Overview

After having read about this game, I knew I had to find it as soon as I could. Players take the role of one of four adventurers who have just returned from an adventure, more likely than not a dungeon crawl. They are back to the Red Dragon Inn, where they have split the loot and are ready for a night of drinking and games. A lot of the players in my game group are old D&D players so the theme fit perfectly with us. I was finally able to obtain a copy at DragonCon, and got to play a few times this weekend.

All players have both a Fortitude score and an Alcohol Content level. Fortitude starts at 20 and Alcohol Content at 0. As the game progresses, other player's cards make you loose Fortitude and drinking makes you gain Alcohol Content. If your Alcohol Content ever exceeds or equals your Fortitude, you are drunk and pass out! Other players get to take and split your gold and you are out of the game. Also, if at any point in the game you run out of gold, you are out of the game too. Gold changes hands in many ways, but the main one is gambling (see below).

What you get in the box

5 Decks - one for each player (40 cards each) and one Drink Deck (30 cards)
4 player mats
8 Glass beads - for marking Fortitude (red) and Alcohol Content (white)
50 coins - the loot of your adventure

All the cards are beautifully illustrated, and they have hilarious names that fit the theme perfectly. I see why some people commented on the thickness of the cards, they are a bit thin but I can tell you that after half a dozen plays they still feel like new. Many famous staple jokes are seen in the cards (like chainmail bikinis) along with many other original ones. I have to say the wizard's familiar has some of the best cards and art. Ah, those binge-drinking frenzied rabbit familiars...

Setup and turn order

Each player simply takes one of the player decks and a mat, along with 2 of the glass beads and 10 gold coins. Players set up their mats and shuffle their decks, and after the Drink Deck is shuffled each player takes one Drink card and places it on their Drink Me! pile on their mat. That is all, you are ready to play. The remaining gold is the Inn's gold stash.

Gameplay proceeds in simple turn order. Each player's turn is divided into 4 phases.

Phase 1: Discard and draw - Discard as many cards as you would like and then draw up to 7.

Phase 2: Play one (1) Action card - The player may play one Action-type card. These can have many effects (gaining fortitude, making other players loose Fortitude, initiate a round of gambling, etc...).

Phase 3: Buy a drink - Grab the top card from the Drink Deck and place it on the Drink Me! pile of another player.

Phase 4: Drink! - Turn over the top card of your Drink Me! pile and take its effects. It is usually a beverage, and it will probably make you gain Alcohol Content, even though there are exceptions (like coffee, which lowers it by 1 instead). Some Drink cards also include a "chaser", which means that you must immediately turn over the next card in the Drink Me! pile (if there are any) and take its effects too! Some Drink cards are a Drink Event. If one of these cards is flipped, just follow the instructions on the card.

After phase 4 is complete, the next player to the left starts his turn and play proceeds clockwise.

Gameplay

Red Dragon Inn plays wonderfully. My group has played it few times now, and every single person that has tried it loved it. Even my fiancée and her sister, who usually only like trivia or party games, were eager to sit down and play again.

Gameplay follows the phases above, but some cards can affect what happens. Cards are divided into types: Action, Sometimes, Anytime, Gambling and Cheating. Action cards are described above; you can only play one per turn. Anytime cards can be played... well... anytime! Sometimes cards tell you in the card text the conditions to meet or timing to be able to play the card (for example, a card that lets you ignore the effect of a drink can only be played right after you reveal a drink card). Gambling and Cheating cards can only be played during a gambling round. What is gambling you say?

Gambling is initiated when a player plays a special Action card called "Gambling? I'm In!" This is the main method of obtaining gold. When this card is played, all players ante up one gold and the player who played the card is now "in control". Next player to the left now has the option to play another Gambling or Cheating card to take control of the gambling round, or pass. Play continues like this until all players pass in which case the person who was "in control" last takes up all the money gambled so far, or a special card ends the gambling round.

Last 2 extra rules: If a player does not have a Drink card in their Drink Me! pile when they have to take a drink, they reduce their Alcohol Content by one. If the Drink Deck runs out of cards (happened every game we played) all players pay one gold to the inn and you reshuffle the Drink discard into a new deck.

Overall Experience

All characters have their strengths and weaknesses. The warrior has many cards that help her fortitude, but not many that help her sober up. The Priestess has many cards that protect her from harm. The sneak has a lot of cheating cards and dirty tricks. The wizard has many many magic tricks for every occasion (and his crazy rabbit). After a few plays of the game, we could clearly start to see some strategies develop (make the sneak drink a lot, because he is really good at gambling) and players were figuring out what cards were the best to hold on to and which to discard. All the characters are well balanced and so far we have not found that any one character is unbeatable or overpowered.

I am sure my game group will be seeing this hit the table many times, and we are all already clamoring for the expansion (we want more than 4 players in the action!). The game is also quick, most of our games were over right above the 30 minute mark. The game is not complex at all, the rulebook is just one sheet, front and back.

Slugfest Games delivered a great game, and left us eager to see more!