Dragomino

Dragomino? You might think that sounds like dragons and Dominoes… and hey! You’d be right! No doubt you’ve heard of Kingdomino, the smash hit from designer Bruno Cathala and Blue Orange Games. That particular portmanteau saw you building a kingdom out of domino-esque tiles. Due to it’s supreme popularity, Kingdomino has spawned a number of sequels and expansions. Dragomino is part of the family, but it is a standalone game. You don’t need Kingdomino to play this.

Dragomino is a game for children, leaning on the core basics of what you get in Kingdomino. There’s a bunch of different 2x1 rectangular tiles, consisting of two squares. Each square is a terrain, like ice or sand, and so on. Unlike regular Dominoes, some terrains are less common than others. Everyone starts with a single terrain tile: one half snow, one half desert.

As many tiles as there are players get revealed, face-up. (There’s no numbers on the tilebacks, like in Kingdomino. This is a simplified version, targeted at kids aged five and up.) In turn order, players draft a tile and place it adjacent into their array of tiles. Every time two tile edges touch, with the same terrain, they get to take a corresponding dragon egg chit. You flip it over and see: it’ll either be a baby dragon (awww!) or a cracked shell (hashtag: sadface). There’s seven dragons available per egg type. And, since some eggs are rarer than others (equivalent to the terrain type), there’s a subtle lesson at play here…

That’s right: Dragomino teaches kids about probability! The aim of the game is, as you might have guessed, to collect the most dragons. It’s wrapped up in a cute theme, with charming artwork and quality components. Blue Orange and Bruno Cathala have another winner on their hands, here.

Player Count: 2-4 Players
Time: 15 minutes
Age: 5+