Dragon Whisperer
Dragon Whisperer Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Contents
- 53 cards (7 colors numbered 1-7 & 4 Dragon Rage)
- 49 Quest tokens (7 colors, numbered 1-1-2-2-3-3-5)
- 34 Treasure tokens (6 with the number 5)
- 34 Monster tokens (6 with the number 5)
- 1 Dragon Token
- 1 First Player Token
- 1 Game board - with seven regions
- Mountain (Red)
- Forest (Green)
- Plains (Yellow)
- Docks (Blue)
- Farmlands (Brown)
- Tundra (White)
- Swamps (Black)
Setup
To begin place the Monster and Treasure tokens next to the game board.
Separate the Quest tokens by color.
One side of each Quest token has an image that relates to the location of the Quest and the other side has a number that is the point value of the Quest.
Shuffle each set of color tokens separately with the Quest image face up and randomly select five tokens. Stack these five tokens face down.
Then, turn the stack over so the tokens have the Quest images facing down and the numbers facing up. It is important to keep the order of the Quests in the stack a secret. Place the token stack in the region that matches the Quest token color and image. Set the two Quest tokens that were not selected back into the box, without revealing their numbers.
When each set of color tokens are on the game board, each region should have a stack of five Quests with the top token on each stack showing a number.
3 - 4 Player Variant
Remove any two suits and one Dragon Rage card from the deck. There should only be five stacks of Quest tokens on the board that match the five remaining suits in the deck.
Overview of Play
Select a dealer for the first round and put the First Player token in front of them.
The dealer shuffles and deals the proper number of cards to each player.
- For 3 players deal 10 cards
- For 4-5 players deal 8 cards
- For 6 players deal 7 cards
Place the cards not dealt off to one side of the game board. Turn the top card from this card deck. The card color determines the current color that is in favor (trump color) for the round.
Place the current trump card next to the deck.
If a Dragon Rage card is turned, no color is favored and there is no current trump color.
Each round consists of a number of tricks. The winner of a trick is determined after each player has played one card from their hand. During a trick, tokens are awarded for various card plays and winning the trick.
On the very first trick in a game, the dealer must place the Dragon token next to a region with a stack of Quest tokens.
The Quest on the top of the stack in the region is the Quest the adventurers are currently exploring. The dealer then plays one card from his hand. All players, in turn, going clockwise, must play one card from their hand.
After each player has played a card onto the trick, the highest number color card played matching the color led with will normally win the trick. The player, who played the highest card, collects all the cards played on the trick, discards them, and takes the top Quest token in the stack from the region where the Dragon token is sitting.
The player who wins the trick will normally be the first player in the next trick.
A round is played until players play all their cards. New rounds are played, until all Quest tokens are collected from all the regions. Players total the points gained and a winner is declared.
Trick Play Procedure
The player, that is going to play the first card on a trick, must always first place the Dragon token next to a region, before playing the first card to start a trick. The Quest token on the top of the stack in the region is the Quest the players are trying to win. The first player may then play the first card for the trick.
Note: The card that is led on a trick does not have to be the same color as the region where the player has placed the Dragon token.
After the first card is played to a trick, all players, in turn, going clockwise, must play one card from their hand. The other players must play a card of the same color. If a player does not have this color, they must play a trump color card. When a player does not have a trump color, they may play any card.
After each player has played a card onto the trick, the winner of the trick is determined. Normally the highest number color card that was led will win the trick unless a trump card was played. When a trump card is played on a trick, the highest number trump card played will win the trick.
The player, who wins a trick, takes the top Quest token in the stack from the region where the Dragon token is sitting. A player that wins a trick will gain a bonus Monster token when the winning color card played matches the region color of the Quest token won.
The player that wins the trick collects all the cards played on the trick, places them in the discard pile, and leads the next trick (unless another player has collected the first player token).
Special Card Play
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During a trick, when a player plays a number '1' card, the player who played the card will lead the next trick (take the first player token). When two or more number '1' cards are played, the first number '1' card played will lead on the next trick.
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During a trick, when a player plays a number '2' card, the player collects a Monster token at once. When two or more number '2' cards are played only the first number '2' card played will collect a Monster token. Each Monster token collected is worth one point at the end of the game.
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During a trick, when a player plays a number '3' card, the player may choose to draw the top card from the deck of cards. Drawing a card may change the trump color for the round. A player may, however, choose to not draw the top card and leave the trump as it is. When two or more number '3' cards are played, each player has a choice to draw a card or not draw when they play a number '3' card.
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During a trick, when a player plays a number '4' card, the player collects a Treasure token. When two or more number '4' cards are played only the first number '4' card played will collect a Treasure token. At the end of the game the player who has collected the most Treasure tokens will score five bonus points.
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During a trick, a Dragon Rage card may be played even when a player holds a playable color card or trump card. When the Dragon Rage card is played, no player will win the trick. After a Dragon Rage card is played on a trick, the players who follow the Dragon Rage card play may play any card onto the trick. The player playing the Dragon Rage card will lead the next trick (taking possession of the first player token, even if another player has already claimed it this round). However, when two or more Dragon Rage cards are played on a trick, the last player to play a Dragon Rage card will lead the next trick. A number '1' card played during a trick is overridden when a Dragon Rage card is played.
New Round
When all cards have been played from the players' hands, the round will end. The player who won the last trick becomes the dealer for the next round. The player collects all the cards, shuffles and deals the proper number of cards for the next round.
Place the cards not dealt off to one side of the game board. Turn the top card from this card deck to determine the trump color.
On the very first trick of the new round, the dealer must place the Dragon token in a region with one or more Quest tokens. They will then lead to the first trick by playing a card.
Winning
After all the Quest tokens are taken from all the regions on the game board, the round will end and players determine a winner. Each player must total the number values on all the Quest tokens they have collected.
Add one point for each Monster token collected. The player that has the most Treasure tokens will add 5 bonus points to their total. If two or more players are tied with the most Treasure tokens, no bonus points are awarded.
The player with the most points wins. If there is a tie, the player that collected the most Quest tokens wins.
Players may choose to keep the point value of Quest tokens collected during the game a secret.