Overview

Dragonwood is a card-and-dice game in which players collect Adventurer cards and play them in sets to earn dice, which they roll to defeat Creatures and capture Enhancements in an enchanted forest. Whoever earns the most victory points wins. The game ends when both dragons are defeated or the Adventurer deck has been played through twice.

Components

• 64 Adventurer cards (5 suits numbered 1-12; 4 Lucky Ladybugs)
• 42 Dragonwood cards (Creatures, Enhancements, Events)
• 2 Turn summary cards
• 6 custom dice

Setup

1. Remove the 2 turn summary cards and split cards by back color.
2. From the Dragonwood deck (green back), remove the 2 dragon cards (Orange Dragon and Blue Dragon).
3. Shuffle the remaining Dragonwood deck and remove cards based on player count:
   • 2 players: remove 12 cards
   • 3 players: remove 10 cards
   • 4 players: remove 8 cards
4. Shuffle the 2 dragon cards back into the bottom half of the remaining Dragonwood deck.
5. Reveal 5 Dragonwood cards face up in the center to form the Landscape. Stack the rest face down beside it. If any Events are revealed, shuffle them back and redraw.
6. Shuffle the Adventurer deck (red back) and deal each player 5 cards (keep secret). Stack the rest face down.
7. Place 6 dice and turn summary cards within reach.

Turn Structure

The last player to hike in the woods goes first; play continues left. On your turn, do one of the following:

1. Reload — Draw 1 Adventurer card and say “Reload!” to signal your turn is over.
2. Capture — Play cards from your hand to attempt to capture one Landscape card.

Actions

Reload

• Draw 1 Adventurer card from the draw pile.
• Hand limit: 9 cards. If you have 9 and draw, you must discard one card after drawing.
• Lucky Ladybug: If drawn, immediately discard it and draw 2 more cards.
• If the Adventurer deck runs out, shuffle the discard pile to form a new deck.

Capture

There are three capture methods:

Method	Cards Required	Example
Strike	Cards in a row (consecutive numbers, any color)	3, 4, 5
Stomp	Cards all the same number	7, 7, 7
Scream	Cards all the same color	Red 2, Red 5, Red 9

1. Announce which card you are targeting and the method (e.g., “I’m going to Stomp on those Fire Ants”).
2. Reveal the Adventurer cards you are using (plus any active Enhancements).
3. Roll 1 die per card played (maximum 6 dice).
4. Compare dice total (+ Enhancement bonuses) to the target value for that method on the card.
5. If your total equals or exceeds the value, you capture the card.

Creatures: Captured Creatures go face down in your victory pile. If you fail, the Creature stays in the Landscape and you discard 1 card from your hand as a wound. Either way, all played Adventurer cards go to the discard pile.

Enhancements: Captured Enhancements go face up in front of you for ongoing use (unless the card specifies single use). On failure, discard 1 card as a wound. Enhancements cannot be used to capture other Enhancements.

Events: When an Event card enters the Landscape, read it immediately, apply its effect to all players, then remove it from the game and draw a replacement.

Replenishing the Landscape

After capturing a card, draw a new Dragonwood card to refill the Landscape to 5. If it is an Event, resolve it immediately, discard it, and draw again.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game ends when:

1. Both dragons are defeated, OR
2. Two Adventurer decks have been played through (every player gets one more turn).

Count victory points on captured Creatures. The player with the most captured Creature cards (not points) earns a 3 VP bonus (ties each get 2 VP). Highest total VP wins. If tied overall, the player who captured the Orange Dragon wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• A single card may be played alone (earns 1 die) and may count as Strike, Stomp, or Scream.
• You may only attempt to capture 1 card per turn.
• Maximum 6 dice rolled at any time.
• Dragon Spell variant: If you collect 3 Adventurer cards that are the same color AND consecutive numbers, discard them to roll 2 dice against a Dragon. Roll 6+ to defeat it; otherwise discard 1 card as a wound. This spell works only on Dragons.
• Shorter/longer game variants: Remove more or fewer cards from the Dragonwood deck before play.

Player Reference

Turn Options:

• Reload (draw 1 card) OR Capture (play cards, roll dice)

Capture Methods: | Method | Cards | Target Icon | |—|—|—| | Strike | Consecutive numbers (any color) | Sword | | Stomp | Same number | Boot | | Scream | Same color | Face |

Key Numbers:

• Hand limit: 9 cards
• Landscape size: 5 cards
• Dice per card: 1 (max 6)
• Bonus for most captured creatures: 3 VP (2 VP each on tie)