Overview

You are adventurers on a journey through the enchanted forest of Dragonwood. Play cards to earn dice, which you will roll to defeat a fierce array of creatures, or capture magical items that may help you along the way. Whoever earns the most victory points wins.

Setup

The Dragonwood deck (green back) comprises three different types of cards: Creatures (green background), Enhancements (purple background) and Events (orange background). See Card Types for more details about each.

Depending on the number of players, a number of Dragonwood deck cards (excluding the two dragon cards) have been randomly removed from the deck (2 players = 12 cards removed; 3 players = 10 cards removed; 4 players = 8 cards removed).

The two dragon cards have been randomly placed into the bottom half of the Dragonwood deck. Five cards from the Dragonwood deck have been placed face up to form the Landscape. Each player is dealt five cards from the Adventurer deck (red back). Keep the cards in your hands secret from opponents. If a player is lucky enough to receive a Lucky Ladybug card this will be automatically replaced by two Adventurer cards before any player has a turn.

In Dragonwood, six dice are used, each with faces 1, 2, 2, 3, 3 and 4.

How to Play

On your turn, you may either Reload (draw one Adventurer card by clicking on the Adventurer deck) or Capture (play cards from your hand trying to capture one of the cards in the Landscape). Adventurer and Enhancement cards are played by clicking on the cards in your hand. The Landscape card to be captured must be chosen by clicking on it. The order of your Adventurer cards may be ordered by colour or number by clicking on the ⇅ button.

Reloading

If you choose to draw an Adventurer card, click on the Adventurer deck. Your turn will then automatically end.

Note: There is a 9 card hand limit. If you have 9 cards and choose to reload, you must discard a card after drawing to keep your total at 9. If you are instructed to do so, click on the Adventurer card you wish to discard.

Lucky Ladybugs - If you draw a Lucky Ladybug card it will automatically be discarded and two more cards are drawn.

If the Adventurer deck runs out the discard pile will automatically be shuffled and used to start a new deck.

Capture

Click on the Creature/Enhancement you want to capture. Play adventurers and roll dice to attempt to capture.

If the capture is successful, you get the card and discard all adventurers you played. Otherwise, take back all your played adventures and discard an adventurer as a wound.

Whether you successfully capture the card you want, your turn automatically ends after the capture.

Dragonwood deck card types

Creatures (Green background)

Creatures make up the bulk of the Dragonwood deck, as the aim is to defeat them and collect their associated Victory Points (for example, a Grumpy Troll earns 4 victory points). Victory Points are shown in the bottom left shield, and capture strength is listed next to icons on the right (the sword is for a Strike, the boot is for a Stomp, and the face is for a Scream. See Capturing Cards for more details). Some Creatures are easier or harder to defeat, depending on the method (for example the Gooey Glob is very difficult to beat with a Strike and Fire Ants are easier to beat with a Stomp).

Enhancements (Purple background)

Enhancements do not give victory points but make it easier to defeat Creatures (for example, the Silver Sword allows you to add two points to any Strike). Unless otherwise indicated, Enhancements stay with you for the remainder of the game and can be used every turn. To use an Enhancement during a capture attempt, you must click the Enhancement to move it to the "Played Adventurers and Enhancements" area. You may use several Enhancements at the same time. Amounts required to capture an Enhancement are shown in the same way as for Creatures and attempts to capture occur in the same way.

Events (Orange background)

Events occur immediately, in some cases automatically and affect all players. The Event card is actioned and then placed in the Dragonwood discard pile. The Landscape is then automatically replenished with another Dragonwood card. For example, in a Thunder Storm, every player must discard one Adventurer card. After everyone discards 1 card, the Thunder Storm card is automatically placed in the Dragonwood discard pile and the Landscape is replenished to five cards.

Capturing Cards

There are three ways to capture a card from the Landscape: Strike, Stomp, or Scream:

Strike - Play cards that are in a row, regardless of colour.

Stomp - Play cards that are all the same number.

Scream - Play cards that are all the same colour.

Click on the Creature or Enhancement you are trying to capture and click on the the cards you are using (including any Enhancements). Then click on the Strike, Stomp or Scream button. Only capture methods that are possible with the selected Adventurers and Enhancements. One die for each card you played will be rolled (for example, if you played a four card Stomp you would roll four dice). Next compare the total on the dice you rolled (plus any Enhancements you may have) to the value listed on the card required to defeat the Creature or capture the Enhancement. The number by the sword indicates the value required for a Strike, the boot indicates a Stomp, and the face represents Scream. You capture the card if the total of your dice is equal to or greater than the related value on the card.

Creatures

If you defeat a Creature, the card will be moved from the Landscape and placed in your victory pile. All the Adventurer cards you used will be placed in the discard pile. However, if your roll doesn't beat the Creature, it will be returned to the Landscape. As a penalty, you must discard one card from your hand as a “wound” for not defeating it.

Enhancements

If you capture an Enhancement, the card will be placed face up in front of you (each player's Enhancements can be seen by all players). This card can then be used throughout the rest of the game (or only once, if specified on the card). To use an Enhancement during a capture attempt, you must click the Enhancement to move it to the "Played Adventurers and Enhancements" area. All the Adventurer cards you used will be placed in the discard pile. Like with Creatures, if your roll does not match or beat the total on the Enhancement card, you must discard one card from your hand.

Capturing Notes

Enhancements may not be used to capture other Enhancements. You may always use a single card, which earns you one die (in this case you may count it as either a Strike, Stomp or Scream). You may only try to capture one Creature or Enhancement per turn. You may roll a maximum of 6 dice at any time.

Replenishing the Landscape

If you capture a card, another card from the Dragonwood deck will automatically be placed into the Landscape (unless no more cards are left). If an Event card is drawn, it is actioned immediately and then placed in the Dragonwood discard pile. Another card will be drawn to bring the Landscape back up to five. This ends your turn.

Ending the Game

The game ends with either of these scenarios:

1. Both dragons have been defeated,

or

2. Two Adventurer decks have been played through (in this case, every player gets one more turn).

All players total up the victory points on their captured creatures. Then they compare the amount of creature cards each player captured. Whoever has the most gets a bonus of three victory points (ties get two victory points each). The player with the highest total wins. In case of an overall tie, the winner is whoever captured the most creatures.