Chaos & Confetti

Fluffy Dragons is a betting and bluffing game, which will have players pitting cute dragons against one another in a quest to amass the largest and most colorful treasure horde.

This game is all about not only figuring out the best potential spot to maximize gem gains, but also figuring out how to get your opponents to fall for your carefully laid plans.  

Player Count: 2 – 5 

Ages: 8+

Playtime: 10 – 25 minutes

GAME PLAY:

Each player will first choose a dragon and then take its corresponding gems, elemental card, and cave.  Set the elemental board in the center of the play space and the game is ready to begin.

Every player will have five elemental cards, which each pair with a spot on the elemental board.  Only four cards will be in their hands though because the fifth one will be face up revealed to the rest of the table.  On their turn, a player will choose an elemental card and place it face down in front of themselves.  Then they will claim what card they played and place their dragon in the appropriate space.  The card and spot might match, but the player could always be bluffing.  

Players will select cards and claim spots until everyone has done so.  They will want to think carefully about where they plan to go because dragons attack the two spaces in front of them clockwise.  Players get to take gems from any dragons they attack, but they also have to surrender gems to anyone who attacks them.  

An added wrinkle to the game is that players can attempt to call each other out for bluffs.  Any time between when a player makes a claim and when cards are revealed, a player may accuse another player of bluffing.  They can wager up to two gems on their accusation.  If they are correct, they get their gems back and get to take an equal number of gems from the bluffer.  However, if they’re wrong, they must give their wagered gems to the wrongly accused.  

Once all cards have been revealed and gems have been collected, the cards revealed this round stay revealed for the next round, becoming the new space that everyone knows that a player can’t place their dragon.  A lost treasure gem will also be placed in the spot of the dragon that revealed their location last.

Lost treasure gems are worth extra points, so they are quite tempting.  However, placing your dragon in their location may open players up to potential attacks.  

Rounds will continue until a number have been played according to the number of players in the game.  After the final round, players will add up their points.  Players will earn points for the number of regular gems they have and their lost treasure gems.  They will also score bonus points for every set of gem colors they have from all players, not including the lost treasure gem.  In the end, whichever player has the most points wins.

OUR THOUGHTS:

Fluffy Dragons is a lightweight game that players should have no problem getting to the table.  It’s teachable within minutes and the games themselves go pretty quickly.  Best of all, the games can be pretty fun.

Trying to strategically place your dragons is great as you hope to steal gems without losing any.  As players begin to jockey for position, it is interesting to see how they target one another.  However, the real excitement comes from the bluffing and betting aspects of the game.  The tension between trying to trick your friends while also not wanting to open yourself up to potential accusations is an interesting one.  That same tension can be felt on the opposing side between hoping to profit from your opponents lies but not wanting to accuse anyone too quickly in fear of losing your own gems.

During our playthroughs with friends, it was interesting to see how our group meta evolved. Open information is limited, so there was an element of blind faith in what we all chose to do.  Then, we were playing based on previous reveals and actions, and seeking to get vengeance for past loss of gems.  It all became very silly with a constantly shifting dynamic.  We shared a lot of laughs.  

Fluffy Dragons is a fun and quick game that should add smiles to any game night.

FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS:

Fluffy Dragons is perfect for anyone looking for an easy to pick up and dive into game that should be accessible for any player.  The betting and bluffing aspects of the game keep it fun and constantly evolving within a game group, especially since the shorter play time (10 – 25 minutes) means that plenty of games should be able to be played close to one another.

We recommend Fluffy Dragons for those looking for an easy to learn lightweight game that plays quickly but still packs plenty of entertainment.  It’s also great for anyone looking for cute theming with their games. It’s on Kickstarter now and the campaign runs until June 28th. The game is already fully funded!

*disclaimer – we were provided with a review copy of Fluffy Dragons in advance of the Kickstarter campaign that we then passed on to other reviewers. All thoughts are our own. Some components pictured in this review may be earlier prototypes/art than what you’ll see in the final product.