Cardboard Corner: Review of Dragon's Breath

I do pay some attention to board game awards, but generally prefer to let time be the ultimate recommender. Any game popular after 1 or 2 years can be noted, but any game still popular after 3 or more years is likely worth looking closer at. The exception is children’s games, specifically the Kinderspiel award. Not yet leading my family astray, there is a list of extremely popular, fun, and developmental games we own as recommended by the German board game award. Haba’s Dragon’s Breath (2017) is yet one more good example.

When setting up Dragon’s Breath, players construct a tower of “ice rings” in the middle of the board that they fill with dozens and dozens of small, colorful jewels—plastic, not real <wink>. After, players select their cute dragon cutout and play begins. An estimating game, players take turns guessing which color of jewel will have the highest number fall to the board when the top ring of the tower is removed. The first player’s dragon breathes fire, melts the ring (i.e. the ring is removed), and players collect the jewels of their color which fell. First player rotates to the next player, and play continues. Round and round the game goes until all rings are removed. At the end, jewels are counted, and the player with the most—the player who estimated consistently best, wins.

I hope that I won’t be entering a black hole of gender politics, but I would say Dragon’s Breath is one of the few games that my 4-year old daughter loves. Racing games and puzzle games are not among her favorites, but the cute dragons and jewels are something that she loves. To be fair, my 6-year old son also greatly enjoys the game, which leads to my fuzzy, subjective conclusion that Dragon’s Breath is a game both young boys and girls can equally enjoy but which may put an extra sparkle in your little girl’s eyes.

For 2-4 players, and taking 10-15 minutes to play, Dragon’s Breath is a quick, fun game. As with many excellent children’s games, the game is not inherently biased to adults. Children as young as 3 stand a chance against ol’ dad. The components are great, and the package, while simple, is well thought out and designed. I love how the box is both container and playing space. So, if you’re looking for a cute, colorful, fun game for small children, try Dragon’s Breath. The Kinderspiel award agrees.