So many dragons in a wooden village... it must be a magical village
Flamecraft
Designer: Manny Vega
Artist: Sandara Tang
Published: 2022
Players: 1-5
Playing Time: 60 Mins
BGG Rating: 7.5
BGG Ranking: 383
Publisher: Cardboard Alchemy
Mechanics: Contracts, End Game Bonuses, Hand Management, Worker placement, Set Collection
Sleeves: MEU 45x68mm, OSDS 90x140mm
Game Description:
Artisan dragons, the smaller and magically talented versions of their larger (and destructive) cousins, are sought by shopkeepers so that they may delight customers with their flamecraft. You are a Flamekeeper, skilled in the art of conversing with dragons, placing them in their ideal home and using enchantments to entice them to produce wondrous things. Your reputation will grow as you aid the dragons and shopkeepers, and the Flamekeeper with the most reputation will be known as the Master of Flamecraft.
Quick play overview:
On your turn you will move your figure to a different shop card and then usually GATHER resources which will later help you ENCHANT a shop (finish a contract to get points) instead of gathering resources.
If you walk into a shop with other dragons there, you have to pay them each 1 good.. because they might be cute but deep down they are a bunch of bullies like their bigger destructive cousins.
When you take the GATHER action you will do the following actions in order:
- You will collect a number of resources depending on the color of the shop (and the number of enchantments the shop has) and the colors of the dragon artisans working there.
- (OPTIONAL) Place a new artisan dragon from your hand to an empty space in the shop that matches the dragon's icon
- (OPTIONAL) Use one ability of the artisan dragons in the shop
- (OPTIONAL) Use the shop ability if available
Once in a while (when you will have enough resources, you will ENCHANT a shop rather than doing the GATHER actions. This means you will return resources to the bank and finish one contract of the matching color than the shop that you are at.
Once the enchant deck or artisan dragon runs empty the last turno f the game is triggered and the player with most point is the winner.
Final thoughts:
A family weight worker placement game. The cute art makes the game an lovely experience for all ages.
You cannot get locked out in this game as you can always pay the resource and go to every spot…which is a good mechanic for the target audience, but it makes it a less strategic game for serious gamers who cannot counter your play even if it's visible from a mile away. You can finish a contract before the opponent.. but surely there will be other equally good option for them left.
SCORE:
Gameplay & How often I want to play it: 7/10
Choosing which shop to visit to get some extra actions and the needed materials is very interesting… but almost all spots are good which diminishes your satisfaction at hitting the best spot.
Art & Graphic Design: 10/10
The board and cards are beautiful. This is one of the cutest games that I played lately.
Graphic design is clean and well done. There was never a question about what something does.
Rules & Complexity: 8/10
The rules are simple and easy to learn.
Players have only a few possible actions each turn which keeps the game flowing nicely. The complexity is a bit too low (for my taste) for this type of game but perfect for a family setting.
Theme & Mechanism fit: 8/10
A dragon village with artisan dragons… lovely and cute.
Walking around different shops to collect materials for the artifacts and flamecrafts...fits the theme.
Fun & Replayability: 7/10
Collecting sets and turning them in at the right time for the biggest points gets a bit samey.. and there is almost always a need for all the resources, so you will be visiting the shops that give you the best return for your time.. over and over.
Replayability comes from switching out the shop tiles and getting different bonuses which will make games different.