YORKTON - When it comes to print and play games some of the simplest ‘builds’ are abstract strategy games where the rules are available online, and so too are files for what is typically a specialized board.
And that brings us to the 2020 release Three Dragons from designer Scott Allen Czysz.
Three Dragons was entered in the Board Game Geek 2020 Two Player PnP Design Contest, which is where it was discovered by The Meeple Guild.
The game is such an easy one to create that any abstract strategy fan is encouraged to try it.
There is a special game board but it prints nicely on an 8.5X11 sheet, slip it into a plastic sheet – I add a few extra sheets under such a board to give it a bit more ‘substance’ -- and you are set to go.
Pieces in this one are 11 D6 dice per player so in different colours, which are something most gamers will have.
It should be noted that the dice aren’t used in a fashion that adds luck in terms of rolling in the base game either, so it is a pure abstract offering.
In terms of game play Three Dragons is similar to ancient custodial capture board games such as Petteia, Tablut, Hnefatafl, but many modern offerings owe at least a nod in terms of linage to earlier games.
The base game is straight up custodial capture — a piece or pieces sandwiched on an opponent’s move between two pieces is captured – which is something of an acquired taste. I for example see the challenge of the game, my usual Meeple Guild opponent for abstract strategy games is far less a fan.
Three Dragons has two additional features as advanced variants of the base game:
* Player pieces have strengths – this where dice as game pieces come into play -- so that a stronger piece can capture a weaker piece (in additional to traditional custodial capture), and
* And three ‘dragon cave’ spaces on the board allow players to obtain strong dragon pieces, although this is a tricky thing to accomplish.
So, this is not the next great abstract strategy game, but for printing a single page and digging out some dice you probably have, it is most certainly worth exploring.
