Three-Dragon Ante

Build the strongest dragon flight, trigger dragon powers and grab the pot in a D&D tavern card game.

Designer: Rob Heinsoo
Published by: Hobby Japan
Editions by: Wizards of the Coast, Play Factory

Three-Dragon Ante (2005) is the card game that the characters of the Dungeons & Dragons world play in their taverns, and you can play it as a stand-alone game or as part of a roleplaying campaign. Everyone antes into a pot, and the pot goes to whoever built the best dragon flight that round. Each turn you play a card into your flight, and if it is equal to or weaker than the dragon the player before you played, its power fires: draw cards, take cards from opponents, steal from the pot. The game ends when one player goes bankrupt. Two to six players, about twenty minutes.

Dragon flights decide the potWeaker dragons trigger their powersEnds when someone goes bankrupt

Who it's for

You like D&D flavour, light bluffing and a quick betting card game around a table of up to six.

Not for you if…

You want deep strategy or dislike take-that effects. Taking cards and stealing from the pot is part of the fun.

Vibe's take

Quick and cheeky. You bluff with your bids, play a dragon at just the right strength and enjoy stealing from the pot at the last second.