Drako Board Game Review

 Drako is a game about a young dragon trapped in a valley and trying to save his skin from money-hungry gnome mercenaries. Since he's chained (for now) it won't be easy to escape, but the dragon is still full of strength and can breathe fire. On the dwarves' side is a long-range crossbow and a fishing net. Who will win in this fight?

ABOUT THE GAME

 Drako is a duel in which one player takes on the role of a dragon and the other three dwarves. The dragon's goal is to survive (hold out until the gnome uses up all actions) or kill all the gnomes. The goal of the dwarves is to kill the dragon before it flies away.

 Drako is an asymmetric game. Although the goals of the participants are similar, each has their own strengths and weaknesses and different play styles. The dwarves must act aggressively to injure the dragon as quickly as possible. They are strong in a group and well protected, but it is better not to face a lizard 1v1.

 If the number of dwarves decreases, it will become much more difficult to fulfill the victory condition. The dragon is very strong, but in order to use all of its abilities (flight, mobility and fire breathing), it needs to actively move around the field and attack from a safe position. At the heart of Drako are card-based actions. When playing cards, the dragon and dwarves attack, move, or use special abilities

COMPONENTS

 A medium-sized box (roughly from Battle for the Galaxy) contains 2 mini-tablets for both players, 1 field, 1 dragon token, 3 dwarf tokens (all three different), some tokens, and two decks of 38 cards, one of each the player The components are quite high-quality, nicely illustrated, and the small ones look great - at the level of FFG ones. Let's take a closer look at the cards, since the mechanics are tied to them. Each card has one or two symbols. They reflect what action a player can take after playing that card. If there are two symbols, then choose one of the two.

 The following actions are available to the dragon: move 1-3 hexes, fly away (move to any hex), breathe fire (a ranged attack that hits a line), or defend.

 ‣ The following actions are available to gnomes: move 1-2 hexes with one gnome, 1 hex with two gnomes, attack with one gnome with strength 1-2, attack with two gnomes with strength 1, throw a net (the dragon is temporarily unable to move and fly) or defend .

FLOW OF THE GAME

 Each turn, each player has two actions, for which you can (in any order):

 ‣ Draw 2 cards from the deck.

 ‣ Play 1 card.

 Thus, you can draw 4 cards, or draw 2 and play 1, or play 2. The hand limit is 6 cards; all excess are immediately reset. It seems that everything is simple, but sometimes it forces you to make difficult decisions. For example, should you put all your resources into attacking? This leaves you with fewer cards in your hand and leaves you vulnerable to your opponent's counterattack during their turn. Maybe it's better to wait until the opponent's hand is empty, and then finish it off?

 Each dwarf has its own health track. If it's over, it's a cover. The dragon has 4 health tracks: the first is his own health, and the other three are his skills. If the track of one of the skills (for example, flight) is filled, then the dragon is deprived of this skill. Therefore, during the game it makes sense for dwarves to try to injure the dragon to make it less mobile and more vulnerable. If the dragon runs out of cards, then his strength is exhausted, and he has to wait for the dwarves to finish him off. However, if the dwarves do not have enough cards to finish, the dragon breaks out of the trap and wins.

IMPRESSION

 Each dwarf has its own health track. If it's over, it's a cover. The dragon has 4 health tracks: the first is health and the other three are his skills. If the track of one of the skills (for example, flight) fills, then the dragon is deprived of this skill. Therefore, during the game it makes sense for dwarves to try to injure the dragon to make it less mobile and more vulnerable. If the dragon runs out of cards, then its strength is exhausted, and it remains to wait for the dwarves to finish it off. However, if the dwarves do not have enough cards to finish, the dragon breaks out of the trap and wins.

 Experienced players have a clear advantage over beginners, and that's a good thing: it shows that Drako doesn't depend on the random arrival of cards in the hand (plus, you can always bluff). If you have more cards, it gives you a double advantage: firstly, more flexibility, secondly, the opponent knows that you have more options for actions, and you are more likely to be able to defend effectively. With only 1-2 cards in your hand, you are vulnerable to attacks. Although it can also be a bluff (suddenly you have two shields up your sleeve). So strategy and tactics are important in Drako. You can't call it a particularly deep game, but it creates interesting situations on the field. Example:

 I play as a dragon. I'm surrounded by two dwarves plus a third aiming a crossbow. In the hand - 2 attacking cards plus a shield. What shall I do? Attack or flee by applying 2 cards (each of which moves 2 hexes), or risk it and draw new ones? I draw after gaining shield and flight. Now I have 5 cards in my hand. I decide to draw 2 more (fire breath plus attack). I drop the attack. Now comes the run of dwarves. They attack: double attack first. I take 1 damage and defend against the second. The dwarves then attack with power 2, but I still have 1 shield left. On my turn, I parry with flight and firebreath two dwarves with power 2. The enemy takes 1 shield, but the second dwarve takes 2 damage. Now he only has one card left in his hand, and the Dwarf Crossbowman is missing one hex to me. I'm safe...for now.

 I play as dwarves. A dragon always uses flight. So I wait until good cards come into my hand. First I apply the network, then I draw 2 cards. The dragon must spend two actions to break free from the net. This is my chance: double move, then double attack. The dragon doesn't defend itself (no shields?). I use the special ability "Rage" to do another action: attack his wings twice. He takes the damage and loses his ability to fly. Got it, friend.

CONCLUSION

 Drako is a great frivolous duel. Simple, but often makes you think carefully about the next action that can decide the outcome of the battle. There's room for bluffing, there's hand management, and a bit of randomness (after all, the game is tied to the cards). Will Drako suit everyone? Of course not (just like any other game). Drako is great for fillers — right in between long, difficult duel games — and parents playing with their sons. The games are fast (20 minutes), without downtime, full of fun. Although I prefer heavy Euros, I really liked the Drako. I recommend