~Rob Fenimore
Dice Drop Games
You and up to 5 other “heroes” have managed to infiltrate the lair of Drakon, no doubt intending to relieve her of a good amount of her wealth. But as soon as you enter, you realize this was a bad idea, for Drakon was waiting for you. And now that you have been locked in her lair, she announces to your unfortunate group that she will eat all but one of you – the first one to find 10 pieces of gold. You use your peripheral vision to size up your former friends, and then the race for survival is on!
In Drakon, 2-6 players will create Drakon’s labyrinth by placing square tiles on the table and moving through powerful chambers, in an attempt to get the ten pieces of gold first. Some of these chambers obviously contain gold (in secret denominations of 1-3 pieces). But many of them have effects that wreak havoc on other players and prevent them from moving where they want to go on the board, and that is where the fun lies in this 30-45 minute game.
On a turn, a player has two options, play a room tile or move. Most tiles’ effects only trigger when a player moves into them, not when they are placed. Placing a tile is pretty simple, but there are restrictions. First, a tile must be placed orthogonally next to an existing tile. Second, a tile cannot be positioned in a manner where any of its directional arrows are adjacent to another room’s arrow. Room placement provides the first layer of strategy in Drakon. The best laid plans for your gold-grabbing machine can be thwarted by a directional arrow.
As far as movement goes, it usually involves moving from your current room to an adjacent room. The only movement restriction is that it must be in the direction of an arrow on your current tile, though this can be a formidable obstacle that places another layer of strategy over a simple game mechanic. Once you enter a room, there are one of several different effects that trigger. They can range from giving your hero a movement bonus, to stealing an opponent’s gold, or even destroying a room in the lair. The room’s effects are varied and may take a couple of plays to master, but there are handy player guides that display the different icons and effects, making it a lot easier to grasp.
Adding an additional mechanic to the game is Drakon herself. If a tile is played with Drakon’s icon on it, a player may place Drakon on the board. From that point on, when a player moves into the room with the Drakon icon, he or she may move Drakon up to three rooms in the lair. If a player ends up in the same room as Drakon, that player is moved to the starting chamber and loses a random piece of gold. This could be a tragic blow in a game where it takes only ten gold pieces to win. Since Drakon only appears if one her tiles is played, there are some games where she is physically absent (though she is ever present in your psyche). I actually like this because it adds a thematic randomness that serves the game well. Lastly, while the basic game doesn’t call for it, there is an additional rule that gives each hero a single, unique (though powerful) ability that can be used only once in the game.
I really like Drakon. It feels like a combination of a dungeon crawl and a game like Chess. While the mechanics are relatively simple, it is quite “thinky.” As in Chess, you have to try and plan a few turns ahead so that you can create a path to some gold. But because you don’t know what other tiles your opponents will place or trigger, Drakon also possesses the “what’s behind that door?” aspect of any good dungeon crawl. As a bonus, the art is very thematic. The chamber tiles are dark and foreboding, but also beautiful. There are six miniatures representing the players, and while they are unpainted, they are nicely detailed. Check out Drakon if you haven’t already.
Well, that’s it. Thanks for reading, and keep nerding on!
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