Three Dragon Ante

[CharlesRyan]

I played the heck out of this game, and have introduced it successfully to hardcore gamers and to nongamers. I love it. Tip of the hat to Rob Heinsoo!

 

[Crothian]

Anyone have any alternate rules that could be fun? I was thinking of having all the mortals work like the Dragonslayer and once they slay a dragon it gets removed from the deck. It would create a diminishing returns and could be interesting.

 

[blargney the second]

Strategy tip #1: gameplay changes significantly once the druid has been played. Before she comes out, you need to figure out who has her as fast as possible. This results in a lot of bluffing and interesting behaviour around the table.
-blarg

 

[ivocaliban]

Anyone have any alternate rules that could be fun?

Not necessarily alternate rules, but useful nonetheless: Unofficial FAQ and Revised Rules.

 

[Ambrus]

The game actually ends when the *first* player goes out. Whoever has the most money at that point wins.

I don't recall having read anything to that effect. So does the winning player get all the gold or does each person keep their own winnings? The latter would seem to be somewhat unfair.

 

[VictorC]

It's a fun game that's quick and easy to learn. I've never played it in my d&d games though.

 

[Agamon]

I don't recall having read anything to that effect. So does the winning player get all the gold or does each person keep their own winnings? The latter would seem to be somewhat unfair.

How's it not fair to have the most gold at the end (always meaning more than you started with)? You can alternately play until there's only one player left standing, but that's not fun for the people that go out early (Monopoly syndrome).

 

[Asmor]

The winner is the person with the most gold. I reccomend using the "game over when one person runs out" clause only if you're playing it as a closed game... if you're playing it as a pseudo-gambling game (or even a real gambling game, for that matter!) treat it exactly like Poker.

It's easily one of my favorite card games, and this is coming from someone who owns a lot of games.

 

[Crothian]

The winner is the person with the most gold. I reccomend using the "game over when one person runs out" clause only if you're playing it as a closed game... if you're playing it as a pseudo-gambling game (or even a real gambling game, for that matter!) treat it exactly like Poker.

The problem with that is the people who go out first could easily be sitting around for a few hours. That's not fun.

 

[Asmor]

The problem with that is the people who go out first could easily be sitting around for a few hours. That's not fun.

Uhh... if you're treating it like poker, as I suggested, then they just go ahead and pull some more coin out of their purse and hope their luck changes.