Wyrmspan rules: how to play and how to score

Wyrmspan quick rules

The goal

Your player mat has three caves of four spaces: the Crimson Cavern, the Golden Grotto and the Amethyst Abyss. You excavate spaces, then entice dragons into them. After four rounds, the most victory points wins.

A turn

On your turn, you take a single action: excavate, entice a dragon or explore a cave. Every action costs at least one coin, placed on your mat, and sometimes eggs. You may also pass: you take no more turns this round and keep your coins. At the end of your turn, you keep no more than nine coins, nine cards and nine resources.

Excavate

Play a cave card from your hand onto the left-most empty space of a cave; the first space of each cave is already excavated. It costs one coin, plus one egg in the third column or two eggs in the fourth. You gain the card’s when played benefit and the when covered benefit of the space you covered.

Entice a dragon

Play a dragon from your hand onto the left-most excavated space of one of its preferred caves, shown on the edge of the card. Pay one coin plus the dragon’s printed cost, in resources and sometimes eggs, then gain its when played benefit. A mat holds at most twelve dragons.

Explore a cave

Your adventurer walks through a cave from left to right and activates every if activated ability it passes, on the mat and on dragons. It stops at the first space without a dragon. Exploring a cave costs one coin the first time in a round, one coin and one egg the second time, one coin and two eggs the third.

Dragon abilities

When played: once, on arrival. If activated: each time your adventurer walks onto the dragon, but not on the turn you play it. Once per round: at the end of every round. End game: points at final scoring. All are optional; when a benefit is offered to everyone, each player chooses freely.

Hatchlings

Hatchlings cost an egg and milk. Every time you cache their resource or tuck a card under them, you gain a benefit, whatever ability let you do it. The third time, they grow up and also give a big bonus, only once per game.

The Dragon Guild

An advancement moves your guild token one space along the track, with the benefit of the space where it lands. On each of the two brown spaces, you place a player marker on an open square of the Dragon Guild tile and gain its benefit, four markers at most. Some squares score points at the end.

Round end

When everyone has passed, once per round abilities activate, then players rank for the round’s objective: tied players all take the better place, and a player with nothing scores nothing. The display is refreshed, each player gains six coins and one egg, and the start player marker moves clockwise.

Game end and scoring

After the fourth round, score the Dragon Guild, dragons, their end game abilities, objectives, one point per egg, cached resource, tucked card and coin, and one point per four remaining items. On a tie, the most visible dragons wins; otherwise, the victory is shared.

Beginner mistakes

Playing a dragon on a space not yet excavated; forgetting the eggs for columns three and four, or for returning to a cave; activating a dragon on the turn it is played; passing with too many coins; counting tucked cards as dragons for objectives.

With Dragon Academy

In the first three rounds, passing means placing your adventurer on an open income space, collected at round end instead of the six coins and egg. The expansion adds fledglings, which you train by walking onto them; each scores one point per fledgling on your mat.

How to score Wyrmspan

Dragon Guild

Points from the end game benefits of the Dragon Guild tile where you placed your markers.

Printed dragon points

The value of each visible dragon on your mat, not in hand and not tucked.

End game abilities

Points from the end game abilities of your visible dragons.

Eggs, cached resources, tucked cards

One point each.

Round objectives

The total of your four objectives, read on the round tracker.

Remaining coins

One point per coin.

Other remaining items

Resources, dragon cards and cave cards in hand: one point per four, rounded down.

Fledglings (Dragon Academy)

Each fledgling scores one point per fledgling on your mat: enter how many you have, the app does the math.

Visible dragons

Tiebreaker only: on a tie, the most visible dragons on your mat wins, tucked cards excluded.

Worked example

Emma scores 9 Dragon Guild points, 38 printed dragon points, 12 points of end game abilities, 8 eggs, 6 cached resources, 5 tucked cards and 17 objective points. She has 2 coins and 7 items left, which is 1 point for one full group of four. Total: 9 + 38 + 12 + 8 + 6 + 5 + 17 + 2 + 1 = 98 points.

Common mistakes

• Counting tucked cards as dragons: they score one point, but never count for objectives or the tiebreaker.
• Giving third place to the player after two players tied for first: they take second place.
• Scoring every square of the Dragon Guild tile: only squares with an end game benefit score points.
• Counting coins in the groups of four: each coin already scores one point on its own.

How to set up Wyrmspan

Setup takes about ten minutes. Follow the first two parts; the last one is for solo play only.