Dragonwood

I found the BEST board game for children!  I happen to be passing through a quaint little tourist town on the north shore of Lake Superior - Grand Marais.  There's a great outdoors/hiking/camping store there called the Trading Post which stocks all manner of cottage clothing, fishing, hunting, books, maps and games!

I asked the owner about this game "Dragonwood" that I spotted in the games section.  He had heard some pretty amazing reviews from his customers who had purchased it.  Taking him at his word I purchased it for my kids.

We were on a camping trip weeks later and broke out the game (still in the shrink wrap).  My kids along with some of their cousins took to it like moths to a flame.  It was the best $20.00 I spent towards children's entertainment and the kids as well as myself spent hours playing this gem of a game.

Simply put - it's a form of UNO (finding cards of the same colour or a run of numbers or three of kind) and using that determine how many dice you roll to try and capture a creature from "Dragonwood".   Each card captured has an assigned point(s) to it.  The smaller point cards are easier to capture like the 'fire ants' or 'giggling goblins'.  The more difficult cards like the 'pack of wolves' or 'angry bear' require a more die to conquer. 

The two ultimate beasts - the Dragons - are the most difficult to capture.  Once the two dragons are caught the game is over and players then count their points (based on the creatures captured).

Hours and hours of fun were had with this game.  It is great if you aspire to have your kids get into more difficult games as it provides the foundation of dice mechanics.  10 out 10!