Dragon Stripes
Dragon Stripes Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 Dragon board, 2 Dragon phase cards, 1 Knight marker
- 10 Stop cards(x)
- 3 Danger cards(!)
- 38 Footprint cards
- 90 Gems: 50 Clear crystals (value 1), 20 Red rubies (value 5), 20 Blue sapphires (value 10)
Preparations
Place the dragon boards on the table. Each stripe with a spike represents one step for the knight, and each stripe has one or more gems on it. Next, place the dragon phase card on the Dragon's head with the closed eye side visible, so it looks like the dragon is sleeping.
Place the knight marker at the end of the dragon's tail before the first spike. The knight is going towards the dragon's head. Shuffle all the cards - Footprint cards, Stop cards, and Danger cards - and form a hidden pile. You are not allowed to reshuffle them until the end of the game. Each player receives 40 points worth of gems. Players should hide their gems and keep the amount secret until the end of the game. Put the remaining gems beside the dragon's head [the dragon's lair].
Play
The turns go clockwise. The first player turns over the top card from the pile and follows the directions indicated thereon. The cards have different effects:
(1) Footprint cards
The player moves the knight to the dragon's head the number of steps shown on the card. Take the number of gems indicated at the knight's current position and place them next to the knight.
The player can then turn over further cards (a) or say hold (b).
(a) The player can take a new card from the deck, show this again, continue moving the knight and pick up new gems. The player can keep taking cards until 1) they say hold, 2) they draw a Stop(x) card, or 3) turn over a Danger(!) card.
(b) After turning a card over, the player can always say 'hold' to 'hand over' their knight. If no other player takes over the knight, the player can end their turn and put all the loot in their pocket. (see 'Handover' below)
When a player ends their turn, the next player places the knight at the dragon tail's end and starts again.
(2) Stop cards (x cards)
Stop! You disrupt the dragons' sleep. The knight should flee back to the starting point. You should return the collected gems to the dragon's lair. In addition, the player must pay 1/4 (or 1/2 after the second Danger card) of their previously collected gems as a penalty. This player's turn is over. When paying a 1/4 or 1/2 penalty, the amount after the decimal point will be igonred.
(3) Danger cards (! Cards)
This card means the dragon is awakening. The game is over when the dragon fully wakes up.
- The first Danger card has the same effect as a Stop card.
- When the second Danger card is drawn, flip the Dragon phase card to show the dragon is half awake. Treat the second Danger card the same as the Stop cards, but the player should pay 1/2 of their gems as the penalty. After the second Danger card, the rewards double as the knight goes on, and the penalty of a Stop card is now 1/2 of the player's gems.
(4) Handover
A player who has turned one or more cards can call 'hold' at any time to hand over their knight on the current location. Other players decide whether to 'take over' the turn. If you 'take over' the knight, you continue the play from where the knight is with the gems collected so far. The player who hands over the turn receives a portion of gems based on the amount they collected in this turn. If the value of the gem on the board is less than 10, the takeover player should pay 1 to the previous player, 10 if the value is between 11 - 20, 20 if the value is between 21 - 40, and 40 if the value is over 41.
| Collected Gems | 1 - 10 | 11 - 20 | 21 - 40 | 41 - |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Takeover Price | 1 | 10 | 20 | 40 |
The player who takes over must turn over at least one card before calling 'hold'. If no one wants to take over the knight, the previous player takes all the gems collected so far and ends the turn. Then, the next player starts his turn from the tail tip of the dragon.
End of the Game
- The game ends when (a) the third Danger card is drawn or (b) the knight arrives at the Dragon's head.
(a) The third Danger card means the dragon is now fully awakened. Remove the Dragon phase card from the board. The player who woke the dragon must discard all their gems as punishment. The other players count the value of their gems. The richest wins the game.
(b) If a player brings the knight beyond the seventeenth stripe to the dragon's head, the knight can beat the dragon. The player receives all remaining gems from the dragon's lair. The game stops, and the richest player wins.