Tabletop Tales: ‘Dragon War’
In a wave of complicated games flooding through the scene every now and then, a title comes along that performs in exactly the way it should. I picked up Dragon War at San Deigo Comic-Con this year, and is one of the two card games I plan on reviewing from the con. Where my other find may pride itself in its extensive testing and applied design, professional artist Robert “RAK” Kraus brings a game to the table that you can explain in under ten seconds, yet enjoy for hours while getting lost in the wonderful artwork and relaxed heavy metal atmosphere the game sets. Every card has great art adorned with dragons, zombie boobies, demons, and dinosaurs, in great neon colors with frazetta-esque brutality implied to the point where you can really imagine traversing the land and facing the monstrosities laid before you, weapon in hand, every time you blink.
The overall goal of Dragon War is to usurp the Dragon Throne left open by the mighty Dragon King Marloon after his death, presenting an opportunity that has not come for thousands of years (Dragon Years!). Your character must traverse the land and capture the Throne before another does. The playing field is composed of lines of cards each sporting typically three spaces. Every space has directions much like any classic board-game, and movement is similarly achieved using a D6 and performing the action on the landed square. These directions are usually brief and simple, losing/gaining life, picking up fate cards, battling, and other normal tasks, while advanced cards might bring a sideboard to attention. In terms of difficulty, This is the easiest game to learn that I own, and this is coming from a man that owns Brute Squad. It’s as simple as picking a character and rolling the die to discover what cruel fate the cards have in store for you.
Dragon War‘s production value is fantastic for its price point, with a bright box and inclusion of absolutely everything needed to play, including customized tokens for every track needing them as well as a six sided die. The instructions for every expansion are available on the site, and the game’s own rules come on two brief cards for ease, even coming with plenty of extra credits and sketch cards. Like the base set, the expansions are all self contained and immediately ready to be plugged into the game, most can just be shuffled harmlessly into the deck (except Valley of Dinosaurs, but I’m a rebel). Some of the sideboards are difficult to fit in the box, and after awhile your Dragon War set will need a bigger case as more cards enter your possession. As the physical box can be held in most adults palms, it’s a wonderful travel game that you can pull out just about anywhere (but good luck trying to get the Dragon Allies cards in there).
Where the game begins to shine is its open content attitude, as RAK not only recommends but insists that the game be played however it is most fun to you. In addition to the core set there are many mini-expansions RAK both sells and provides free on his website, presenting new rules, cards, and adventures to deal with on the way to the Dragon Throne. These vary from romps through castles, new characters, set piece cards, new rules, and more to add plenty of hours of extended gameplay. You start with five characters, five adventurers, and a random sixth hero (I got Executioner). Others such as the Elder Wyrm Drako or the noble werewolf Silverbane can be added to your roster for more players and more mayhem, along with their unique special powers. These expansions build upon the basic cards and introduce various new mechanics. The Elemental Furies pack adds four game cards and four sideboards, the spaces on the cards cause the player to do battle with that element’s sideboard. Alternately, you may use the Dragon Allies pack to pick a patron dragon, which, once impressed by fulfilling its goals, will aid you in situations unique to that dragon. RAK’s site, booth, and brain is filled with plenty of such adventures, all the while enjoying seeing what his fans introduce to the gameworld.
Due to that nature, it’s hard to play the same game of Dragon War twice. At least ten of the base cards have entertainingly brutal effects that make players lose turns or outright switch places with others in a capacity that reminds me of the immense fun to be had playing Boardgame Online, and in some respects Dragon War brings that same zany feel but without the ability to snort coke off Jane Fonda’s rear. Inevitably, a card will be placed in just the perfect way to cause trouble, flinging you a few spaces to an even crueler fate, or robbing you of time that could be spent not being frozen in time. Sooner or later you will roll exactly the number you didn’t want to roll for it is the whim of the mighty Random Number Dragon. That’s all part of the game and fun because of it, as the game’s loose design lets pretty much any player usurp control of the board with a few choice decisions.
This game, extra content, free stuff, and more can all be grabbed on his personal website. RAK also is in the Convention Circuit, with a booth full of great art and a box full of Dragon War cards. Of my regular visits at San Deigo Comic-Con, I found myself wandering to RAK’s booth more often than the others, to pick up more Dragon War cards throughout the entire convention. Dragon War is available for $20 on his site, but it’s worth it to meet him in person at a convention if you can manage it. Of the many card games in my arsenal, this is one of those games that will see use quite often, as you can just lay out exactly as many cards as you need and play whenever, with whoever.
-Necroscourge 7/26/13
