SNAP Review – Dragons & Chickens

Race for the treasure but watch out for dragons in this speedy card game from Devir. Dragons & Chickens was designed by Josep M. Alluè and Dani Gómez.

Listen to our review in about 6 minutes, or read on below.

Game

Dragons & Chickens is a speed-matching game.

But unlike other speed games we’ve reviewed in the past, there’s a hierarchy of things to look for.

All players flip the top card of their stacks simultaneously after chanting “My – trea – sure!” Find the treasure that appears most often and say it first to claim all the treasure cards!

But – if there is a tie between treasure appearances, be the first to grab the treasure chest totem.

But – all the treasures belong to a dragon! If the dragon appears ANYWHERE on the revealed cards, all players race to place a hand on the shield totem.

Last player must give up all of their matching treasures to the dragon… or give up a chicken for the dragon to roast.

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AND – for experienced players, you can add even more complexity by looking for dark rooms. Every room has a torch, but not every torch is lit! Be the first to slap an unlit room card to steal it, even if there’s a dragon!

At the beginning of the game, the cards were split evenly among the players. When the cards run out, count up each player’s treasure pile. Whoever has the most treasure cards, wins.

Impressions

Generally speed games are polarizing. Either you’re good at them, or you’re not. However, with Dragons & Chickens, there’s so many different things to keep an eye out for, that there is a more cerebral aspect to the game.

The dragon cards serve as an equalizer; noticing the dragon last can absolutely savage your treasure hoard, especially near the end of the game.

Claire has an idea that using only one circle on the treasure card instead of two could make it easier for children.

There’s a surprising amount of difficulty and skill here for a speed game. As long as everyone in your group is at a similar skill level, they can have a great time.

The illustrations are cute and humorous, and just complex enough to provide a challenge when looking for all the non-treasure items (dragon, unlit room, etc.) Because you’re studying the cards, you’ll begin to notice the little details.

We really enjoyed Dragons & Chickens, even though most of us aren’t huge fans of speed games. It makes a great filler game for a group of 3-5 players.

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The Family Gamers received a copy of Dragons & Chickens from Devir Americas for this review.