Little Dragons
Little Dragons Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
I. Contents
Players: 2–6. Ages: 5+. Playing time: about 15 minutes.
- 47 Dragon eggs in total:
- Numbered eggs, front side: 3 eggs numbered 3; 4 eggs numbered 4; 5 eggs numbered 5; 6 eggs numbered 6; 7 eggs numbered 7; 8 eggs numbered 8; 9 eggs numbered 9.
- 5 broken eggs (shown with a black shell and an orange interior).
- The back of every egg is the same grey, speckled design.
- 7 Golden Egg Trophies.
II. Overview
The dragon eggs are ready to hatch, and everyone is excited to welcome the baby dragons. Help the dragons to hatch and get as many dragon eggs as possible to win the game.
III. Game Setup
- Place all dragon eggs facedown in the middle of the table.
- Place the golden egg trophies on the side of the table.
- The youngest player becomes the first player.
- The first player chooses and reveals 3 dragon tokens, and the game begins.
Note: If the first player reveals a broken egg, they take the egg and place it in front of them. Then, they continue revealing the eggs until there are 3 eggs open on the table. The broken egg is -1 point at the end of the game.
IV. How to Play
The game is played clockwise. During your turn, you may choose one of the following actions:
- Reveal 2 eggs, or
- Take 1 egg
Reveal 2 eggs
Choose 2 facedown eggs on the table, and reveal them one at a time. There are 3 possibilities:
1. When the 2 eggs have different numbers
Take one of the two eggs, and place it in front of you.
Example: The egg No. 5 and egg No. 6 are revealed. You can choose and take one of them.
Note: You cannot take the eggs No. 3, No. 6, and No. 8 eggs that are already [the printed sentence ends here: "that are already"; the source gives no further words].
2. When the 2 eggs have the same number
Then, you must reveal one more egg. There are 2 possibilities:
-
If the egg revealed later has a different number, you can choose and take the two eggs with the same number or one egg with a different number.
Example: The two eggs revealed first are No. 9. The egg revealed later is No. 3. You can choose to take two eggs No. 9 or one egg No. 3.
-
If the egg revealed later has the same number as the other eggs, you can take all three eggs.
Example: The two eggs revealed first are No. 9. The egg revealed later is also No. 9. You can take all three eggs.
3. When a broken egg is revealed
When a broken egg is revealed, your turn ends immediately. You cannot take any egg that was opened during your turn, and you must take the broken egg only. The broken egg is -1 point.
Example: The first egg revealed is No. 5. Then, the second egg revealed is a broken egg. You can only take the broken egg.
Note: After you take the eggs you choose, put the eggs on the table faceup or facedown to have only 3 eggs revealed.
Take 1 egg
Take an egg from the middle of the table and place it in front of you. There are 2 possibilities:
1. When you take one of the revealed eggs
Take the egg and place it in front of you faceup.
2. When you take one of the unrevealed eggs
Take the egg and place it in front of you facedown. Only the player who has taken the unrevealed egg can see the number of the egg. The egg is revealed at the end of the game.
If you have chosen the Take 1 egg action, shuffle all eggs in the middle of the table. Then, put the eggs faceup or facedown to have only 3 eggs revealed on the table. If a broken egg is revealed while doing so, you must take the egg and place it in front of you.
Note: If you do not wish to shuffle the eggs, you may choose not to shuffle.
Once you have gained any eggs, sort them according to their number in front of you. The game continues clockwise.
V. Game End
If there are only 6 or fewer eggs left in the middle of the table, the game ends. Then, the players calculate their score as shown below.
Scoring
The Golden Egg Trophy
Reveal all eggs facedown, and compare to see who has the majority of each numbered egg from No. 3 to No. 9. The player with the majority of a kind receives a Golden Egg Trophy. Each trophy is worth 3 points. (If there is a tie, no one receives the trophy.)
Final Score
Calculate the final score:
- +1 point per egg.
- +3 points per Golden Egg Trophy.
- -1 point per Broken Egg.
The player with the most points wins.
Example of 3-player game (Noah, Ryan and Jinny): the picture on page 8 of the rulebook shows each player's eggs and trophies.
Example of Scoring
- Noah: Egg: 12 eggs (12 points). Golden Egg Trophy: 2 trophies (6 points). Broken egg: 2 eggs (-2 points). Total: 12 + 6 - 2 = 16 points.
- Ryan: Egg: 11 eggs (11 points). Golden Egg Trophy: 1 trophy (3 points). Broken egg: 0 eggs (0 points). Total: 11 + 3 - 0 = 14 points.
- Jinny: Egg: 14 eggs (14 points). Golden Egg Trophy: 2 trophies (6 points). Broken egg: 2 eggs (-2 points). Total: 14 + 6 - 2 = 18 points. Jinny wins!
Easy Mode for Children
Place all eggs facedown at the begging [sic] of the game.
Note: 3 eggs on the table are not revealed during the game. (The source prints "I3" here; read as "3".)
- During your turn, you only reveal 2 eggs.
- Then, take only 1 egg of the eggs revealed if they have different numbers, and place the other egg facedown.
- When the revealed eggs have the same number, reveal one more egg. If all three eggs have the same number, take all of them. If not, take the two eggs of the same number, and place the other egg facedown.
- The game ends is the same as the basic rules. Each broken egg is -1 point at the end of the game. (Golden Egg Trophy is not used in this mode.) The player with the most points wins.