How to Play Feed my Dragon!
It’s a mediaeval market day and traders and nobleman from different kingdoms are coming together to sell their flocks and crops. It’s going to be a wonderful day…as long as nobody brings a dragon!
Aim: Build your kingdom by feeding your dragons until you have won all the cards. Swap, steal and eat your way to victory.
Out of cards? Out of the game! (But see the "Dragons love Sandwiches" variation)
In the tin: 16 hungry dragons, a Jester, an Outlaw and 38 food cards (animals, villagers, vegetables etc) including 4 wheat cards.
Each dragon shows the size of their appetite by dice spots. Small dragons need one food card to be full. Larger dragons need 2, 3 or 4 food cards.
Set-up: Shuffle the cards then deal them face down, equally between the players.
The youngest player starts by turning over their top card, and placing it in the middle of the table (this becomes the marketplace). They also choose the direction of play.
Each player in turn then deals down their top card onto the marketplace.
The first player to turn up a dragon starts a "feeding frenzy". They must quickly demand the next player to "Feed my Dragon!" This must be done BEFORE the next player has the chance to play their card. If they forget to ask or are too slow, the game simply continues and the dragon is lost. (Allowance can be made for young players or grandparents, particularly after dinner!)
Once a demand to "Feed my Dragon!" is made, the next player must deal down the number of food cards needed for the size of the dragon's appetite, one card at a time.
If the dragon's appetite is met with only food cards, the dragon is satisfied and returns to the player who originally dealt him, taking with him all the cards in the marketplace (which gets added to the bottom of that player's pile of cards).
A full dragon is a happy dragon!
(The same can said of children!)
However, if during the "feeding frenzy", another dragon is turned up, that player takes control and demands the next player to "Feed my Dragon!' and the frenzy continues...until eventually someone has a satisfied dragon and can claim all of the central pile!
If anyone plays a Double-headed Dragon (with the red double arrow sign) they can choose to reverse the direction of play. Who will you ask to "Feed my Dragon!"? Who do you want revenge on? Play continues in their chosen direction until the next double-headed dragon.
Once a player is out of cards, their kingdom is finished and they are out of the game (Unless playing the "Dragons love Sandwiches" variation)
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The Jester "With a trick and a smile I'll swap your pile".
If you deal down the Jester card, you can use his mischief to swap your pack of cards with anyone else's pack. You don't have to swap, the choice is yours. Other players are allowed to hide their packs under their hands to make the decision harder, so keep your eye on who has the biggest pack (or who has the best dragons!).
The decision must be made within 20 seconds and the other players can count down the last 5 seconds to hurry the player along. A Jester STOPS any feeding frenzy, and play resumes with the next player in the normal way, so the Jester becomes part of the marketplace and can be won in the next feeding frenzy.
The Outlaw "Rob the rich to give to the poor (whilst quietly keeping one from the draw!)"
The Outlaw card also STOPS any feeding frenzy.
Once the Outlaw is played, every other player must then deal down their next 2 cards face up onto the table. The Outlaw then chooses just one card (from all those shown) to add to the bottom of their own pile.
The rest of the robbed cards get given to the poor (ie put back in the tin). This means the game get quicker.
If someone is already out of the game before the Outlaw is played for the first time, then that player gets all the robbed cards (apart from the one chosen by the Outlaw) and they can then rejoin the game. This only happns the first time the Outlaw is played.
Two player games
“Feed my Dragon!” works well for two players - in fact it started as a two player game! With 2 players the double-headed dragons just play as normal dragons.
In 2 player games the Outlaw demands 5 cards from the other player, all of which are dealt face up, with one card chosen & stolen and the other four cards “given to the poor” (removed from the game and put back in the tin)
Jester cards play the same as in larger games with the chance to swap your pile with the other player.
Once you get used to 2 player games we suggest you play the “Dragons love sandwiches” variation all the time, (see below) so look out for “wheat - meat - wheat” cards played in a row - call it first and claim the central pile!
"Dragons love Sandwiches" Variation:
This is our favourite game variation as it keeps players interested even if they have gone out of the game (so it’s particularly good for large groups). And it's great fun!
How it plays: If at any stage the ingredients of a sandwich are dealt into the central pile, one after another (Wheat - Food - Wheat) then the first player to call "Dragons love Sandwiches" or simply to name the sandwich "Chicken Sandwich" and to slam their hand on top of the sandwich cards gets to claim the whole central pile.
It doesn’t matter what the sandwich filling is : vegetable, meat or even a villager - Just as long as three consecutive cards dealt into the marketplace have been "Wheat - Food - Wheat”.
If you want a more relaxed game we suggest that the "Sandwich" option is only available to players who are already out of cards, allowing them to claim the central pile and rejoin the game (it keeps everyone engaged)...but the choice is entirely yours!
If you choose to allow, for ALL players to claim sandwiches then the game will be a bit longer and a bit more rowdy...but we like that! As long as everyone agrees who can claim a Sandwich before the game starts...all is good.
NB: When a sandwich is made and claimed, it trumps everything else, even a feeding frenzy. So now you know - Dragons love sandwiches more than anything - and anyone with a sandwich can tempt dragons back to their kingdom!
Ready to enjoy "Feed my Dragon!" for yourself?
Here's the link to our online shop...
Is there anything else you need to know about our game? Just ask!
Telephone:
E-mail: Family.dale@sky.com
Address: 6 Cliff Road, Eastbourne, BN20 7RU