Game: Dragonland

Thread: Re: Dragonland - A Quick Review

Pnumekin — 2008-08-30T23:25:51+00:00

Pnumekin wrote:
Alan Kwan wrote:
A ggod review. But I'm not really sure whether this game is good for family play. The adult may win too often! My nieces refuse to play me.

At least one person found otherwise: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/3688/item/56338#item56...

As was this case on our first play. My 5yr old beat mom and dad. She did get a bit of an assist near the end of the game, but not much.

Thread: Re: Dragonland - A Quick Review

Carlton — 2008-08-24T05:55:03+00:00

Lovely review and thanks for taking the time to review for the rest of us.
You are right about the tactility of the components and fun of the dice tower - and the six sided dice are only 1-3 and 2-4 - my daughter is looking forward to fooling her frinds with these (hmm).

Played for the first time with a 10 and 14 year old yesterday as a light short game and we all enjoyed. I did win, perhaps because I had read the rules before we started and grasped the use of the discs first, but the children were learning fast.

Thread: Re: Suggestion on Timing of Tokens

GSReis — 2008-06-21T02:53:38+00:00

Actually, that's Reiner's original rule, and we always play that way.
What exactly? That it cannot be used immediately by the same pawn (but can be used by the second pawn) or that it cannot be used at all in the same turn? Does the rule apply to other tokens, too?

Thread: Re: Suggestion on Timing of Tokens

Alan Kwan — 2008-06-20T23:34:00+00:00

Magic Hand rule:
Actually, that's Reiner's original rule, and we always play that way. The publisher changed the rule in favor of "rules simplicity".

Thread: Re: Disks face-up

Alan Kwan — 2008-06-20T23:31:27+00:00

That would reduce some of the luck factor, but ... I think that is pretty unnecessary for this game, since IMO it's a light game with a right mix of luck vs. strategy for its weight.

The change would probably give an advantage to the first player. And it might create a problem with the king dragons. The ring tokens also, make one doubt if this is a safe variant.

When I want to play a simple and fast game with more strategy, I'd play GIPF project.

Thread: Re: Dragonland - A Quick Review

Pnumekin — 2008-06-18T19:49:04+00:00

Alan Kwan wrote:
A ggod review. But I'm not really sure whether this game is good for family play. The adult may win too often! My nieces refuse to play me.

At least one person found otherwise: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/3688/item/56338#item56...

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patchwerq — 2008-04-28T01:23:11+00:00

Wallpaper for your desktop! left click (original size), right click (set as background)

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Abraxox — 2008-02-11T14:55:39+00:00

You can perfectly use the Dragonland dice tower for other games like in this case "War of the Ring". It is an easy an inexpensive way to avoid your dice rolling over the board.

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ArtEmiSa64 — 2008-01-30T13:48:36+00:00

german box cover

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ArtEmiSa64 — 2008-01-30T13:47:24+00:00

german back of box

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ArtEmiSa64 — 2008-01-30T13:44:54+00:00

components before and after being unpunched

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ArtEmiSa64 — 2008-01-30T13:42:48+00:00

box inside

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ArtEmiSa64 — 2008-01-30T13:40:29+00:00

tokens

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ArtEmiSa64 — 2008-01-30T13:16:47+00:00

dice tower

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ArtEmiSa64 — 2008-01-30T13:15:25+00:00

components

Thread: Re: Question about collecting gems

karlhui — 2007-12-04T04:01:19+00:00

OOPS.. I'm so stupid
Thanks so much~

Thread: Re: Question about collecting gems

skrebs — 2007-12-04T03:10:56+00:00

karlhui wrote:
As the rule book say, "Collect all gems in the same color as the active action figure", if my action figure is green, then how can I collect red and blue gems for a set to score 10 points?

You can't. You need to move your red or blue pawn to that volcano to collect red or blue gems. Remember, you play pawns of the same shape, not the same color.

karlhui wrote:
Also, the game allows you to move lower than the number shown on the dice, can I move zero and keep my figure on volcano and get the treasure again?

THANKS

Yes, you may stay on a volcano. However, only two of your pawns may take an action, so if you decide to move one pawn zero, use the die for another pawn, the third pawn does nothing (which is normal).

Thread: Question about collecting gems

karlhui — 2007-12-04T02:45:36+00:00

As the rule book say, "Collect all gems in the same color as the active action figure", if my action figure is green, then how can I collect red and blue gems for a set to score 10 points?

Also, the game allows you to move lower than the number shown on the dice, can I move zero and keep my figure on volcano and get the treasure again?

THANKS

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FlavioRJ — 2007-10-19T16:30:57+00:00

Thread: Re: How to bring on new companions after the first.

Alan Kwan — 2007-05-04T06:19:31+00:00

Correct. You just use any die to move him normally. He can enter from any of the three entrances (not limited to the one you previously used) and along either of the two paths from the entrance, so there are a total of 6 paths you can enter along.

Each entrance path always has at least 4 stones, so your companion will will always have to spend a turn ending mid-way on the path, unless you use a "+3 move" token.

Thread: Re: King Dragon movement

wwscrispin — 2007-05-01T01:50:34+00:00

I understand better when I realized that using a die means "consuming" a die. It can be used for any appropriate action but then is consumed so it could not be used to move and power a dragon.

Thread: Re: King Dragon movement

Drinkdrawers — 2007-05-01T00:07:28+00:00

What he said. Moving to any space on the board is powerful enough. It doesn't make sense to make it more powerful by allowing it to be combined with movment or calling.

Thread: Re: King Dragon movement

curtc — 2007-04-30T18:10:47+00:00

I'm not sure I understand your first question, but I'll take a stab:
The dragons only carry pawns between volcanos. No getting on or off the ride while on the path.

A 4 or dragon token can be used to:
Ride a dragon that is already colocated with your pawn on a volcano to any other volcano.
or
Summon a dragon from anywhere to one of your pawns at a volcano.
But not both with a single 4 or dragon token.

Thread: Re: How to bring on new companions after the first.

curtc — 2007-04-30T18:05:50+00:00

That is correct.

Thread: King Dragon movement

wwscrispin — 2007-04-30T16:18:16+00:00

Does the roll of 4 on the dice to use or summon the King Dragon need to rolled while the companion is already present in the volcano or can be the roll that moved the companion onto the volcano?

The same question for using the dragon if your companion summoned it. You rolled a 4 to summon the dragon and now do you need another 4 on another turn to fly?

I assumed that you would need individual rolls for this otherwise companions would be able to move all over the board in a single turn.

Thread: How to bring on new companions after the first.

wwscrispin — 2007-04-30T16:10:43+00:00

I have the Rio Grande version and there does not seem to be any mention in the rules of how to bring on additional companions after the first.

I was playing it that you could use a die roll after the first turn to bring on an additional companion.

Thread: Re: Dice Tower suitable for many dice?

GaryP — 2006-12-24T16:45:12+00:00

I'll also echo that this is a great game for players of any ages from about 8 and up. The nonuniform distribution of the dice keeps chance in check, and there are several ways to move without the dice. The decisions of where to move, and when, can be tough. Great stuff. My only complaint is that the board art is a bit bland and it there a couple places where it is difficult for new players to tell if a path connects to a volcano or not.

Regarding the dice tower, it is quite nicely done. As said, you can roll about 10 "regular" dice in there. I use mine for Heroscape. However, the bottom tray is moulded to resemble stone. It looks great, but the inner sides are not flat. Even with d6s, there are often "leaners" that need to be rerolled. Overall it's a great looking tower, but I do wish they'd made the inner walls of the tray flatter to help prevent leaners.

Thread: Re: Dice Tower suitable for many dice?

fubar awol — 2006-12-24T15:11:25+00:00

Not just a kids game...

It uses the scoring system from Tigris and Euphretes and is a roll-and-move game that is unlike any other. The players can time the end of the game to their advantage and there are meaningful choices throughout. Playing time is short and the bits are fabulous. I recommend this game for anyone.

Foob

Thread: Re: Dice Tower suitable for many dice?

schmoove_de — 2006-12-24T12:14:33+00:00

Thank you very much. I forgot to mention, that I am also interested in the game itself. Even if it's just to store it away til the kids have grown up.

Thread: Re: Dice Tower suitable for many dice?

fubar awol — 2006-12-24T12:04:02+00:00

I use it for Hammer of the Scots and Crusader Rex. It works well with up to 9 or 10 standard sized (1/2 inch) dice. More than that, it gets crowded in the output tray.

You could aways buy smaller dice if you need more capacity.

Besides... Dragonland is a good game!

Foob

Thread: Dice Tower suitable for many dice?

schmoove_de — 2006-12-24T11:38:40+00:00

Hi all,

I'm too lazy to build a dice-tower myself, but I want one.

Dragonland is available for 10€ and that seems to be the cheapest dice tower that I can get.

Does anyone know if it works if I toss something like 14 dice in this thing (when playing Arkham Horror for example)

cheers
Sascha

Thread: 2 adults and a 2.5 year old boy give the game a try

maka — 2006-11-06T22:53:47+00:00

I ordered a few games from Germany and Dragonland was one of them. The package arrived today and my son wanted to play. I got this game thinking that it might work with him when he's a bit older, and after a failed attempt at the game this was confirmed

Anyway, we set everything up and he seemed to enjoy throwing the dice into the dice tower. Then he would choose which piece to move and when reaching a volcano he'd also choose what to pick. At the same time, we tried to figure out the game playing a few rounds.

After about 10 minutes my son got bored and placed the dice tower on the board, throwing the gems and eggs all around, ending the game for good. The funny thing is that when we counted the scores at that point, he won because he had gotten all 3 rings

So. I think maybe in a year we can try this again... In the meantime, he really enjoys Sorcerer's Cave a game he understands better, and can actually play (more or less)

And for us adults, we had a good time and are looking forward to trying this again (without him). The game seems to be light and enjoyable.

-Jorge

Thread: 2 player session

vinay1276 — 2006-10-28T20:06:21+00:00

This was our (me and my wife's) secound outing with this game. After having played wrongly the first time.

The game started with both of us trying to get our companions to the volcanos with double gems (ie 2 of the same color).

The differnce I think came in the tokens that we landed on. I got 3 extra steps, 2 magic hand, 1 boatman, 1 small dragon while my wife got 1 extra step, 2 boatman , 1 small dragon.

So, as you can see above I had no hesitation in picking up the dragon egg most of the time as the extra steps and magic hand are pretty powerful tokens. On the other hand my wife opened 2 King's dragon and a couple of rings (she was also not lucky enough to open up the King's dragon token with the right color companion). So she focussed on taking treasure.

This gave me the edge early in terms of the dragon eggs and I used it close out the game with 9 eggs with my wife getting 6. I had 7 completed sets while my wife had 6 with a few extra gems. I won by 7 points.

So, how come with all the extra steps and magic hand I did not win by a wider margin?? The reason was POOR DIE ROLLING on my part which helped balance the game. I was rolling more 2's and few 3's while my wife was rolling 3's and a fair no of 4's. So, I really needed those extra steps. I am not sure if my wife could have used her boatman better but I feel it is an inferior token to extra steps and magic hand. Also, she could have put ring's on her companions early I guess to put some pressure on me but in a 2 player game that is less effective i guess.

Overall, it is a nice light set collecting racing game where grabbing items before your opponent, using your special powers wisely and timing the end game are some of the critical decision's to make. I have played only with 2 players and at this number some planning is possible because of less competition and perfect informatin once the tokens are open. With 4 it will become very tactical I guess with having to make use of whatever opportunities you get. It becomes more of a family game at 4 than at 2.

Thread: Re: Suggestion on Timing of Tokens

GSReis — 2006-10-08T04:24:14+00:00

We also tend to not divide the movement and collection phases up properly. We play: move a pawn, collect with that pawn, move another pawn, collect with the second pawn.

That is the proper way. I'm not very fond of the ability to use the magic hand immediately, either, but I don't mind the second pawn using a token the first one got.

Thread: Suggestion on Timing of Tokens

GaryP — 2006-07-04T05:03:53+00:00

I recommend that you play with the following rule, if you don't already:

A token may not be used the same turn it is received.

This is not mentioned in the Rio Grande rules or the translation on here, one way or the other. Thus, we played that you could. The case that came up was the Magic Hand. We played that the person who got it could immediately use it and take another treasure. Afterwards, we realized that this was a bad idea. Both times it happened, the player had moved onto a volcano with a diamond. Once the Magic Hand was revealed, they took an egg, the Magic Hand, and then the diamond. At least one of those times, there was an opponent's pawn nearby. Instead of just realing large rewards from blind luck, it would have been much more interesting for the player to choose between the egg and Magic Hand and the diamond. The Magic Hand will almost certainly be very useful later, but at least the other players are aware of its threat.

We also tend to not divide the movement and collection phases up properly. We play: move a pawn, collect with that pawn, move another pawn, collect with the second pawn. It just plays smoother that way, but requires that the second pawn can't use a movement token that the first picked up.

Thread: Re: Dragonland - A Quick Review

caradoc — 2006-06-22T00:56:41+00:00

Very true Alan - though you could handicap yourself somehow (Eg: no adult recieves any of the normal starting tokens - and/or they do not move piece during set-up like everyone else - or they can only pick up one gem of the correct colour (no diamonds) during the collect treasure phase - or they can't use tokens) - these are minor adjustments.

The strategy in Dragonland is there - and can be thought provoking as well - but there not so many different things going on through complex rulings that they are difficult to percieve for kids as well - though you make a good point - an adult will usually win (which is a great way of bringing your win/loss ratio into a respectible alignment if you are anything like me !). It is good fun though and beautiful when set up!

Glad you liked the review - thanks for the comment!

Giles.

Thread: Re: Dragonland - A Quick Review

Alan Kwan — 2006-06-20T00:59:09+00:00

A ggod review. But I'm not really sure whether this game is good for family play. The adult may win too often! My nieces refuse to play me.

Thread: Dragonland - A Quick Review

caradoc — 2006-05-07T04:20:08+00:00

Dragon Land:

Dragon Land is an attractive, fun, and sometimes-tantalising game by Reiner Knizia (Lost Cities, Ra, Blue Moon and many many more). In Dragon Land players set out to collect the most sets of gems and Dragon eggs, and this journey is an enjoyable one. The rules of the game are simple and easy to learn, and provide for one of the best ‘roll a dice and move a piece’ games I have ever played.

One very pleasing element of Dragon Land is attractive and high quality components that come with the game. The tokens are printed well and made of thick card, the screens to hide your treasure behind are of the same quality, the player pieces are oddly shaped and made of wood, the game comes with very nice looking plastic gem stones, two special dice and a dice tower – A Dice Tower!

In Dragon Land players take turns moving their pieces around the board collecting gems, dragon eggs and magic tokens; player pieces are all of one shape and in each of three colours, red, blue, and green. The red pieces are allowed to pick up the rubies, the green pieces the emeralds and so on. What makes Dragon Land a clever roll and move game is the fact that there are two dice and three pieces, each dice can only move one piece, and this can lead to some interesting tactical decision-making.

At the end of a game of Dragon Land players will score points base on the gem sets they managed to collect, for every Gem or Dragon Egg the player will receive one point, if however they can make a set (one each of a Dragon Egg, a Ruby, an Emerald, and a Sapphire), they score ten points instead.
Knizia manages to inject some clever elements into this simple scoring mechanism as well; making the game that much more than a simple roll and move set collection game. If one of the player’s pieces ends the game without a magic ring (gained during the game like gem stones) then any gem stone of that piece’s colour are discarded before scoring, in addition any diamonds picked up during the game can be used as ‘wild’ gems – substituting for any missing ones when it comes to making sets for scoring. There are also magic tokens, which can assist pieces to move in various ways not usually allowed.

All in all Knizia’s alterations in the simple rules are easy to digest and add much to the game-play. This is a very simple game that is easy to learn, but one that, because of the twists here and there, offers considerable variation and is a game where good tactical play is discernable, and rewarded.
This is a brilliant game for families, children can cope easily with the rules of the game and quickly learn to develop and implement strategies, plus there is enough of interest to engage the adult mind without making the experience boring or repetitive, plus there is enough luck to mean that while strategy is important it will not always, on its own, win the day. The game pieces are gorgeous and help to build a great ambience. Dragon Land is a clever and fun game, and one that is especially good for family play.

Thread: What Dragon?

davek — 2006-03-12T05:36:37+00:00

We then enjoyed a game of Dragonland. This is one of those game where the rules are simple and the strategy straightforward, but the multitude of options each turn make for tough decisions. The board consists of a number of volcanoes connected by land and water paths. At the beginning of the game the volcanoes are randomly stocked with five kinds of goodies: three colors of jewels, dragon eggs, and power-ups of various types. Each player has three tokens matching the jewel colors. On your turn roll two weirdly-numbered six-sided dice, and move two of your pieces around the volcanoes. When you get to one, you reveal the power-up if you're the first there. You may get to keep it to later use, or it may be a common one that stays there for anyone to use. You may also collect a jewel or egg, but only the same colored jewels as your dude. A key planning point is that one type of permanent power-up is a must-visit at some point for each of your guys, otherwise you forfeit beau coups points.

The trick is that having sets of goodies (egg and one of each color jewel) is how you score big, so you have to collect the four goods fairly evenly. The various power-ups help you do that efficiently, or help you get to goods before someone else. There's the opportunity for mild ronkage by going after more stuff than you need to try to shut others out...but that could easily backfire. There are some subtleties, but I think this game isn't too hard for 8-10 year olds, and the slightly pasty theme is a plus for younger players.

Anyway, although I was lost for clues the first ten minutes, I managed to win 70-something to Jake's 60-something and Joe's high 50-something. I liked the game, although no one's going blow a brain gasket playing. It's pretty much a traveling salesman problem with a medium amount of chance and indirect player interaction. Efficient use of the die rolls and power-ups, together with mild planning, will get you through nicely. I will play this again anytime a less-strenuous 45-60 minute game is called for.

Thread: Disks face-up

D0NK1J0T3 — 2006-02-26T03:22:39+00:00

What do you think about playing with the disks face-up at the begginning of the game?

Thread: two games

Alan Kwan — 2006-01-15T01:36:35+00:00

After serving some customers, we really wanted to play Vegas Showdown (I am in the process of writing the strategy article), but we didn't have enough players. So we pulled out Dragonland instead.

Players: Alan (me), Alex

In the first game, Alex didn't get enough eggs, while I put out a solid application of my theories, and scored over 80 points for a clear victory.

In the second game, Alex played much better. I didn't really execute my theories well, and let him get too many of the paired colored gems. At several points, I was too stingy with my tokens: I should have more quickly raced towards the gem pairs, but I was walking one volcano at a time to save tokens, and as a result Alex just snatched the pairs right before me. Also, he got control of the King Dragons in the end game. The end result was that I lost 71 to 73.

A light Knizia design which is so well-tuned that it is actually fun and strategic to play. I always say this: a good game is one at which, when I lose, I can see how and why.

Thread: Re: Artwork in the english edition

vinay1276 — 2005-10-29T06:13:00+00:00

Thanks Steve! My order is on the way

Thread: Re: Artwork in the english edition

SteveK2 — 2005-10-28T19:30:39+00:00

Based only on photos on BGG, I'd say they are identical.

Certainly my English edition looks great whatever the German edition looks like.

Thread: Artwork in the english edition

vinay1276 — 2005-10-28T19:21:35+00:00

Is there any difference in the artwork between the german and english editions. I heard the german version looks very good, I was planning to buy the english edition and wanted to know if it matches up. Thanks

Thread: Trip through the land of Dragons

Mosse — 2005-07-10T08:29:55+00:00

Drachenland Session Report

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This is one of the games my GF likes to play, and although I am not extatic about it, I can easily be talked into playing a game or two every now and then. So we set up the components for a game of Dragonland (I have the finnish version Lohikäärmeiden maa)

As a gamer I can't help but think as a gamer. My GF, though plays like normal person, just collecting gems and eggs.

I immediately started concentrating on one color - still of course picking other colors. A few turns into the game I noticed I had quite a lot of blue emeralds - so I started collecting them like crazy, to hinder her from getting a lot of complete collections. Gamewise, this turned out to be a good call, as I was still able to collect enough of the other gems and eggs to make collections.

Final tally of the game: Victory for me 63 - 34

Verdict: My opinion of the game has not changed. Not a bad game. Not a great game. Quite playable though. When not playing too much. My rating is, and shall remain 6 - playable, will play sporadically when in the right mood.

This is my opinion, and I'll stick by it!

Thread: Have You Ever Imagined a 23KB Strategy Article for Dragonland?

Alan Kwan — 2005-05-02T16:56:47+00:00

Have You Ever Imagined a 23KB Strategy Article for Dragonland?

by Alan Kwan
3 May 2005

Strategic Overview
------------------

1. The Winning Strategy

All players have roughly the same number of moves (2 cubes =
2 moves per turn), so by maximizing the number of treasures one
gets per move, one aims to get the largest number of treasures in
total. If those treasures are in balanced sets, and the player
has also got the needed magic rings, he will naturally get the
highest score and win the game.

To gather treasures most efficiently, the most useful targets are
colored gem pairs, with which one can get two gems in one move;
the Magic Hand tokens, which allow a companion to get treasures
twice in one move; and the movement tokens, which help the
companions to reach a volcano and get treasure with every move,
without having to end movement on a path.

2. Target Score

There are 57=19*3 gems and 18 (or 15) eggs in the game. Thus, in
a 4P game, one should aim to win with a score in the 50's or
40's. In a 3P game, one can often win with a score of 60 and
sometimes with a score in the 50's. In a 2P game, 80 is a
winning score, or one can win with a score in the 70's. Of
course, it is sometimes possible to win with a lower score, if
the game ends earlier (by exhausting the eggs way before the
gems). But the above is a good goal to have in mind, at the
beginning of the game.

3. Grand Strategic Plan

From the first move in the set-up, one should have a rough plan
in mind how he is going to achieve the target score. As
mentioned above, ideally one wants to get to a volcano and get a
treasure with (almost) every move (die), and one wants to get as
many colored gem pairs as possible (except that more pairs than
needed for the target score in one color is not very useful).
When a companion enters the board, one should visualize the path
the companion is going to take, along which one should be able to
get enough gems (including as many colored pairs as possible) to
reach the target score. The actual path depends on the board:
sometimes the pairs are on the perimeter volcanos, but sometimes
the pairs are in the center. What is important is to have a
plan, and to accomplish it swiftly, getting to the desired
volcanos before the opponents.

Because of factors such as Dragons and competiting treasure
hunters, no plan can be set in stone. Sometimes, as events
unfold, it becomes better to depart from the original plan and go
another way. The planned path merely represents the plan which
has not taken unexpected events into account, and is followed
often but not always.

4. Many Pairs, or Few Pairs

If the gems of a color are mostly grouped in pairs, it may be
better to advance your companions in the other colors first, and
get the scarcer pairs in the other colors first. If there are
many pairs in one color, it is likely that some will be left
over, as the other players have got enough for their targets.
Your plan is to enter the companion a bit later, yet in time to
get some pairs before they are all gone. On the other hand, if
there are only one or two pairs in a color, and you can't expect
to get them before your opponents, there is little reason to
hurry either. In both cases, though it is fine to enter the
companion later, the timing is important: enter too late, and you
won't be able to get enough of the color before the game ends.

5. The Two-Companion Game

Sometimes, one can win by playing with only 2 companions, and
collecting diamonds to substitute for the third color. The
advantages for ignoring one companion are that, one saves having
to enter it along a long path (any entrance path has at least 4
stones, which requires either two moves or a "3 extra steps"
token), and one saves having to get a ring for it - a 2-move
saving in total. The drawbacks are that, one cannot benefit
from paired gems in the missing color, and one must race for the
limited number of diamonds. Therefore, it would be best to go
for this strategy when there are few paired gems in one color,
and/or when one expects that he cannot beat his opponents to
those pairs. It would be a losing strategy to ignore a color
with plentiful pairs: the opponents could get pairs more
efficiently than your getting diamonds, and your concession gives
your opponents less competition for those pairs. Also, this
strategy should not be a sworn commitment: should you seem to be
losing the diamond race, you can enter the third companion and
pick up colored gems with it. But if those gems are grouped in
pairs instead of distributed evenly over the board in singles,
the odds are that they will be mostly gone (since there are fewer
groups of them to begin with), and it will be difficult for you
to get enough.

6. The Value of the Diamond

Generally, pairs are more efficient than diamonds, so one should
focus on pairs rather than diamonds. But if there are few pairs
on the board for one of the colors, one can get diamonds to
substitute for that color, so that one can enter the
corresponding companion late, or not at all (as discussed above).
If one can get enough pairs for all 3 colors, one should have a
good chance of winning without worrying too much about diamonds;
just 1 or 2 would be enough.

Movement Tactics
----------------

7. The Face-down Token

This should be fairly obvious, but let me mention it here, just
to be complete. After rolling the dice, you plan to move two
companions. Suppose that one is to a volcano with a face-down
token, the other is not. In this case, you should *always* move
to and reveal the face-down token first. The only exception is,
when the other companion is getting a token which you are going
to use immediately, to reach the face-down token or to get
treasures twice there.

8. Competitive Movement

The criticism of being a "multi-player solitaire" has been
launched at many a game, often inappropriately. Dragonland has
not been exempt from such criticism, and here too said criticism
is defintely off the mark. In Dragonland, it is crucial to watch
your competition closely, and stay ahead of them. One especially
wants to beat same-colored competitors to the colored gem pairs,
but any competitor can snatch a useful token before you.

Sometimes it pays to move your companions in a less efficient
manner than if you were playing solitaire: you want to reach the
richer volcanos before the competitors, even though this means
you have to leave a diamond in the volcano behind you. When
making tactical decisions about movement and getting treasures,
in addition to checking where your opponents' companions are,
it is important to watch their tokens as well. Especially keep
in mind that, a competitor can go directly from off-board to a
perimeter volcano in one move if he has a "+3 Move" token -
and even if he does not have one already, he can luckily find one
with his first-moving companion, to be used by his second.

The second companion to arrive at a volcano will get the second
best set of treasure there (unless the first to arrive uses a
Magic Hand). If the second prize is almost as good as the first
prize, it is not a bad thing to settle for it. For example, if
you need a diamond and there are two, you will get one anyway,
whether you arrive first or second. But if there is no second
prize - hurry!

9. Team Play

The two "destiny cubes" are not normal dice with numbers 1 to 6.
Their faces are:

1-2-2-2-3-3
2-3-3-4-4-4

An important implication is that, it is quite likely that on each
roll, you will roll one high number (3 or 4) and one low
number (1 or 2). Therefore, it is a good idea to expect the
low number, and leave a companion in position (in or near a
volcano with treasure) to make use of it. Meanwhile, you can
anticipate the high number; a companion can be prepared to make
use of it, to move on and reach richer treasures. You will roll
a "3" or "4" 8 times out of 9; but you can get a "3" or "4" on
both dice only less than 2 times out of 7.

If all your companions are waiting for "3"s and "4"s to move on
(or to fly the King Dragons), they compete among themselves. If
two companions are waiting for "4"s to fly, one of them will be
waiting for quite a while, as you cannot roll two "4"s in one
roll. Keep this in mind, and try to use a little planning ahead
to avoid such positions.

Treasures
---------

10. Priority of Treasures

In order of highest priority to lowest:

Magic Hand token
gem pair
movement token
diamond
egg only
single colored gem
Magic Ring

The above is only a general guideline, and there are many and
frequent exceptions (which is the mark of a well-designed game).
When choosing which treasure to get at a volcano, there are many
factors to consider. A Magic Hand token is usually powerful, but
it may not be very useful too late in the game; the same can be
said of the movement tokens. Only a companion of the same color
can get a gem pair, so you may sometimes want to get the movement
token (or sometimes a diamond) first before an opponent's
different-colored companion arrives. Or sometimes you want the
token for immediate use by another companion, so you get it
first, even though the gem pair is eventually more valuable.
You need to carefully check where the opponents' same-colored
companions are, and their access to the Dragon, Boats and +3 Move
tokens, in order to determine whether it is safe to postpone
getting the gem pair. Diamonds are rarer than eggs (9 to 18),
but eggs are in fact more essential: the right colored gems can
(in a sense) substitute for diamonds, but nothing can substitute
for eggs, and there are fewer eggs than gem-triplets (18 to 19).
A single colored gem becomes, of course, more valuable than any
token, egg, or pair if it is the color you are short of. Magic
rings are lowest on the list because they are always available
later, but of course if the game is about to end, they will
become the most important items. (More about the magic rings in
a later section.)

Despite the high priority of the gem pair, collecting many pairs
in one color in excess of what you need (to make sets) is
generally not very efficient. It is often difficult to really
deprive an opponent of a color, because there are diamonds too.
It would be more efficient to get your sets and then end the
game.

11. Controlling Game Length

While collecting eggs give you useful tokens, collecting gems
first give you better control over the length of the game.
Consider the situation where there are still plenty of gems left
on the board, but there are only a few eggs left. In this
situation, the player who has enough gems can collect the
remaining eggs and win the game, while the player who has more
eggs than gems has to race for the gems before the game is ended.
Another way of looking at it: the game can be ended with lots of
gems left on the board, but it never ends with eggs left.
Although there are in total slightly more gem-triplets than eggs
(19 to 18), if the game ends with many gems left on the board,
the gems will become the critical items in the scoring.

Sometimes you keep running into volcanos with Dragon/Ring tokens
instead of ones you can take, so you choose to take gems instead
of eggs (without tokens), and you end up with a good collection
of gems, but you are short in eggs. The other players have found
good tokens, and they have many eggs but few gems. You suddenly
realize that, beyond the number of eggs you'll need to make up
for your shortage, there are only 2 or 3 more eggs left on the
board. In such situation, it is important to play the correct
strategy: get the magic rings and end the game by getting the
eggs, before those players who have luckily got many tokens (with
many eggs and few gems) have the chance to use them to get the
gems they need. If you let the game go on until most of the gems
have been taken, the odds will be that the players who have got
the tokens will have been collecting treasures more efficiently.
By threatening to end the game sooner, you can force the other
players to spend their tokens to get magic rings in a hurry,
instead of travelling leisurably along their planned paths and
finishing with the magic rings after getting everything else they
want, for the 'unbeatable' winning score.

Tokens
------

The different tokens in this game are very nicely balanced. Even
though some tokens are slightly better than others in general,
none is better in every situation. More important than the luck
in finding the "good" tokens is the understanding of how each
token can be used most effectively in the correct situations.

12. {Change Destiny}

Each player starts with one and never gets another. I would say
that this token is indeed the weakest among the tokens: a "+3
Move" token or a "Small Dragon" token would guarantee you (the
equivalent of) a "4-2" for walking or flying respectively, but
with Change Destiny, there is no guarantee that the reroll will
be better. But since everybody gets the same ration, it is fair
game. It can often save the day when you get a poor roll at an
embarassing moment, after all.

The two cubes add up to "5" or more 5 times out of 6, so the
Change Destiny token is best used for that remaining 1 time out
of 6, when the two cubes add up to "4" or less ("3-1", "2-2",
"2-1"). However, sometimes you can use a poor roll effectively
because your companions are already sitting on treasure-rich
volcanos. The time when your companions most desperately need
large numbers to reach volcanos is the very first turns in the
opening game. Thus, if you roll a poor roll (total "4" or less)
on the first turn, and your companions cannot reach a volcano
because of that, do not hesitate to reroll right there. That is
/the/ time to use this token; it is even fair to say that, the
token has in fact been introduced for this very purpose, of
saving one from a devastating first-turn bad roll.

If you haven't used it until the late game, it may be a good idea
to use it just to try to get a "4" to fly a King Dragon. But
until then, it is usually best to save it for a really poor roll.
This token can give you a needed "3" 8 times out of 9, but it can
get you a desired "4" only half of the time.

13. {+3 Move}

To some novices, it may seem that the +3 Move token, with only a
modest effect, is weaker than the others. But in fact, it is the
most handy. A study of the map reveals the fact that, among the
26 land paths, 17 of them are of 4 or more stones. One cannot
finish crossing those paths in one move without a +3 Move token.
Especially, a +3 Move token provides the /only/ way to cross an
entrance path in one turn; the Boat or the Dragon cannot help one
until he has reached the first volcano. The token not only
allows one to get treasure efficiently without wasting a move, it
also allows one to stay ahead of the competition. The surprise
move (though not a real surprise to a veteran player) of jumping in
from off-board to a perimeter volcano, to snatch the treasure
from right under the feet of a competitor, is certainly
effective. There are 4 of them in the token mix, and they are
certainly useful enough that you want to find them often.

Another comment about something obvious: never spend a +3 Move
token to move further along a path without actually arriving at
the desitination volcano. You should always save it for the move
in which you do arrive. (The rare exception involving companions
blocking path spaces does not occur with any significant
frequency in practice.)

14. {Boatman}

Another apparently modest token which is in fact quite useful.
The places where you can use the Boatman are limited, but you can
use it effectively even with a low die roll of "1".

Among the 6 waterways on the board, 2 of them enables a move which
cannot be feasibly traversed by land. The other 4 allows a
short-cut around a land path of 5 to 8 spaces long.

Don't forget that, although only a moving companion can use a
Boatman, he can still use land movement before and after the
Boat. Also, if the King Dragon is in the next volcano along the
waterway, you can sail with a Boatman to join him, and fly with a
"4" die roll. This way, you expend a Boatman instead of a Small
Dragon.

15. {Small Dragon}

The Small Dragon is strong, as everyone knows. It allows you to
use the King Dragon, which can take you to anywhere you want.
However, its power is somewhat limited by the restrictions on its
use. It is totally unusable until the King Dragon has been
revealed. Also, although it allows you to summon the King Dragon
from another volcano and fly with it immediately, you can only do
so if you have rolled a "4", or if you spend two Small Dragon
tokens. And you can only use it from a volcano, which means that
it cannot help a companion to reach the first volcano from the
entrance, unlike a +3 Move token. In the opening game, where the
emphasis is on getting to /somewhere/ instead of some specific
place, a +3 Move token is often more useful; while the Small
Dragon often becomes very valuable in the endgame, when you need
to get to specific places, to the Magic Rings or to the few
remaining treasures.

Be wary of using up your only Small Dragon token too soon. Only
after making sure that you will not need it to get a magic ring
in the endgame, is it safe to use it early on. There are only 2
additional ones among the token mix to be acquired, and you can't
count on finding one.

If you are already with the King Dragon and are waiting for a "4"
to fly it, but you haven't rolled the "4", it is sometimes better
to play a Small Dragon right away (though it /is/ sometimes
better to wait). If you wait, the King Dragon may be summoned
away, and you will need to play the Small Dragon anyway.

16. {Magic Hand}

The Magic Hand is strong, of course. For some reason, the player
easily forgets to use it, so be smart. In order to use the Magic
Hand, you first need to get to the treasures. If your
competitors beat you to the treasures, the Magic Hand cannot help
you. Getting treasures faster also depletes the treasures faster
- if you get double treasures now and waste a move next turn,
your net gain is zero. Thus even though the Magic Hand is
strong, it is not always better than other tokens in every
situation.

Of course ideally you want to get something like a gem pair plus
egg+token, but sometimes it is better to use it to get even a
magic ring, in order to move on faster (perhaps to another gem
pair!). In the late game, there are situations where you want to
use it to get a single colored gem, if it is in the color you are
short of.

Magic Rings
-----------

17. A Dilemma Rather Than a Difficulty

With 3 Magic Ring tokens and 3 King Dragons, it is usually not
difficult at all to get magic rings for all your companions, if
you do try. Typically the challenge is, rather, deciding /when/
and /how/ to get the rings: you do need them, but unlike
treasures which are first-come-first-get, the Ring tokens stay
around once revealed, and can always be accessed later - until it
has become too late. To determine the best timing, you need to
look ahead and plan where you are going and what you will be
doing. Get to the better treasures before your opponents do, but
get the rings, preferably conveniently, before the game ends.

Sometimes, a Ring token is revealed at a perimeter volcano.
Companions who have yet to enter the board, now have the choice
of whether to enter through that volcano or otherwise. This,
like many others in this game, is a complex decision. The
(remaining) treasures on the Ring volcano and on the volcanos
beyond have to be weighted against the treasures, and ring
availability, on other paths. One's supply of tokens, and the
other companions' need for them (especially for getting rings) is
another factor which must be considered: do I have a spare token
left, to help this companion get a ring, if I enter him through
another path? And: has the King Dragon been revealed? Once, I
entered the green companion towards a Ring token, and as planned,
used the next "4" cube to summon the (already revealed) Green
Dragon (while also getting some treasure), and flew with the yet
next "4" cube to a center volcano. It turned out to be a
ring-difficult game (all 3 Ring tokens grouped together on one
side, and a Dragon missing), and I won as the other players
struggled to get their rings. In short: as with many other
issues in this game, the best choice depends on many factors
which are not so easily written down as an algorithm, but a
little bit planning ahead will give you the best answer.

18. At the Ring Token

Suppose that it is quite early in the game, and you have just
turned up a Magic Ring token. Now when you take treasure, should
you take the ring now, or should you take something else?

The answer lies in your plans (again). If it is advantageous for
you to just get the ring and then move on to greener pastures
(such as gem pairs, not necessarily green ones) in the path
ahead, then do exactly that. On the other hand, if there is a
gem pair right here at the Ring volcano, it is usually best to
take it now. One should also take a diamond if one needs them in
the current game. If one plans to stay because of the "team
play" issue discussed above, or if one simply sees no good reason
to move on in a hurry (e.g. no lucrative gem pairs available for
this color), one can get a gem or an egg first, and be guaranteed
a worthy way to use the next small cube. If one plans to be
using the next "4" cube to sit and summon, getting something else
first and then get the ring with the summoning "4" seems
reasonable, though there is the possibility that one may
sometimes be pressured to use a Small Dragon to fly away
immediately.

19. The Exceptional Hardship

Usually, it is not difficult to get magic rings for all your
companions, as long as you have not carelessly forgotten about it
until too late. But occasionally the token distribution makes
things harder. If the three Magic Ring tokens are spread evenly
across the board, and all three King Dragons are available,
getting rings should pose no problems. But sometimes (because
a random token is taken out of each game) there are only two
Magic Ring tokens, or one of the King Dragons is missing (or is
discovered too late). Or the Rings may be grouped together on
one side of the board, so companions on the other side may need
to take a long trek, especially those for which the King Dragon
has gone on vacation. Because of the connectivity of the board,
it is never impossible or too difficult for one to get needed
rings, but one does need to be alert of those relatively more
difficult set-ups, and move straying companions towards the Rings
since an earlier stage. In some cases, this means as early as
when the companion enters the board: if two Ring tokens have been
revealed at volcanos remote from your two companions, entering
the third along the same routes would only add burden to yourself.

Conclusion
----------

Dragonland is a game with rather simple rules, but the delicate
balance among the various game elements makes for a game which
offers many interesting decisions guided by various factors under
many different situations. People may have different opinions
about the theming of this game, but when we look at the
mechanism, we can only appreciate Dr. Knizia's mastery.

Because of the strategic complexity and depth of this game, oen
cannot expect to master the game just by reading a strategy
article. This article is just meant to be a starting point, and
experience is required in order to apply these techniques well.

Thread: Re:Minor Dragon

Leonardo — 2005-04-29T02:43:13+00:00

Thanks to both of you Alan and Gary. I originally missed the rule because on the translation here on BGG. It mistakenly has an example of summoning a King Dragon then flying a minor dragon. But now everything is understood.

Again thank you very much.

Leonardo

Thread: Re:Minor Dragon

Alan Kwan — 2005-04-29T01:31:15+00:00

My understanding is that you can fly a King dragon when you are on a volcano and have an available die roll of 4. Also you can summon a king dragon with an available die roll of 4 when you are in a volcano.

So if you can not fly with a minor dragon what is it used for? To summon a King dragon with no need of a die roll of 4?

A minor dragon has the same function of a die roll of 4, to summon a king dragon or to fly with a king dragon. So you can fly a king dragon without a die roll of 4. Or you can use a "4" die to summon a king dragon, and then fly with it immediately using a minor dragon.

Also my last question would be how are new figures brought to play after the first figure of each player has been placed on the board.

In the same way as bringing in the first figure. For example, using a "3" die, you bring in a figure from an entrance and move him (up to) 3 spaces along either path.

Thread: Re:Minor Dragon

Leonardo — 2005-04-28T15:30:13+00:00

Thanks for your answer.

I dont have the RGG version. I bought the ravensburger edition and the rule translation here at BGG has an example of a player using a Minor dragon to fly to another volcano after summoning a King dragon. I am confused as to when and how can you summon a King dragon and a Minor dragon can be used.

My understanding is that you can fly a King dragon when you are on a volcano and have an available die roll of 4. Also you can summon a king dragon with an available die roll of 4 when you are in a volcano.

So if you can not fly with a minor dragon what is it used for? To summon a King dragon with no need of a die roll of 4?

Also my last question would be how are new figures brought to play after the first figure of each player has been placed on the board.

Sorry for all the questions.
Thanks.

Thread: Re:Minor Dragon

GaryP — 2005-04-27T18:51:23+00:00

Yes, the pawn that uses the minor dragon must be on a volcano. Although, I'm not certain what you mean by "fly". Minor dragons are not used for movement by themselves. They are only used to either summon a large (king) dragon or move a pawn with a dragon of the same color, instead of using a die roll of 4. Since the large dragons may only move from volcano to volcano, you may not summon one to a normal space.

The minor dragon can not be used to move 4 spaces.

Thread: Minor Dragon

Leonardo — 2005-04-27T15:12:44+00:00

Hi. In order to fly a minor dragon do you have to be on a volcano?
Thanks.

Thread: Re:Question on taking egg and ring on same turn..

Alan Kwan — 2005-03-21T03:33:51+00:00

GaryP (#451579),

Gary's answer is right, and this does more than just "make the game a tad bit longer".

Choosing between taking ring or treasure is one of the interesting decisions you make in this game. You'll surely need the ring, but it will be always available until the end of the game. While if you don't take the treasure now (and take the ring instead), the treasure may be gone before your next opportunity.

If one can get both egg and ring, it trivializes the decision by encouring one to take the ring immediately, while the egg is still available. Playing with the correct rules, one needs to take into account many intricate and fine factors in order to come up with the best decision.

Thread: Re:Question on taking egg and ring on same turn..

GaryP — 2005-03-12T05:42:18+00:00

jadzianess (#448729),

The English (Rio Grande) rules' section on Ring tokens (p.7), states "If a moved companion is on a volcano with a ring token, the player can choose, instead of taking treasure, to put a ring on this companion." In the section on taking treasure (p.5), eggs are specifically included in the types of treasure.

So, no, if you take a ring, that companion may not also collect an egg (nor any gems).

Thread: Question on taking egg and ring on same turn..

jadzianess — 2005-03-09T13:29:09+00:00

I recently purchased this game and am enjoying it, but when you get to a volcano and turn over a ring token, do you have to choose between taking the ring for your 'companion', or just taking the egg itself? Can you take both in the same turn if you don't have a ring on your companion yet?? I really didn't see the answer in the rules, and I have been playing where you choose one or the other,not both, and all that does is lengthen the game a tad bit longer. Obviously not a crucial question, but I just want to play it right>
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Thread: Re:Extra pieces?

GaryP — 2004-12-17T15:43:27+00:00

dsaxon (#71383),
My copy, as I recall, has one spare of each color, except red... which has 3 extras! I really should put all the spares in their own separate bag, but I rather like the idea that some colors could end up just slightly less common than others.

Thread: Extra pieces?

dsaxon — 2004-12-16T20:18:10+00:00

This game just arrived in the mail the other day and I opened it, cut out all the pieces, set it up, etc. What was weird is that although the instructions state that there are 57 gems (16 red, 16 blue, 16 green, and 9 clear), my game actually had 60 (16 red, 17 blue, 17 green, and 10 clear). One extra of each would make some sense, but one extra of everyone except red? When I set the game up I'll probably just exclude the extras, but I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed this.

Doug

Thread: English vs German editions?

them — 2004-08-26T17:18:33+00:00

Is there any difference between the English & German editions? Are the pieces language independent?

TIA!

Thread: User Review

fubar awol — 2004-07-19T23:01:37+00:00

Luck! Chaos! Knizia?!?!?

Dragon Lands was an impulse purchase for me. I put up a geeklist asking for game recommendations that were "good games, but light and fluffy with shiny bits". The intent was to get games that were fairly simple, that could be played with children and non-gamers but that were still appealing to a geek like me. Dragonlands was posted as a recommendation. Then I saw it for sale in the BGG marketplace for $10. Buying it was a no-brainer.

The game succeeds on all counts!

Shiny Bits: The German version (which is what I have) is beautiful - colorful board, solid dice tower (one of the non-gamers commented in reference to the dice tower "this is really cool!"), funky-shaped spiffy wooden pawns and plastic gems that really look and feel like little gems. The box art and counter art are also very colorful and thematically right.

Light and Fluffy but appealing to gamers: This is a role-and-move / set-collection game – the players roll dice, move their pawns around the board and collect treasures which score 10 points in completed sets of four, or one point individually at the end of the game. Each player’s treasures are concealed behind a screen for the usual reason: to prevent analysis paralysis. Each player has three different color pawns (sapphire, ruby and emerald) and uses the results of die rolls to move his/her pawns around the board. You roll two dice, and use the result of one die each to move exactly two of your three pawns over land each turn. In addition, there are a total of about 30 round cardboard counters that are distributed to the players at start (4 each) with the rest collect like the treasures during the game. These counters provide special movement abilities – flying (on the back of a dragon!), using rivers (think chutes and ladders), re-rolling the dice, or moving one pawn three extra spaces. Flying is the most powerful form of movement and may only be done if a pawn is in the same location as a dragon of the same color AND has a special counter that allows it OR has rolled a "4" on one of the two dice(there are only 3 dragons in the game - one dragon of each color for all the players to “share”). Speaking of the dice, they are 6-sided, but one of them contains three 4s, two 3s and a 2, and the other two 3s, three 2s and a one. So, there is exactly a 50% chance that the player will get one (and only one) 4 each time he rolls the dice, and on average will roll a 2 on one die and a 3 on the other each turn. There is an average of about 4.5 spaces between each treasure-collection location (TCLs) so it will usually take you 2 turns of movement to get from one TCL to the next, unless you use a special movement pawn or have rolled a 4 and have access to a dragon and can therefore fly! Note that the dragons start the game hidden - each of the three randomly placed in one of the 18 different TCLs. They cannot be used until they are revealed – which happens the instant any player moves into the TCL.

If a player’s pawn ends a move in a TCL it can then recover one treasure – either all the gems of the same color as the pawn or one dragon egg (which allows the player to also take a special ability counter) or one diamond (wildcard gem). A pawn may not recover gems that are not of it’s own color. Therefore if your blue pawn is in a location with red gems, you cannot collect them.

Good game: The game is fun! It plays quickly and has enough going on to make it interesting to gamers. Due to the amount of chaos and luck (significant but manageable), the game is largely tactical - with tough decisions each turn that are influenced by what die rolls you get and also by what the other players are doing – “which two of my three pawns do I move?”, “which treasures should I collect”, “should I use one of my special ability counters this turn?”. Tension is created as players are race around to collect the most valuable stashes of gems and special abilities.

There is some strategy involved as well. Positioning your three pawns each turn so that you can take advantage of ANY two-dice combination is useful. In this way, a thinking player can somewhat reduce the luck element. Also, opposing pawns cannot occupy the same space on the board, so it is possible to block another player by getting ahead of them on a path between TCLs. Given the limited number of special ability counters, each player will on average collect and use about 8 of them; choosing when to use them is a somewhat strategic decision – timely use can be critical. There is also a “global positioning” element too. If the other players’ green pawns are all clustered in one part of the board, you can “fly” your green pawn to another area and walk around collecting green gems with little or no competition. There is another critical rules twist that I saved for discussion in this section. In order to score the gems of a particular color, a player's pawn of that color must have collected a “ring” which is a little rubber band that fits around the base; this is just like being “crowned” in checkers. Rings are collected in two or three of the TCLs on the board, but no one knows exactly which TCLs will be “ringing” (crowning) location until a player moves into the space and reveals it. The locations are determined secretly and randomly at the beginning of the game and revealed as the game progresses –just like the locations of the dragons that enable the players to fly. Since these are different every game (along with the randomly-determined locations of the variously colored gems) the game sets up and plays somewhat differently each time.

There is a small “screw your neighbor” element too – since there is only one dragon of each color that can be used for flying, you can “summon” a dragon away from someone who has set themselves up to fly before they get a chance to do so! Additionally, the players control when the game ends – it ends instantly when the last dragon egg is collected – so if you are ahead, it can be a race to end the game before the other players have time to complete more sets and get more points.

Too summarize: I like this game! Everyone I have played it with likes it too. Just don’t expect Tigris and Euphrates or Samurai. Forget who designed it and the associated expectations; or if you must, consider it: “Bruno Faidutti meets Reihart Knizia” and you will not be disappointed.

Happy Gaming!

Thread: Session Report

jens_hoppe — 2004-05-13T23:25:07+00:00

Seeing that there was nothing good on the TV, Tine and I decided to play a game instead. We chose Dragonland which we've played quite a few times before, although quite a while ago. Fortunately the rules are easy enough that a on-the-spot refresher was feasible.

I started out well and collected a lot of gems in short order - or so I thought. I could see that Tine collected more dragon eggs than me, but at the time it didn't bother me particularly. Near the end of the game Tine waited with getting rings for her explorers until the very last, but she managed to acquire rings for all three nonetheless.

The end result showed that she had acquired not only more eggs than me, but also more gems... So a solid 81 - 63 victory to Tine.

We are both quite fond of the game and will likely be returning to it every so often: It's fast, the rules are easy, there's a bit to think about, the theme is 'cool', and the components are very nifty. Definitely recommended!

Thread: Re:Questions about movement rules...

Alan Kwan — 2004-03-28T15:28:21+00:00

fofluff (#30662),

The rules explicitly state that, if you begin on a volcano, you can use a dice to move zero spaces and then take treasure.

IMO, requiring a player to forgo rolling a dice in order to stay put would just add more down-time to the game. And it increases the luck factor, because if you roll poorly, you can do nothing useful with it. With the original rules, a player can position his adventurers so that he can make use of small numbers. If the player has to decide whether he is staying put before rolling, it increases the luck factor because he has to rely on rolling good numbers on the turn when he eventually has to move, after depleting the treasures.