How to Play

What you're trying to do

War of the Dragon is an asymmetric duel: one player commands the Light and the other the Shadow. There's no single knock-out blow — instead you score victory points across the whole game and the higher total wins. The rules below describe Hero Mode, the approachable two-player baseline that Epic Mode and Solo Mode both build on.

The round structure

The whole game plays out over three Chapters. A Chapter is simply a round of alternating turns that lasts until both players have emptied the hand they drew. Hands grow each Chapter, so the game escalates as it goes.

1. 1

   Draw your hand

   Each Chapter opens with a fresh hand — 4 cards in Chapter 1, 5 in Chapter 2, 6 in Chapter 3. Two missions are revealed for both players to contest.

2. 2

   Play one card face-up

   Each turn you play a single card from your hand. The card carries skill icons that feed your Pattern and decide which missions you can influence.

3. 3

   Choose one of five shared actions

   Move your action pawn to one of the five shared spaces: Ally, Mobilize, Reinforce, Consolidate, or Weave. You may take an action that's already occupied, but it costs extra.

4. 4

   Cash in your skill bonus

   If your Pattern shows three or more icons of the action's matching skill, you trigger that action's powerful bonus effect.

5. 5

   Resolve & pass

   Resolve the action, then your opponent takes their turn. Play alternates until both hands are empty, ending the Chapter.

6. 6

   Final scoring

   After Chapter 3, tally victory points across five categories — Banner tracks, Wheel track, Patterns, Leaders, and map control. Highest total wins; the Shadow takes ties.

The five actions

Every turn you move your action pawn to one of five shared spaces. These are the engine of the entire game. Full breakdown →

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  Ally

  Recruit an Ally by taking one of three face-up cards or drawing a random one.

• 

  Mobilize

  The main way to move characters across the map.

• 

  Reinforce

  Recover and empower your characters.

• 

  Consolidate

  Boost your economy by gaining 3 crowns, the game's main currency (used to pay for occupied actions, leave control markers when characters exit spaces, and boost strength when entering enemy territory).

• 

  Weave

  Advance your Wheel track for escalating benefits, and add control markers to an open mission.

Game at a glance

How you win

When Chapter 3 ends, both players total their victory points across the five scoring categories. The highest total wins. If the scores are level, the Shadow prevails — so the Light player can't simply play for a draw.

See it in play