Rules – Drakones

Goal

Destroy the enemy base. It falls when an infantry, a cavalry and a dragon unit hit it in the same turn.

If you can’t draw a card at the start of your turn, you lose as well.

Setup

Each player has their own deck of 67 cards, White or Dark, and a base. Shuffle your decks and draw 6 cards each.

Each side has 6 spaces in a row. The base sits next to them.
The starting player is chosen at random.
In the first turn the starting player has 3 actions, the second player 4.

Your turn

Draw 1 card. If you can’t draw, you lose.
You have 3 actions. One action means playing one card. Attacking costs no action.
Every ready unit and tower attacks once per turn, twice with Double Attack.
Each side holds at most 6 cards. If your side is full, you may banish one of your cards and put the new one in its place.
Rearranging: during your turn you may move your cards that are not in cover for free, to an empty space or by swapping.
After Fire Rain your turn ends immediately.

Who hits whom

The sword hits infantry, the pike hits cavalry, the bow hits dragons. The class of the attacking unit doesn’t matter for this.
Every unit destroys enemy towers of its own class and every wall.
A tower attacks units of the other two classes.
Armour (unit or stone wall): needs two hits in the same turn and heals at the end of the turn.
Strike back: if the attacked unit can hit the attacker, it strikes back at the same time. Towers and walls never strike back.

SwordPikeBowInfantryCavalryDragon

Pick a card to see what it can attack.

Walls and cover

Walls protect the units and towers to their left and right from attacks, not from spells. Protected cards are in cover: they can’t be attacked, take no strike back when they attack, and stay in place when rearranging.

Arrival

Every newly played card is arriving first (hourglass), walls and towers too. While arriving it can’t attack and can’t be attacked. Spells still affect it. Arriving cards don’t protect their base yet: if only arriving cards are in front, the base can be attacked.

Abilities work right away: a wall protects its neighbours as soon as it is played, armour holds immediately. At the start of your next turn all your cards have arrived.

The bolt

The bolt means: this unit may attack right away. Instant units already have it. For any other unit you played this turn you can ignite it for 1 more action.

As long as the unit doesn’t attack, it stays protected while arriving. Once it attacks, it has arrived and can be attacked.

Base and protection

Every base starts with 4 rounds of protection. The number on the lock counts down at the start of each round. After that, a base can be attacked as soon as its owner has no card left in front. Arriving cards don’t count.

The base falls when infantry, cavalry and a dragon hit it in the same turn. Only units attack the base, not towers. The three symbols below the base show who has already hit it.

Drawing and Wisdom

Instead of playing two cards you may spend 2 actions to draw a card from your deck.

With Wisdom you choose who draws 3 cards: you or your opponent. That can pay off when their deck is almost empty, but it’s risky.

The cards

Every deck has 67 cards: 45 units, 6 towers, 3 walls and 13 spells.

Units (45)

Each of the 9 units comes 5 times: without an ability and with each of the four abilities.

**Instant**May attack right away. Once it attacks, it has arrived and can be attacked.

**Double Attack**Attacks twice per turn.

**Armour**Needs two hits in the same turn, heals at the end of the turn.

Towers (6)

2 towers per class, one of them with Double Attack. A tower attacks units of the other two classes. Units of its own class destroy it.

Walls (3)

2 wooden walls and 1 stone wall. The stone wall has armour.

Spells (13)

A spell costs one action, takes effect immediately and then goes to the discard pile.

**Wisdom (3×)**A player of your choice draws 3 cards: you or your opponent.

**Recall (3×)**Return a unit that is not in cover (even while arriving) to its owner’s hand. No towers, no walls. Draw 1 card. The card may be played again right away.

**Poison (2×)**Kill any unit, even a protected one.

**Bribery (2×)**Sacrifice one of your units and take over an enemy unit. It arrives on your side first.

**Catapult (1×)**Destroy any tower or wall.

**Spy (1×)**Look at the top 3 cards of your opponent’s deck.

**Fire Rain (1×)**All units on the field die, yours too. Towers and walls remain. Your turn ends immediately.

At the digital table

Tap a card in your hand, then pick a glowing space or target. Cast spells without a target with the buttons on the card.
Bolt: tap a unit you just played again and pick the bubble below it (key B).
Drawing: tap your deck and pick the bubble above it (key Z).
Attacking: tap your ready unit (gold border), then a target glowing red. Gold spaces: move or swap there.
Undo (bottom right or Ctrl+Z) takes back your last actions this turn, as long as no card was drawn or revealed.
Card preview: hover with the mouse, or hold your finger on a card on a phone or tablet.
Against the bot, strike back can be switched off in the menu under “Combat”.

Against a friend: choose “Play a friend” in the menu and share the link. Whoever opens it sits across from you. If the connection drops, just open the same link again.