I'm constantly searching the internet for new board games. What can I say - I love to play them! Certain key words catch my attention, and usually increase my anticipation to play specific games. So when I read the words "Bruno Faidutti", "negotiation", and "dragon's" in descriptions of the same game - I knew that Dragon's Gold was a must-buy for me. I was already a big fan of Draco and Co. and Democrazy, so decided to continue my collection of Descartes Blue Box games.
So was Dragon's Gold worth my instant purchase? The short answer is that it's the best negotiation game I have ever played, and is certainly worth your time and money. And now for the necessary longer answer…
First, a short description of game ply.
Each player is given four character cards of the same color: Two knights, worth a value of three and four; one thief, worth a value of two, and one wizard, worth a value of one. A deck of eighteen dragon cards is shuffled and placed face down on the table, with a special "market" card being placed 11 cards down. A pile of different color treasure tokens are put in a cloth bag provided with the game. The top four dragon cards are flipped over and are placed face up and treasure tokens placed on them. Each dragon card has three values. One value is its strength, the other two are its known treasures and hidden treasures. The number of known treasures are placed on the dragon whenever it is first placed face up on the table. The hidden treasures are added only after the dragon is slain. All treasures are pulled randomly from the bag when placed on the dragons. One player is chosen to start, then each player takes their turn clockwise.
On a turn, a player does one simple thing. They choose one of their adventurers and play it on a dragon card. If all the adventurer's values are equal to or greater than the dragon's strength, the dragon is killed. (Dragons aren't quite as hard to kill here as in much of fantasy fiction). If the dragon isn't killed, play passes to the nextplayer, otherwise the dragon's treasure is divided. After the secret treasure is added to the dragon, all players who had an adventurer attack that dragon must divvy up the treasure tokens on the card. If only one player had adventurers there, they get all the tokens. Otherwise, a one-minute timer is flipped, and the players have that to divide the treasure, or no one gets any treasure.
When sorting out the loot, players must follow some rules - they cannot use luck to negotiate, cannot bargain anything (even future promises) except the tokens on that specific dragon, and must divvy out all the treasure. The problem is that the tokens all have different values. Silver tokens, the most plenteous, are worth one point. Red (magic) tokens are also worth a point. Gold pieces, on the other hand, are worth three. The black diamond, of which there is only one, is worth seven points. Blue, green, purple, yellow, and white tokens all represent gems and only give points to the player who at the end of the game has the most of that color. Players who played wizards or thieves on the dragon also get special bonuses. Wizards can take all the red tokens before negotiations begin (unless there is more than one wizard). Thieves can randomly steal a token from another player involved in the battle. If a player has a thief and a wizard in the same battle, they can choose the token they steal. After the loot is divided (or lost, because time ran out), the dragon card is discarded, and another one drawn and laid face up on the table, with treasure added. All characters used to fight the dragon are returned to their owner, where they are placed face down on the table. A player may not turn these cards over unless he has no face up characters, in which case he may turn face up all his characters.
When the market card is revealed, players have one minute to make trades with each other. This is the only time trading is permitted in the game. After the last token (there are 126) is drawn from the bag, and the dragons on the table are killed, the game is over. Each player adds up their points, and the player with the most is the victor!
The advanced game adds some complexity to the rules. First of all, a deck of Magic Item cards are shuffled and placed face down at the beginning of the game, with one card dealt to each player. Instead of wizards automatically getting red tokens, they are divided with the rest of the treasure. However, when a player with a wizard who gets a red token, they also receive the top Magic Object Card. These magic cards may be played once at the time stated on the card, then discarded. The other thing changed by the advanced game is the scoring. It's the same as the basic game, with the following changes: If a player gets one of each of the jewel colors, they get a bonus five points. Also, the black diamond is worth fifteen points instead of seven, but the owner gets no points from jewel tokens.
Some comments on the game:
1). Components: The box is the same as all the Blue Box series, small and compact. All the pieces fit well inside, and it's especially nice to have the cloth bag included because it's a good place to store all the tokens. The tokens are nice, and are easily distinguishable, but are very small and round, and do fall off the table and/or are lost easily. The cards are of okay quality, with very nice artwork on them. I especially like the artwork on the dragon and magic object cards. The game also provides little cardboard screens so that each player can hide the amount and type of tokens they have. These shields are nice in that they have a helpful scoring chart on the back. The chart shows the amount of each color, and the value of that color in both the basic and the advanced game.
The only problem with this shield is that on it, the colors of the gold and yellow, and silver and white tokens are easily mistaken for one another. After a little while, players can get used to the colors, but it can cause some confusion at first. The timer is a small but sturdy timer. The components of this game are good, not great - but very good for the price.
2). Advanced vs. Basic: I'll use the basic game to teach beginners how to play the game, but I enjoy the advanced game much more. The scoring is better, and the black diamond is more of a "hot potato", giving both a benefit and a disadvantage. The magic cards are also interesting, and bring a bit of flavor to the game. One card in particular, the "Invisible Hand" actually lets you cheat in the game! When playing the game, please make the presence of this card known to all beginners. This card alone adds a certain amount of paranoia to the game, as everyone suspects others of having it, and close eyes are kept on all players. The other cards are useful, but none of them are real "game breakers".
3). Players: Having played the game with different groups of players, I would say that it plays better the more players you have (maximum of 6), because the negotiation occurs more. With fewer players, dragons are killed more often by only one player, which is good for that player - but not a lot of fun.
4). Negotiation: The straight up negotiation is a challenge for some. I love it immensely, but some people may not be able to handle the restrictions, such as not being able to promise other players future treasures. The fact that one player involved can stall for time, and lose the points for everyone can also frustrate some. I find it challenging. However, if you have a pig-headed, stubborn mule as part of your gaming group, you probably shouldn't play this game with them. The game will end with everyone being mad at that person and vice versa. Also, make sure you explain the scoring rules carefully, as a stupid person will make incredible deals with other players, effectively "king making". But these players aside, most people who play the game are enamored by the negotiations. I have found it especially fun to watch teenagers argue and fuss over splitting up the treasure. The first time, they take a long time arguing. When the time runs out, and nobody gets anything, they snap to their senses, and deals are made from then on out, quickly and with determination.
5). Fun Factor: It's because of the negotiation (and legal cheating) that I think this game is so much fun. It's not about killing the dragons, but placing your cards on the dragons whose treasure you want. You can use the chart, and try and maximize your points, but all the other players will be doing that also, and tokens can be hotly contested near the end of the game. But everyone usually has a rollicking good time, and there is a lot of laughter and shouting when this game is brought out in my group.
6). Rules: The rules are four small pages with small type and only a few color illustrations. They are adequate, but I think they could have been a little better. The game (especially basic version) is extremely easy to teach to people, and is picked up rather quickly by people, even many children. The only stumbling block to many people is the scoring, but you will find that after the first game, people immediately want to play again.
7). Theme and time: Be assured, dragon slaying is not the theme of the game. But dividing the treasure is, and the theme works extremely well. The game also plays well - as the timer forces the game to move along, and decisions by players are usually rather simple. So, while it may not be everyone's cup of tea, I think Dragon's Gold is the best of the Blue Box series, and is a worthwhile game to add to anyone's collection. It is easy, fast, inexpensive, and a truckload of fun! Whenever I'm in the mood to argue and negotiate for fun, this is the first game that springs to mind, and I find that when I bring it out - it is enjoyed by all.
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© Copyright 2004 by George Phillies.
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