Photo above is property of Thames & Kosmos
Company: Thames & Kosmos
Game: Dragonkeepers
Country: USA 🇺🇸
Language: English
Type of Game: Tabletop Games (Card Game) 📬
Genre: Family, Fantasy
Date Played: February 14, 2024
Difficulty (based on 4 players): 5/10
Size of Team: 2-4 Players (Ages 8+)
Time: Approximately 20 Mins.
Price: $27.95
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As seasoned Dragonkeepers, your mission is clear: protect as many young dragons as you can. Utilize the “magic book” to see how many dragons you can take under your protection but be prepared to manipulate it to help you along. Will you prove yourself as the ultimate Dragonkeeper?
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Opening the box with the cute dragon art on it, we found a large deck of cards that represent each side of the book, and bits needed for the game which includes pieces of amulet with gemstones for the middle, golden eggs, and more. There were also 2 rule books. One that went into the rules in depth and the other a quick summary.
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The goal is to have the most points at the end of the game which is when a certain amount of amulets have been formed. Points come in different ways such as crests, golden eggs, amulets pieces and pearls, which each have a different way to obtain. At the start, you set up the 2 decks of cards which represent both halves of the magic book. On the left, it has a number and the rewards you can receive and, on the right, one of the 4 dragon types. You then flip over the top card of each deck to reveal dragons.
On your turn, you can take up to 3 dragon cards, while revealing new dragons and changing the magic book. Once complete, you have the opportunity to modify the magic book with whatever cards are in your hand, changing either the number or dragon type. This is important because the number and type of dragon that is shown in the book is the EXACT number of dragons you are allowed to play in front of you. If you can do that with the cards in your hands, you get whatever reward is marked on the cards. Finally, any other player at the table may also play if they are able to play the same number of dragons also marked in the book. After that, it is the next person’s turn. There are a few additional rules that you can read in the rulebook, but in a nutshell that is the game.
Once we grasped the gameplay, we managed to shorten the game duration from 45 to 20
minutes. It proved to be a straightforward game for the kids to pick up and enjoy, with a theme that they could immerse themselves in. The sequence of play flowed smoothly and was easy to follow. Balancing card management with luck added an enjoyable dimension to the game. The artwork with its diverse range of dragons and their growth, was fantastic. 2 things I appreciated was that each colored dragon was sufficiently distinct, allowing even those with color issues, like myself, to differentiate them easily. Also, the inclusion of a summary rule book, which spared us from having to reread the entire instruction manual for the next games or if we just needed a quick refresher on how to play.
You can also add a twist to increase the difficulty. The game has treasure chests that allows you for a cost to use a special ability such as playing one less dragon card or taking back all but one of your dragon cards at the end of your turn.
Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
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Strategy?
There were lots of ways to earn points, and we had to think about which ones we wanted to go for. Should we play and lock in all the colored dragons first to get the most crest points, or take our time so we still had options for placing all our dragons? Do we rush to make our amulets to score the lower amulet pieces but get bigger gem points, or wait for bigger amulet points with lower gem points? Keeping our dragons for a bigger reward or not was another tough choice. We liked trying out different strategies as we played more, such as paying attention to what
dragons other players wanted and snagging them for ourselves.
Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂
"Dragonkeepers" was a delightful addition to our family's game nights. Its accessibility made it ideal for the kids, but also had plenty of strategy for the adults. The striking artwork was easy on the eyes and the quality of its components were top notch. The theme was immersive with the enchanting theme of dragonkeeping because who doesn’t ever dream of being a dragonkeeper. The gameplay flowed seamlessly for all participants, whether we had 2 or 4 players. As the box
says, any dragon lover or card collector board game player would enjoy this. With its simplicity and replay-ability, Dragonkeepers is a quick game that can be played over and over again.
Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
Check out our interview with the creators to understand more on the development side of the game:
Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers
(If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)
Disclosure: We thank Thames & Kosmos for providing us with samples of the game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.
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