Review and critique Tiger & Dragon as well as explain the rules

Tiger & Dragon is the ultimate showdown of kungfu masters. What skills do I use in battle in this card game designed by Atsushi Hashimoto (Oink Games) and how do I reach a score? What are my opponent's weaknesses?

Tiger and Dragon game overview

Tiger & Dragon is based on the traditional Japanese game Goetta This edition has been designed to be very suitable for beginners. The goal of the game is to be the first player to drop all of their Battle Stones.

How is the material?

Tiger and Dragon stones in particular immediately catch the eye and are immediately picked up by everyone. you look like Jung-The stones feel that way too. It is a pleasure to play with these stones.

There is also a game board for each player. There are specific storage places there, both for the stones I use for defense and for the stones I use to attack. There are playing pieces with numbers from 1 to 8 – each number has exactly the same number of pieces as the number on it, for example two pieces have a '2' and seven pieces have a '7'.

Two Special Stones – Oji stones still play a special role. The ten battle maps presented different scenarios. There are also dot chips that can be puzzled into the game boards and the player's starting marker.

Preparing the game

Each player gets a game board. The battle card is chosen together. All combat stones are shuffled face down in the middle of the table. Depending on the number of players, each player draws the same number of face-down stones and places them in front of him so that he can see the numbers for himself.

Rules: This is how the game works

In Tiger & Dragon, attack moves and defense moves alternate. The first player initiates the first attack. To do this, he selects one of his stones and places it on the first attack space on his playing board.

Now the following players can try to defend themselves. To do this, the next player needs a token with the same number. If he cannot play the piece or if he does not want to play the piece at that time for tactical reasons, he must pass. If the attack is blocked with an appropriate token, the player can play a new attack token immediately afterwards.

If none of the following players are able to defend against the current attack, the attacking player gets the round bonus. He may place any of his stones face down on a defensive space. On the one hand, this means that he has one less symbol, and on the other hand, not all other players know which number he took out of the game. He can then start the new attack.

The great unknown

A token with the number “2” can only be captured using another token. Maybe that's not even in the game. It is possible that it was not dealt (all pieces are never played) or the player could have set aside the second “2” as a bonus round.

The only way to beat “2” is the Oji Stone with the Tiger. This beats all even numbered pieces. On the other hand, the Dragon Ögi stone outperforms all exotic stones.

game over

Whoever manages to leave all their tokens first wins. Whoever has the last stone in front of him announces this with the word “riichi”.

The points scored by the winner depend on the current battle card and on the last stone played. Depending on the battle cards, different points are awarded for the last number played. In addition, the winner receives points for each round bonus he manages to achieve.

Conclusion of the review

It is important to note the mechanism that the lower numbers are usually the stronger numbers. The chances of defense are much lower with low numbers. However, if many pieces with high numbers are already out of the game, they suddenly become powerful again. One important strategy is to carefully consider which numbers are likely to be strong in the end. In addition, installation in the right place can bring decisive advantages.

Incredible tension

Before the first game, I liked the material and was curious about the mechanics – even though I don't usually like such abstract fighting games. It didn't just stop at one lap, there was incredible tension quickly. Examples:

• What stone will I cross?
• I'd rather stop by now or later.
• If I now “tempt” a lot of sevens, I may be able to eventually score points with the second sevens.

Tiger & Dragon certainly won't be at our table on a regular basis. But it has found a place on my toy shelf.