Overview
Drako: Dragon & Dwarves is an asymmetric two-player card-driven battle game. One player controls a dragon, and the other controls a team of three dwarves. The dwarves must defeat the dragon before their card deck runs out. The dragon must survive until the dwarves exhaust their cards (or defeat all three dwarves). Players take turns performing 2 actions each, choosing to draw cards or play cards for movement, attack, defense, and special abilities.
Components
- 1 hex board
- 25 wound markers
- Dwarf player: 1 player mat, 38 dwarf cards, 1 fury marker, 1 net marker, 3 dwarf figures
- Dragon player: 1 player mat, 38 dragon cards, 1 dragon figure
Setup
- Place the board in the center with wound markers nearby.
- Dragon player: Place player mat, dragon figure on center hex, shuffle dragon cards face down, draw 4 cards.
- Dwarf player: Place player mat, shuffle dwarf cards face down, draw 4 cards. Place net and fury markers nearby.
- First game: Place dwarf figures in preset positions. Later games: The dwarf player places figures on any hexes not adjacent to the dragon.
- Advanced rule: Before play begins, each player may exchange their entire starting hand once (shuffle back, draw 4 new).
Turn Structure
- The dragon player goes first and performs only 1 action on the first turn.
- All subsequent turns: each player performs 2 actions.
- Turn order: Dragon (1 action) -> Dwarves (2 actions) -> Dragon (2 actions) -> Dwarves (2 actions) -> …
- Actions may be performed in any order and may be repeated.
- You must perform both actions – passing is not allowed (unless out of cards).
Actions
Each turn, choose 2 from:
Draw 2 Cards
Draw 2 cards from your deck. Hand limit: 6 cards. If you exceed 6 after drawing, immediately discard down to 6.
Play 1 Card
Play a card and choose one of its symbols to activate. Discard the card after use.
Dwarf Card Symbols:
| Symbol |
Effect |
| 1 Dwarf Moves |
Move 1 dwarf up to the card’s movement value in hexes |
| 2 Dwarves Move |
Move 1 or 2 dwarves, each up to the movement value |
| 1 Dwarf Attacks |
1 dwarf adjacent to dragon attacks for the card’s attack value |
| 2 Dwarves Attack |
1 or 2 adjacent dwarves each attack simultaneously for the attack value; dragon may play 1 or 2 defense cards |
| Defense |
Blocks 1 dragon attack regardless of attack value (free reaction) |
| Crossbow |
Archer dwarf shoots dragon if in a straight hex line with no dwarves between; can be blocked by defense |
| Net |
Net dwarf immobilizes dragon from anywhere; dragon cannot move or fly while netted (can still attack/defend); costs dragon 2 actions in one turn to escape |
Dragon Card Symbols:
| Symbol |
Effect |
| Move |
Dragon moves up to the card’s movement value (if walk ability available) |
| Flight |
Dragon flies to any empty hex on the board (if flight ability available) |
| Attack |
Dragon attacks 1 adjacent dwarf for the card’s attack value; can be blocked |
| Fire Attack |
Dragon breathes fire in a straight line, wounding all dwarves in that line for the attack value each; each dwarf can block with a separate defense card (if fire ability available) |
| Defense |
Blocks 1 dwarf attack regardless of attack value (free reaction) |
Combat Resolution
- When attacked, the defender may immediately play a defense card as a free action to fully block the attack.
- Unblocked attacks place wound markers equal to the attack value on the target’s player mat.
- Dragon wounds: First 4 wounds fill armor spaces (no effect). Additional wounds are placed by the dwarf player on specific ability areas (Flight, Movement, Fire breathing). When an area is fully wounded, that ability is lost.
- Dwarf wounds: Each dwarf has its own wound spaces. When full, that dwarf dies and is removed.
Scoring / Victory Conditions
The game ends in 3 ways:
| Condition |
Winner |
| Dragon killed (all wound spaces filled) |
Dwarf player |
| All 3 dwarves killed |
Dragon player |
| Dwarf card deck exhausted (dragon survives) |
Dragon player |
- If the dragon runs out of cards first, the dragon must pass remaining turns.
- If the dwarf player runs out of cards, the game ends immediately and the dragon wins.
Special Rules & Edge Cases
- Fury (one-time use): The fury dwarf takes 1 wound to gain a 3rd action that turn. The extra action can be used by any dwarf. Remove the fury marker after use.
- Archery: Only the archer dwarf can use Crossbow cards. Must be in a straight hex line with the dragon, with no dwarves between them.
- Net: Cannot be blocked by defense. Dragon needs 2 actions in a single turn to escape (effectively passing that turn). Net marker returns to dwarf player for reuse.
- Movement: Figures cannot move through hexes containing other figures.
- Not all movement must be used; you may move fewer hexes than the card value, or even zero (card is still discarded).
Player Reference
Turn: 2 actions each (except dragon’s first turn: 1 action)
Actions: Draw 2 cards OR Play 1 card
Hand Limit: 6 cards
Dragon Abilities Lost When Wounded:
- Flight area full: cannot fly
- Movement area full: cannot walk
- Fire area full: cannot breathe fire
Dwarf Special Abilities:
- Fury: 1 wound -> 3rd action (one-time)
- Archery: Ranged attack in straight line
- Net: Immobilize dragon (2 actions to escape)
Victory: Dwarves win by killing dragon. Dragon wins by surviving dwarf deck or killing all dwarves.