may not be discarded without effect. If you draw more than one immediate Wizardry cards, you may choose the order in which those cards will be played.

If you draw any IMMEDIATE Wizardry cards that you are unable to play (like a card that tells you to build a building when you have not enough space on your player board), reveal it and discard it immediately without any effects, and draw a new card to replace it. If necessary, repeat this until you draw a card you can play or keep.

Assembling the Dice Pool

One of the actions allows you to exchange a used neutral die with one of the dice of your colour. After such an exchange, the neutral die is removed for the rest of the game. Below you will find an extended example which should make the concept easier to understand:

Example 4: During the first turn of a 2-player game, the Green Player used an action that removed one of the used neutral dice, and added 1 green die to the pool. The Blue Player has not used this action. When assembling the dice pool before the roll on the second turn, the Start Player takes: 2 green dice, 1 blue die, and 1 white (neutral) die. There are now a total of 4 dice in the pool (2 per player).

On the second turn of this game neither play swapped any dice. So, when assembling the dice pool before the roll on the third turn, the Start Player takes: 2 green dice, 1 blue die, and 3 white (neutral) dice. There are now a total of 6 dice in the pool.

During the third and fourth turn, each of the two players has exchanged one of the used dice with a die of their own colour. When assembling the dice pool before the roll on the fifth (and final) turn, the Start Player takes: 3 green dice, 2 blue dice, 1 white (neutral) die, and 1 Combined Action die (always added on the last turn of the game), for a total of 6 regular dice (3 per player) and 1 Combined Action die.

Trophies and Seals

Some tiles and spaces on the board provide you with Trophies. Trophies come in 3 different types: gold, silver and bronze. Trophies do not have any in-game effect, but they are used at the end of the game to score extra Prestige. Any Trophies on tiles a player has or on spaces their marker discs occupy belong to that player.

Some tiles provide you seal symbols. Much like Trophies, these have no in-game effect, but are used to break the tie on the Subterfuge track at the end of the game.

Game End

After completing the Clean-up phase of the fifth turn, players resolve a one-time special Scoring Phase.

Scoring Phase

When scoring Prestige, players should follow the steps below:

• +1 Prestige for every 5 Coins
• +1 Prestige for every 2 Imp tokens
• +1 Prestige for holding the Start Player token
• +1 Prestige for having the most Buildings (regardless of their size). In case of a tie, all tied players score 1 Prestige
• +1 Prestige for having the most Apprentices. In case of a tie, all tied players score 1 Prestige
• +1 Prestige for having the most Professors. In case of a tie, all tied players score 1 Prestige
• +2 Prestige for each set of 3 different Career tiles (Warrior, Wizard, Rogue)
• Each player with a disc in the Treasure room scores Prestige corresponding to the position their disc occupies
• Each player scores Prestige according to their position on the Subterfuge track. In case of ties, player with most seal icons on their Career tiles is considered higher. Further tie is broken by player order. Caution! In order to score any points from the Subterfuge track, a player must have their marker cube at least on space 1 of the track
• Each player receives Prestige for their trophies as follows (each Trophy may be scored as part of only one set): a. +4 Prestige for each set of 3 identical trophies (3 gold, 3 silver or 3 bronze) b. +4 Prestige for each set of 3 different trophies (1 gold + 1 silver + 1 bronze)
• -1 Prestige for each empty space on their House Grounds (each space unoccupied by a building, excluding the spaces with printed buildings, and including spaces with bonuses that have not been covered by buildings).

The player with the most Prestige is the winner. In case of a tie, the player with the most Career tiles is the winner. In case of a further tie, most Imps breaks the tie, then most Coins. If there is still a tie, the player closer to the Starting Player in player order is the winner.

Extra Combined Action Die Variant

To play an easier game, instead of adding the Combined Action die only on turn 5, add the Combined Action die on turn 3 (remove it in turn 4), and then again on turn 5. This variant is recommended for beginners.

Buildings

Below follows a detailed description of each of the Buildings available in Dragonsgate College:

#1 Small Laboratory — Size: 1, Number of tiles: 3 Add +1 Sorcery to your Skill Track.

#2 Small Fencing Range — Size: 1, Number of tiles: 3 Add +1 Brawn to your Skill Track.

#3 Small Guild Hall — Size: 1, Number of tiles: 3 Add +1 Stealth to your Skill Track.

#4 Cheap Quarters — Size: 1, Number of tiles: 1 Counts as 1 extra Apprentice at Game End scoring.

#5 Professor Chamber — Size: 1, Number of tiles: 1 Provides a space for 1 extra Professor.

#6 Trophy Room — Size: 1, Number of tiles: 1 Earn +1 Coin or receive an Imp during Income Phase.

#7 Laboratory — Size: 2, Number of tiles: 3 Add +1 Sorcery to your Skill Track. Draw a Wizardry card.

#8 Fencing Range — Size: 2, Number of tiles: 3 Add +1 Brawn to your Skill Track. Move 1 space on the Training Dungeon track.

#9 Guild Hall — Size: 2, Number of tiles: 3 Add +1 Stealth to your Skill Track. Immediately advance 1 space on the Subterfuge track.

#10 Alchemist — Size: 2, Number of tiles: 1 Add +1 Sorcery to your Skill Track. Move 1 space towards 0 on the Maintenance track.

#11 Weaponsmith — Size: 2, Number of tiles: 1 Add +1 Brawn to your Skill Track. Move 1 space towards 0 on the Maintenance track.

#12 Locksmith — Size: 2, Number of tiles: 1 Add +1 Stealth to your Skill Track. Move 1 space towards 0 on the Maintenance track.

#13 Professor Quarters — Size: 2, Number of tiles: 1 Provides space for 1 extra Professor. Move 1 space towards 0 on the Maintenance track.

#14 Warrior Guild — Size: 2, Number of tiles: 1 At Game End this building adds a trophy of your choice. Add +1 Brawn on your Skill Track.

#15 Smuggling Den — Size: 2, Number of tiles: 1 Immediately advance 1 space on the Subterfuge track. Move 1 space towards 0 on the Maintenance track.

#16 Arcane Fair — Size: 2, Number of tiles: 1 Immediately receive 2 Coins and draw 2 Wizardry cards. Add +1 Sorcery on your Skill Track.

#17 Large Storage — Size: 3, Number of tiles: 1 Immediately receive 3 Coins and 1 Imp. Receive a number of Prestige points equal to the number of turns remaining until the end of the game (excluding the current one). Move 1 space towards 0 on the Maintenance track.

#18 Fraternity House — Size: 3, Number of tiles: 1 Counts as 1 Extra Apprentice at Game End scoring. Move 1 space towards 0 on the Maintenance track. Receive a number of Prestige points equal to the number of turns remaining until the end of the game (excluding the current one).

#19 Trophy Hall — Size: 3, Number of tiles: 1 Earn +2 Coin or 1 Imp, or draw a Wizardry card during Income Phase. Used only in 2-player game.

#20 Combat Arena — Size: 3, Number of tiles: 1 Add +1 Brawn to your Skill track. Counts as 1 extra Apprentice.

#21 Pub — Size: 3L, Number of tiles: 1 Counts as 1 extra Apprentice at Game End scoring. Earn +1 Coin and +1 Imp during Income Phase.

#22 Library — Size: 3L, Number of tiles: 1 Add +1 Sorcery to your Skill Track. Provides a space for an extra Professor.

#23 Secret Chamber — Size: 3L, Number of tiles: 1 Add +1 Stealth to your Skill Track. Provides a space for an extra Professor.

#24 Builder's Guild — Size: 3L, Number of tiles: 1 Receive +1 Prestige whenever another player builds a size 2 or size 3 building.