8 Dragons, an upcoming competitive horde-building strategy game from developer Wonderbow Games, takes the appeal of dragons in a decidedly cozy direction. In addition to a bold yet gentle art style and emphasis on the lighter side of fantasy, 8 Dragons also promises a set of mechanics that genuinely intrigues me – enough to make its new Kickstarter campaign worthy of our attention.
The ongoing 8 Dragons Kickstarter Campaign shows off plenty of feathers in the game’s promisingly elaborate cap. The most prominent of these are the dragon swarms. During a game of 8 Dragons, you’ll be in charge of a swarm of wyrmlings that you’ve sent out into the world. These Wyrmlings can form chains as they move about the board’s elegant pair of loops.
In 8 Dragons, your goal is to build the most impressive horde by expanding your lair and completing missions.
In a curious twist, symptomatic of the game’s emphasis on positive interactions between players, swarms can be composed of Wyrmlings belonging to different players, meaning that, as you go about the board and receive benefits from the places you visit, other players will have the chance to reap rewards, too.
By allowing for the possibility of multi-colored dragon swarms, the game invites a curious friction where you have to decide which benefits you can afford to give other players, while keeping your eyes on your own missions.
What’s more, the Kickstarter is free of bloated, prohibitively expensive mega-editions, instead offering three sensible price points ranging from the Standard Edition, which will set you back £43 ($58), to a Deluxe Bundle, which costs £65 ($87). The Deluxe Bundle includes Wonderous Places, an expansion set that adds a range of new mechanics, including Kobolds and mysterious orbs.
Though we’ve yet to play 8 Dragons for ourselves, should Wonderbow deliver on the promising premise of the upcoming title, we may see our official list of the best board games gain a new member.
Seeking more dragons for your swarm? Find them on the Wargamer Discord.
Source: Wargamer
