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As 2024 is the year of the Dragon, it’s no surprise dragons are everywhere, especially in the world of board games. With a stunning dragon theme taking center stage at this year’s UK Games Expo and the release of Wyrmspan, it’s clear that these fire-breathing beasts are soaring in popularity.
If you’re a dragon lover and still on the hunt for the perfect board game, you’re in luck! From set collection to risk-taking strategy, these dragon filled games are bursting with gameplay mechanics suited for every type of gamer. So which dragon game will be your favourite?
Dragomino by Rachael Duchovny
There be dragons here on these terrains, well there be dragon eggs at least! Dragomino is the two to four player, child friendly follow up to Kingdomino. It uses the same domino style, tile laying with some key differences. When playing a tile terrain doesn’t need to match, meaning you’ll never have to discard a tile. There’s also no size or placement limitations when laying tiles, making it much easier for younger players to understand.
When placing a tile check for any matching terrain as for each match the player chooses a dragon egg token matching that terrain. Lady luck lies beneath those eggs as when you flip it over either a beautifully designed cute little dragon or an empty dragon egg will be revealed. Whilst dragons are worth a point, if your little hatchling has already flown the nest, empty eggs scores zero. However, an open egg does attract the mummy dragon meeple. The holder of this meeple becomes the first player next round. Whoever holds this meeple during final scoring also gains an extra point.
Playing the water hole variant adds an element of memory as you can look at two eggs and choose the one you want, returning the other one to the egg token stock. If you’re a fan of dominoes, or a fan of tile placing games Dragomino is an egg-cellent game! It’s super easy to learn with a recommended age of 5+ making it fun for all the family! Fast paced, averaging around 15 to 20 minutes per game with beautiful dragon illustrations this is a must for dragon lovers!
DragonKeepers by Favouritefoe
Have you seen the dragons in Dragonkeepers? These cutagons make my heart melt every time I look at them. The fact I can play a game with them is like the cherry on a very furry, fiery cake!
Dragonkeepers is a drafting, set collecting, game for 2-4 players that brings in an element of push-your-luck. It plays fast though, so I guarantee you’ll be chaining several games together to keep those beauties on the table for as long as possible!
Playing with four adorable dragon suits (get ready for my own informal renaming): White Pasture Dragon (Billy-Gons!), Blue Slate Dragon (Rocky-Gons!), Red Fur Dragon (Moo-Gons!) and Green Swamp Dragon (Goo-gons!), you want to collect (herd) them in order to cast spells and gain precious amulets and other goodies. But you’re limited to what you can collect and where you can lay them down. Speaking of which, deciding between picking up dragons and laying them down is a particularly devilish dilemma. Why? Well, because the top cards on the spell book act as both the draw deck and the spell criteria! If you take a card, the requirement for the current spell is instantly changed….as if by magic!
We loved Dragonkeepers from the get-go. It’s fast, fun, and feels fresh! The rules are simple, but the synapse sizzle really starts to emerge after just a few games. And knowing that later rewards will be worth more adds a timing consideration into the mix.
Flamecraft by Luke Pickles
Dragons don’t need to be scary. Sometimes they do, but hey, fire breathing lizard is always going to be a challenge. To counter that, let me introduce you to the beautiful game of Flamecraft, where players are dropped into the world where humans and tiny dragons live together in harmony. These dragons are artisans, incredibly proud beings who want to sell you their wares of meat, bread, forged goods, plants, gems and potions.
On your turns, you’ll travel to a shop and do one of two things: Gather resources, play a dragon out and trigger a dragon’s ability or; Enchant a store, where you pay resources to fulfil objectives and score points. When a store is full of dragons, a new one enters the town, with some new special abilities and extra options to get resources. Keep going around and
around until the deck of dragons or the deck of enchantments has run out and then play a final round and score some points. Some of these are stored with a seventh dragon type, the fancy dragons, which can be either midgame or end game scoring.
Here’s the thing. Flamecraft gets a lot of flack for being a pretty game with not much else behind it. Those critiques are not totally unreasonable, for the heavier gamers out there, but I find it incredibly charming and it does exactly what it sets out to do. I believe Flamecraft is a game designed to draw people into the gaming hobby with the beautiful artwork, and really simple mechanisms that can lead people into the world of modern board games.
Tsuro by RogerBW
Tsuro is largely an abstract game: you’re laying path tiles onto a shared board, trying to avoid either going off the board or crashing into another player, and the last survivor wins.
It’s very simple to teach, even late at night when everyone’s tired: play a tile, move, draw a tile, and that’s most of the rules already.
But the reason it’s still in my collection is that there’s enough skill in it that an experienced gamer can get quite serious about choosing their next move, but also enough luck that nobody can get excessively competitive and even players of vastly different levels of experience can have an enjoyable game together.
The box cover is pleasing, and the board is gorgeous, showing a five-tailed firebird in a traditional Chinese style: while the tiles are the sort of brown that gives older board games a bad name, they still look good and are easy to read without visual distractions. The bright plastic pieces clash a bit with this aesthetic; I usually use an assortment of small pebbles. For the mathematically inclined, you can work out that the 35 tiles include one of each possible combination of connections.
The notional theme is of dragons seeking the path to enlightenment; and yet the gameplay is straightforward, whirling round the board and trying not to crash into anyone else or come off the edge, which makes a pleasing contrast to the high-minded ideals.
My Gold Mine by Seb Hawden
Even though I am rubbish at them, I do enjoy a good push-your-luck game. My favourite, in a
quick-playing party-type scenario, up until recently, was Diamant. I have now sold that on and my go-to push-your-luck, family-weight party-ish game is My Gold Mine for a dragon-sized hoard of reasons.
In My Gold Mine, you are a dwarven miner and the player with the most gold at the end of three rounds wins, easy as peas! However, all the other players are against you as are the deck and the big, red fiery dragon! The setup is quick, turns are easy and the meat of the game comes from juicy decisions and player interaction. It’s lovely!
Your choice, on your turn is simple, pick a gold card or a movement card. The gold card deck is actually face-up, so you can see what you are getting. It’s normally one gold or two and sometimes moves your character token towards the exit or towards the horrid dragon. You have to decide if it’s worth taking more gold to put yourself in increasing danger. Mixed into this deck are dragon cards and as soon as one is revealed, the dragon moves one card closer, with at times, several coming out at once. It’s a constant game of chicken.
If you pick a movement card, which is from a face-down deck, it’s normally a card that allows you to move the dwarf tokens around. Either move yourself back, the whole team back or swap places with other dwarfs. These cards are deceptively devious as you can push other dwarfs out of the cave or towards the dragon and put them in an increasing amount of danger.
What I love about My Gold Mine is that, unlike Diamant, you can directly affect other players and be devious. I also adore that you can see what you are getting before you decide to go for the gold. Just beware, you could reveal a few dragon cards after that but that’s the name of the game, push, push, push your luck. My Gold Mine is great fun for all ages, it does not take too long and has a light but fun ruleset. What more could you want?
Wyrmspan by Sophie Jones
Wingspan took the world by storm when it released back in 2019. With its beautiful artwork, easy to learn mechanics and calming gameplay it was a huge hit with all types of gamers. Fast forward to 2024 and its spiritual successor Wyrmspan caused a similar stir bringing with it a deeper, more strategic experience.
Inspired by the base mechanics and look of Wingpsan, Wyrmspan invites players into a much more challenging game. Players take it in turn to spend dragon coins to perform
different actions. Once they run out, the round ends and they have to wait until each player finishes spending. This means, there’s a bit of forward thinking as you have to plan your moves to make sure you get the most out of each turn. If you spend your coins too quickly you give your opponent the chance to get ahead.
Over the course of the game players will excavate caves, entice dragons and earn favour with the Dragon Guild. Similar to Wingspan, there are 3 different areas on the board, Crimson Cavern, Golden Grotto and the Amethyst Abyss. Each area provides players with different bonuses and allows them to entice certain dragons. On top of that, dragons have different demeanours like friendly, shy and helpful which you’ll start collecting for end of game scoring objectives.
Wyrmspan isn’t just beautiful to look at, it’s packed with content. The compendium of dragons alone is a treat for fans, with detailed lore to enjoy. If you love dragons, Wyrmspan has it all, stunning art, dynamic gameplay and lots of cute DRAGONS!
In 2024, dragons aren’t just soaring through the skies—they're taking over the board game world! Whether you're enticing dragons, buying a coffee from them, or trying to steal their gold, these dragon-themed games offer something for everyone. From fast-paced family fun to strategic planning, these games are packed with adventure and beautiful design, bringing the magic of dragons right to your tabletop.
So, which dragon game will take flight in your collection? Whether you’re a casual gamer or a seasoned strategist, there’s a dragon waiting to be tamed.
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