As a famed mercenary seeking to establish your medieval empire, the prophecy has been commoner's talk for a while now: “Of dragon scales gather up 10, and so become the ruler of men!” But your arrival in the desolate lands has presented two hardships. Firstly, dragons don’t give up their scales willingly. And second, you’re not the only one who’s heard the prophecy.

Game play begins with card drafting as players create a unique hand to battle dragons and each other. Play continues in a series of rounds until 1 player wins by ending a round with 10 dragon scales or being the only player with at least 1 health token remaining.

Dragon scales are gained by contributing strength to defeat a dragon, looting from the dragon, or stealing from other players (if you kill another player you gain all of their dragon scales).

Each round has 3 phases.
Phase 1: (every round)
Players simultaneously play cards from their hand face-down. All cards are then revealed and resolved in a predetermined hierarchy (cards of the same hierarchy resolve clockwise from the dragon).
Phase 2: (triggered only by specific phase 1 cards)
A repeat of phase 1, however only players who have used specific cards during phase 1 can participate.
Phase 3: (every round)
Dragon combat and loot distribution. Players combine their strength in an attempt to defeat the dragon. The dragon player draws the top 3 cards from the dragon deck selecting one to play against all other players. The dragon card increases or decreases the dragon's base strength, often adding targeted abilities*. If the dragon is defeated, all contributing players take dragon scales. If undefeated, all players take 1 damage from the dragon. Looters acquire loot (dragon scales or items) from the dragon irrespective of the outcome.

All non-core cards are discarded before and he role of dragon then shifts one player to the left (their mercenary becomes untargetable for the following round). A new round will then begin, rounds continue in this manner until a winner is determined.

In a round with 2 or 3 players, the dragon becomes automated. In this case the top card of the dragon deck is chosen and targeted abilities affect all players.

Unique game elements include a mix of card-drafting, simultaneous-play, semi-cooperative and competitive tactics, and playing as both the dragon and dragon attacker (in different rounds).

—description from the designer

Games