How to Play

Wyrmspan

1-5 players 90-90 min 8.0 Board Game Geek Rating

As an amateur dracologist, you excavate underground caves and attract dragons to inhabit your sanctuary. Starting with three basic cavern spaces, you'll expand your labyrinth while enticing various dragons to roost there. Dragons provide chaining abilities that grow stronger as your sanctuary develops. Victory comes from earning Dragon Guild favor through strategic cave expansion and creature collection.

Published 2024

Wyrmspan

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

1
Place Dragon Guild board
Select 1 of the 4 Dragon Guild tiles at random and place it in the center of the Dragon Guild board with the appropriate side (based on player count) face up
2
Set up card display board
Shuffle all dragons together and place 3 dragons face up on the card display board, then place the dragon deck nearby face down
3
Prepare cave cards
Shuffle all cave cards together and place 3 cave cards face up on the card display board, then place the cave card deck nearby face down
4
Configure round tracker
Place the round marker on the Round 1 space, shuffle objective tiles, then place 4 at random on the designated spaces with a random side facing up and return the others to the box
5
Create general supply
Place the coins, eggs, and all tokens in a public supply in reach of all players
6
Distribute player materials
Each player gains 1 player mat and all player pieces of 1 color (1 adventurer, 8 player markers, and 1 guild token)
7
Give starting coins
Each player receives 6 coins
8
Give starting egg
Each player receives 1 egg
9
Deal starting cards
Each player draws 3 dragon cards from the deck and 3 cave cards from the deck
10
Choose starting hand
Each player chooses a total of 4 cards (any combination of dragons and cave cards) to keep and discards the other 2 cards face up to create discard piles
11
Select starting resources
Each player gains 3 resource tokens in any combination of gold, crystal, meat, and milk
12
Place player mat
Each player places their player mat in front of them
13
Arrange starting resources
Each player places their starting resources in their player area to the left of their mat
14
Position starting egg
Each player places their starting egg on 1 of the 2 nest icons on their player mat
15
Place starting coins
Each player places their starting coins to the left of their mat
16
Position adventurer
Each player places their adventurer in Base Camp on their player mat
17
Place guild token
Each player places their guild token on the Dragon Guild space labeled "START"
18
Set aside remaining pieces
Each player places their remaining player markers, dragons, and cave cards nearby
19
Determine start player
Randomly give a player the start player marker, then begin the game

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Select one action
Choose to excavate, entice, or explore, then move your adventurer to that action space
2
Pay action cost
Place the required coin and/or eggs on the action itself
3
Select excavation space
Choose the left-most empty space in 1 of the 3 caves to excavate (must excavate each cave from left to right)
4
Pay base cost
Pay 1 coin, placing it on the excavate action on your player mat
5
Pay column cost
Pay 1 egg if excavating the 3rd column or 2 eggs if excavating the 4th column (eggs may be paid from any dragon or nest icon)
6
Play cave card
Place a cave card from your hand onto the empty space you have chosen to excavate, aligning it with the empty square and leaving the stop sign visible
7
Activate when played benefit
Gain the optional benefit printed on the cave card you just played
8
Activate when covered benefit
Gain the benefit on the player mat space you just covered, if applicable (4th column spaces allow spending 3 items for 1 coin)
9
Select dragon
Choose a dragon from your hand
10
Pay base cost
Pay 1 coin, placing it on the entice action on your player mat
11
Pay dragon cost
Pay the additional cost printed at the upper-left of the selected dragon (usually gold, crystal, meat, and sometimes coin, egg, or milk)
12
Place dragon
Play the dragon into a cave matching 1 of its preferred habitats, into an excavated space, from left to right within each cave
13
Gain when played benefit
After playing the dragon, gain the "when played" benefit printed on the dragon if any
14
Pay exploration cost
Pay the cost printed on your player mat (1st time: 1 coin; 2nd time: 1 coin and 1 egg; 3rd time: 1 coin and 2 eggs)
15
Track exploration
Leave paid coins and eggs on your player mat to track how many times you have explored each cave this round
16
Move adventurer
Walk your adventurer from left to right within the chosen cave along the path depicted at the bottom
17
Activate player mat abilities
Each time you walk past an "if activated" icon on your player mat, you may activate that ability
18
Activate dragon abilities
Each time you move your adventurer onto a dragon with an "if activated" icon, you may activate that ability
19
Stop at stop sign
When your adventurer walks onto a stop sign (space without a dragon), your turn ends and return your adventurer to Base Camp
20
When played abilities
Gain the indicated benefit immediately when you play the dragon (optional but usually advantageous)
21
If activated abilities
Activate when your adventurer walks onto the dragon card (do not activate the turn you play the dragon)
22
Once per round abilities
Activate at the end of every round
23
End game abilities
Provide Victory Points at the end of the game for meeting certain conditions
24
Pay hatchling costs
All hatchlings require you to pay an egg and 1-3 milk
25
Activate hatchling ability
When your adventurer walks onto a hatchling, you may cache 1 resource or tuck 1 card as specified
26
Gain cache/tuck benefit
Any time you cache the specified resource or tuck a card on that hatchling, gain the indicated benefit
27
Trigger growth bonus
The 3rd time you cache or tuck on that hatchling, gain the regular benefit plus a one-time bonus
28
Advance guild token
When you earn a Dragon Guild advancement, move your guild token 1 space clockwise around the track
29
Gain space benefit
Immediately gain the benefit printed on the space your token lands on
30
Place player marker
When reaching a brown space, immediately place an unused player marker onto a square on the Dragon Guild tile and collect the corresponding benefits
31
Observe marker limits
Each player may place a maximum of 4 player markers onto the Dragon Guild tile
32
Exchange resources
At any point, exchange 2 resources (gold, crystal, meat, milk) in any combination for 1 resource of another type
33
Observe capacity limits
At the end of each of your turns, discard down to 9 resource tokens, 9 cards (dragons and cave cards combined), and 9 coins
34
Refill cards
Do not refill dragons or cave cards into the card display board until the end of each player's turn
35
Discard paid costs
Players discard any coins and eggs paid as costs on their player mat
36
Activate once per round abilities
Players activate these abilities in turn order, starting with that round's start player
37
Score round objective
Each player places 1 player marker on the round tracker corresponding to their position relative to other players
38
Handle ties
If players tie for 1st place, they both place markers on "1st place" and the next player places on "2nd place"
39
Handle zero scores
If a player has no items specified by the objective, they place their marker on "all others" (0 VP)
40
Move round marker
At the beginning of the next round, move the round marker 1 space to the right
41
Refresh display
Discard the 3 face-up dragons and 3 face-up cave cards and place 3 new cards of each type face up
42
Gain income
Each player gains 6 coins and 1 egg (egg must be placed on an empty nest icon or is not gained)
43
Pass start player marker
The start player marker advances 1 player clockwise

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
End game trigger
The game ends after completing 4 rounds
2
Score Dragon Guild markers
Count VP from markers placed on the Dragon Guild tile
3
Score dragon VP values
Add printed VP values on visible dragons on your player mat (not tucked cards)
4
Score end game abilities
Calculate VP from end game abilities on visible dragons on your player mat
5
Score eggs
Gain 1 VP per egg unless otherwise specified
6
Score cached resources
Gain 1 VP per cached resource unless otherwise specified
7
Score tucked cards
Gain 1 VP per tucked dragon unless otherwise specified
8
Score public objectives
All players at a certain level gain the VP printed on that space (ties are friendly)
9
Score excess coins
Gain 1 VP per coin remaining
10
Score excess items
Gain 1 VP for every 4 other items (resources, dragon cards, cave cards) remaining, rounded down
11
Determine winner
The player with the most VP wins
12
Break ties
If tied, the player with the most visible dragons on their player mat (not including tucked cards) wins
13
Share victory
If still tied, the victory is shared

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