• Name: Dragon Land
• Type of game: Family game
• Number of players: 2 – 4 players
• Playtime: 45 minutes
• Age: 9+
• Publisher: Gamelyn Games
• Price: €30.-

The preparation

The game consists of:

• 1 game board
• 12 pawns
• 12 magic rings
• treasuries
• 2 dice
• 1 dice tower
• 18 dragon eggs
• 57 gems
• 36 tokens

For each player in the game, place 1 token of a unicorn and 1 token of a witch on the designated spot on the game board. The extra tokens go back in the box. Then shuffle the tokens with the dragon on the back. Place a closed token on each volcano. The remaining tokens go back into the box. Also, place the gems and dragon eggs on the volcanoes. Place these randomly, but make sure that no more than 2 of the same color are placed. The volcano indicates how many gems and dragon eggs you have to place there.

Finally, place the dice and magic rings next to the game board.

The Game Rules

The oldest player starts, then you play clockwise. In the first round, each player places one of their pawns on the game board. Here’s how: the first player chooses one of his pawns and moves it through one of the entrances to the dragon land and then 1 space on the path. Then the second player does the same but moves his pawn 2 spaces. The third player follows and moves 3 spaces and the fourth player moves his pawn 4 spaces. The entrance does not count as a place. The players may use the same or different entrances.

When everyone has done this, the game continues. The player whose turn it is puts the dice in the tower. You may then move your pawns, you move 1 pawn per die, where you may pick up treasures. You may not move the same pawn twice in 1 round. Each pawn works in two phases: moving and picking up treasure.

When moving your pawn, you take into account a number of rules. For example, you may move your pawn an equal number or fewer spaces along the path.

You may place a pawn in dragon land through one of the entrances. The entrance does not count as a square.

You can jump over another pawn. This counts as 1 box. You may not end up on a space that is already occupied. The pawns may be at the same volcano at the same time.

When a pawn reaches a volcano with a closed token, immediately flip that token. You may not move anymore, but you can still take the treasure from the volcano. If the token on the volcano has already been turned over, you can stop or continue, if you continue, the volcano counts as 1 square.

A pawn cannot leave Dragonland once it has entered.

On their way through dragon land, players collect treasures (dragon eggs, gems, or tokens) when their pawns end up at a volcano. If a player ends up on a volcano, he may take one of the following treasures:

• Take all the gems on the volcano that match the color of the pawn.
• One gem.
• One dragon egg from the volcano. If there is a token on the volcano, you also take this token, unless it is the king dragon or a ring.

Players place gems and dragon eggs in their treasury, the tokens are placed face up in front of your treasury.

A player with a pawn on a volcano at the start of his turn may allocate a die to that pawn. You can then choose not to move and stay on the volcano to get the treasures.

When you can use the token on your turn differs. Lottokens may only be played immediately after you drop the dice into the tower. King dragons, skippers, extra steps, and a small dragon may only be used during the movement phase. A unicorn, a witch, a magic hand, and a magic ring may only be used when taking a treasure.

You may use as many tokens as you want in any combination during your turn, as long as you own these tokens. Tokens that you use while moving or collecting treasures must be used by the pawn you are betting. Then put it back in the box after use. The token with the king dragon and the ring may remain on the board and be used multiple times.

The tokens in the game have different functions, these are:

• Change the fate – with this token you get to roll the dice a second time.
• Skipper– this token allows you to move from one volcano to another via the river or waterfall that connects to the volcano. This movement counts as normal movement.
• Extra steps – you can take up to 3 extra steps.
• King Dragon – if this token is face up on the volcano, it stays there until it is moved by a pawn to another volcano. There are 3 king dragons red, green and blue. A pawn can therefore move this chip, but the color must match, the pawn must also be on the same volcano and the player must have rolled a 4. Then you can move to any volcano in the dragon land and when you land you can collect treasures there.
• Little Dragon – Just like a regular dragon, you can use it to move from volcano to volcano. You must also have rolled a 4.
• Unicorn– this token allows you to take a gem of a different color instead of the matching color. When you have used this, place the token back on the game board.
• Witch– this token allows you to take a gem of your color from another volcano you are currently in. When you have used this, place the token back on the game board.
• Magic hand – you may take another treasure with this token.
• Ring– this token remains face-up on the volcano until the end of the game. Players can get rings for their pawn. If you are on a volcano with this token, you can choose between getting a ring or taking a treasure. You may only wear one ring during the game. At the end of the game, you will only score points for colored gems if they match the color ring they are wearing.

The game ends immediately as soon as a player takes the last dragon egg. The players who have a pawn without a ring first remove the gems with the same pawn as this pawn from the game. Then all players count their points.

A complete treasure is worth 10 points and consists of a dragon egg and a gem of each color. You may also use other colors to complete a set. Each additional dragon egg and gem is worth 1 point. The player with the most points wins the game.

The rules for two players are almost the same. You only place 1 dragon egg on each volcano and any unused eggs go back into the box. The first player moves 2 spaces the first round and the second player moves 4 spaces.

You can also choose to have no limit on the number of gems of the same color in a volcano. Or you can choose to play without treasure troves and keep everything open.

Pros

+ The game is suitable for young and old and therefore a real family game.

+ The components look super nice.

+ The game is suitable for the little strategists.

+ The tokens will help you on your way.

+ The rules of the game are easy to explain.

Rating

Collect the most treasures during a game of Dragon Land! During the game, you have a red, green and blue pawn in a certain shape. When it is your turn, you roll the two dice and then you may move a pawn for each of these dice. With those pawns, you can reach volcanoes where you can collect dragon eggs or gems, of the same color. A set of a dragon egg and a green, blue and red gem scores 10 points at the end of the game. White gems can be used for any color and any remaining gems count for 1 point. The player with the most points wins the game!

Dragon Land is a game for young and old, you can play it with the whole family. The game is ideal for children who are not really familiar with games, because the rules are super simple and easy to explain. You also don’t have a lot of actions to perform on your turn. You roll the dice and then move along one of the paths. As a second action you may take a possible loot from the volcanoes. But the game is also suitable for the little strategists because you can only move two pawns during your turn. So which ones are the most convenient for picking up the loot? The pawns may of course only collect the color gem that matches. In addition, they must contain a magic ring otherwise the gems are not valid. You can also collect those rings at the different volcanoes by activating the correct token. So you have to make strategic choices there too, because do you collect the rings first or the gems first? What if you have the rings and the gems are almost gone? But gems that don’t have a pawn with a ring don’t count. All tactical choices you have to make during the game.

There are even more tokens in the game that can help you a lot. For example, you can take 3 extra steps or move a boat across the river, which costs fewer steps. These tokens make the game a little bit more strategic, because which tokens are useful to bet on your turn? At the beginning of the game I would save them for a later moment.

Dragon Land is also a very nice game. The gemstones are beautiful and the tokens are also made of sturdy material. In addition, there is a magical dice tower where you can throw the dice. But the game board you move over also looks magical, it’s like a small work of art, you discover new elements everywhere.

I think Dragon Land is a very suitable family game, but it is certainly also suitable for adults if you want to do a light game in between.

Got excited after reading the review? You buy the game here .