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Writer's pictureAthena

Persist, and you will be rewarded

What are the difficulty stages in a game? Easy-Medium-Hard-WTF. Except there is no Easy in Dragonfire. The game throws challenges at you right from the get-go, until you reach the final campaign scenario -Slaadi Plague- which is laugh-out-loud hard.


Dragonfire is a reimplementation of Shadowrun: Crossfire in a Dungeons & Dragons setting. Even though the game comes with a campaign booklet that provides a storyline to follow as you progress the missions, it's not exactly dripping with theme. The cards are very well-illustrated, though, (images taken from older D&D material, if I'm not mistaken), so at least you will be looking at good artwork while you play.


If you browse the threads on the game's BGG page you will see a lot of complaining. Some of the complaints are justified and some are by people who just don't like to lose. Having played through the base game (currently stuck at the final scenario), I can tell you this: if you enjoy card games and combos, and don't mind repeating missions, chances are you will enjoy Dragonfire. I have enjoyed it a lot.


In case you are interested, here are some tips:


1. Skip the tutorial mission of the rulebook and start straight with the first scenario of the campaign (Dungeon Crawl). Unlike other tutorials that give you an easy-peasy glimpse of what is to follow, this one instead teaches you how to lose. You don't need that, as it will only make you begin the game sour and frustrated.


2. Read the rulebook, but make sure you watch the gameplay video by slickerdips as well. The rulebook is not well-written and may lead to confusion and mistakes (it happened to me). If you combine it with the video, however, you will understand everything and jump right in.


3. Almost everyone recommends that you play the game with 4 characters. If you can do that, good for you, as this was the way the designers originally intended it to be played. I tried it but the upkeep was too much for me, so I resorted to playing with just two. I have made it up to the final scenario, so I can assure you it's doable. Managing 2 heroes has the added advantage that they will collect enough money to buy powerful cards from the market.


4. Do not purchase this game if the idea of losing a lot in order to gain XP and level up doesn't appeal to you. This is exactly what happens here. You start off inexperienced but, with every loss, you gain experience points. When you gather some, you exchange them for stickers (or written notes for me, I hate stickers). The characters gain abilities and become a little bit stronger. Leveling up is slow: it will take effort to build up. Thankfully, missions are short and set up is fast. After each loss, you can easily start over.

Instead of the HERMIT sticker, I used paper tape and wrote on it - so I can remove it later.

Even though Dragonfire is listed as a deck building game, you do not get to thin your deck. You just buy cards from the market, and add them to your hand - not your discard pile. Coordination between heroes is crucial, and taking out enemies is very satisfying. Luck plays a part as well: the market gets refreshed often, but it may not have the right cards at the right time. Some enemies are more manageable than others, some Dragonfire cards (nasty event cards) are not as bad as others. Luck of the draw is ever-present.


If you know what to expect from the game, I believe you won't be disappointed. I am a fan of deck building and card-driven gameplay, and don't mind repeating missions, as long as the game is fun and winnable. For others, it may feel like too much grinding. I'd say check out the video by slickerdips and dip into it if you feel up to the task.



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Zerbique
Zerbique
Feb 17, 2021
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Don't worry, I know I'm always disappointed with board games, which is why I have so many!

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Athena
Athena
Feb 17, 2021
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The rulebook is bad. Once you read it, watch the video I have posted above and all will be clear.


I want to return to the game but others get in the way. It sure has its faults, Zerbique, so don't get your hopes up too high. :)

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Zerbique
Zerbique
Feb 17, 2021
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Actually the rulebook was full of fiddly rules. Since my playing time slots are few and far between, there will usually be at least one week between reading the rules and playing the game, but when playing I'll know there are all these fiddly rules I can never quite remember (about locations, which hero can do what from where, and so on).


It seems to be simple at its core (play cards, match symbols, improve your deck from the market) but the rulebook felt overly long and exhausting (actually I have noticed later that there is a "Start to play" additional rulebook but I usually ignore these as I want to play according to the "true", full rules; yes, inconsisten…

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JW
JW
Feb 17, 2021
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So, you'll let us know how you like it six months from now? When I started playing Shadowrun Crossfire, I was completely addicted. Then I got frustrated by the many losses. Now I want to start again.

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Zerbique
Zerbique
Feb 17, 2021
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I finally bought it (a year ago), read the rulebook (six months ago), but still haven't played it, which frustrates me a lot. The more I think about it, the more I believe this game could be very close to one of the four games I'm secretly looking for (a fun card-based deck-building Fantasy game where your character improves though the different sessions).

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