Build a cavernous sanctuary for dragons of all shapes and sizes!
1-5 Players | 90 Mins | Ages 14+
Features: End Game Bonuses, Hand Management, Once-Per-Game Abilities, Open Drafting, Solo / Solitaire Game
Theme: Card Game, Fantasy
Description:
You step into the role of an aspiring dracologist in the enchanting world of Wyrmspan, where dragons of various forms, dimensions, and hues gracefully soar through the heavens. Embark on a journey to unearth a concealed labyrinth on your property, beckoning these magnificent creatures to find solace within the shelter of your subterranean caves.
In the realm of Wyrmspan, your primary objective is to construct a haven tailored to accommodate dragons of all descriptions. Initially, your sanctuary comprises three excavated areas—the foremost expanse within your Crimson Cavern, your Golden Grotto, and the Amethyst Abyss. As the game unfolds, you'll uncover additional spaces within your sanctuary, enticing dragons to take up residence, thereby enabling you to connect potent abilities and garner the favor of the esteemed Dragon Guild.
Wyrmspan is inspired by the mechanisms of Wingspan, though its unique elements make Wyrmspan a standalone game (not compatible with Wingspan).
Is Wyrmspan the same game as Wingspan, just with dragons instead of birds?
Like its predecessor, Wyrmspan is a game about collected unique winged animals on a player mat. While Wingspan served as the inspiration, Wyrmspan is a more complex game featuring the following differences:
- You must excavate a cave space before enticing (playing) a dragon to that space by playing a cave card (which has a “when played” benefit); you begin the game with 3 excavated spaces
- Hatchlings (baby dragons) are a type of card found in the dragon deck. They all have an egg cost (you’re hatching them from an egg), an ongoing power whenever you feed them, and a strong one-time ability when they’re fully grown
- Four different guilds (1 per game) offering different in-game and end-game benefits as you progress
- Dragon cards have personality tags referenced by various powers and end-round goals. Every dragon card is designed from scratch; they are not designed as copies of Wingspan cards.
- Actions are performed by spending coins and often eggs (not action cubes), both of which you can save for future rounds. There are even some ways to gain extra coins while you play (in Wingspan, you can never gain extra actions).
- Explore your caves from left to right to activate abilities (not right to left); reaching the end of a cave–when fully excavated and occupied–offers scoring benefits
- There are two nest icons on your cave mat even before you play a dragon (so you can lay eggs on your first turn if you wish)
- Start the game with your choice of 4 cards (from 3 dragons and 3 caves) and a choice of any 3 resources
- Discard down to 9 cards, 9 coins, and 9 resource tokens at the end of each of your turns (a restriction that gives players the creative freedom to actually carry over actions to the next round)
- Gain 6 coins and 1 egg at the beginning of each round (four total rounds)
- No dice (you’re either always gaining a specific resource or your choice of the 4 resources). The food dice are often a nice element of variability and player interaction in Wingspan, but we found it just a little too frustrating in Wyrmspan if all resources weren’t consistently available.
- No bonus cards (these types of bonuses are built into various dragon cards)
- A 2-for-1 resource exchange can be used at any time (not just when playing a card)
- Card abilities are optional. If an ability gives an opponent a benefit, they may gain it even if you decline to do so.
- The end-round goal scoring is friendly. For example, if two people tie for first, they both gain full VP for first place. The next player takes second place.
- Dragon facts are found in a field-guide style book, not on the cards themselves. We found that by separating this text from the cards, we made the dragon cards more vision-friendly (plus, the 32-page full-color book is a fun addition).