Wyrmspan

Overview

You are an amateur dracologist in the world of Wyrmspan, where dragons of all shapes, sizes and colours roam the skies. You excavate a hidden labyrinth of caves and entice dragons to roost there.

Your sanctuary is your player mat, with 3 caves: the Crimson Cavern, the Golden Grotto and the Amethyst Abyss. Each cave starts with 1 excavated space, its leftmost. You build each cave from left to right: first excavate an empty space with a cave card, then entice dragons into excavated spaces.

On each turn you take 1 of 5 actions:

1. Excavate a space.
2. Entice a dragon into an excavated space.
3. Explore your Crimson Cavern.
4. Explore your Golden Grotto.
5. Explore your Amethyst Abyss.

The player with the most victory points (VP) wins. VP come from dragons’ printed values, eggs, cached resources, tucked cards, public objectives and the Dragon Guild (see Game End and Scoring).

The solo mode (Automa) has its own rulebook, which is not covered here.

Components

• Paper/cardboard: 1 Dragon Guild board, 4 double-sided Dragon Guild tiles, 183 dragon cards, 75 cave cards, 1 card display board, 1 round tracker board, 10 double-sided objective tiles, 5 player mats, 10 double-sided quick start guides, 1 score pad
• Tokens: 45 coins (silver), 25 meat (red), 25 gold (yellow), 25 crystal (purple), 25 milk (white), 55 eggs, 20 multiplier tokens (×1 / ×2, for resources and eggs), 1 round marker, 1 start player marker
• Player pieces (each colour): 1 adventurer, 8 player markers (4 for objective scoring, 4 for the Dragon Guild), 1 guild token

Note: Your player markers are limited, but all other components are not. If you run out of any other piece, use a suitable replacement.

Icons

• VP: victory points
• If activated (adventurer icon): triggers when your adventurer walks onto or past it
• When played (hand-and-card icon): triggers once, when you play the card
• Once per round (stopwatch icon): triggers at the end of every round
• End game (flag icon): scores at the end of the game
• Coin; resources: gold, meat, milk, crystal; any resource (four-colour circle); no resource cost
• Cave card, dragon card, egg, nest (egg capacity), Dragon Guild advancement (shield), refresh (circular arrows)

Setup

Place the following in the centre of the table:

1. Dragon Guild board: Select 1 of the 4 Dragon Guild tiles at random and place it in the centre of the Dragon Guild board, with the side for your player count face up.
2. Card display board:
   • Dragons: Shuffle all dragons together and place 3 face up on the display. Place the dragon deck nearby, face down.
   • Cave cards: Shuffle all cave cards together and place 3 face up on the display. Place the cave deck nearby, face down.
3. Round tracker board: Place the round marker on the Round 1 space. Shuffle the objective tiles, then place 4 of them at random on the designated spaces with a random side face up. Return the others to the box.
4. Place the coins, eggs and all tokens in a public supply within reach of all players.

Each Player Gains

• 1 player mat and all player pieces of 1 colour (1 adventurer, 8 player markers, 1 guild token)
• 6 coins and 1 egg
• 3 dragon cards and 3 cave cards drawn from the decks. Choose a total of 4 cards, in any combination of dragons and cave cards, to keep as your starting hand. Discard the other 2 face up to create the discard piles.
• 3 resources of your choice: any combination of gold, crystal, meat and milk

Tip: Look at your starting cards first, then pick resources that match 1 or more of the dragons you kept.

All eggs work the same; their colours are only for looks.

Each Player Then

1. Ⓐ Places their player mat in front of them.
2. Ⓑ Places their starting resources in their player area (left of the mat).
3. Ⓒ Places their starting egg on 1 of the 2 nest icons on their player mat. Important: Although there are 2 nest icons, players start with only 1 egg.
4. Ⓓ Places their starting coins to the left of their mat.
5. Ⓔ Places their adventurer in Base Camp (on the player mat).
6. Ⓕ Places their guild token on the Dragon Guild space labelled “START”.
7. Ⓖ Places their remaining player markers, dragons and cave cards nearby.

Randomly give a player the start player marker, then begin.

The Player Mat

The left side of the mat shows the three actions and their costs:

• Excavate: cost 1 coin, plus the eggs printed above the column (3rd column: +1 egg; 4th column: +2 eggs). Play a cave card from your hand into the leftmost empty space of a cave.
• Entice: cost 1 coin, plus the cost printed on the dragon. Play a dragon from your hand into the leftmost excavated space of a cave.
• Explore: cost printed at each cave’s entrance: 1st time in a round 1 coin, 2nd time 1 coin + 1 egg, 3rd time 1 coin + 2 eggs. Choose a cave and move your adventurer from left to right until you reach a stop sign (an empty space).
• Base Camp: return your adventurer here at the end of your turn.
• Capacity: at the end of your turn, discard down to 9 total cards (dragons and caves combined), 9 coins and 9 resources.
• Store 2 eggs here: the mat’s 2 nest icons.
• Exchange: at any time, convert 2 resources into 1 resource of another type.

Each cave’s path has the same rhythm. Starting from the entrance, your adventurer passes a mat icon, then a dragon space, alternating like this: gain → space 1 → Dragon Guild → space 2 → gain → space 3 → lay an egg → space 4 → the cave’s end ability.

The 4th space of each cave also has a one-time “when covered” benefit: when you excavate it, you may pay 3 items (resources, dragons and cave cards in any combination) to gain 1 coin.

Gameplay

Wyrmspan is played over 4 rounds. Each round, players take turns in clockwise order, starting with the player who has the start player marker.

Players keep taking turns until they decide to pass. This usually happens when a player has spent all their coins, or has no dragons in hand they want to (or can afford to) play. Once you pass, you take no more turns this round, but you may still gain benefits during other players’ turns. Other players keep going until they spend their coins or pass. When everyone has passed, the round ends.

When you pass you keep your coins, resources, cave cards, dragons and nested eggs for the next round.

Tip: Use most (or all) of your coins before passing. You gain 6 coins at the start of each round (and in rare circumstances 1 extra coin after passing), and you must discard down to 9 coins at the end of each turn.

Important: You may never place items on, or remove items from, other players’ mats. Every ability lets you interact only with the public supply, the central boards and your own player mat.

Terminology

• Player mat: your personal mat that holds cave cards, dragons and eggs.
• Cave card: a square card added to your mat through the excavate action. Each one covers 1 of the 9 empty spaces on your mat and makes it an excavated space.
• Dragon: a rectangular card that can be placed on any excavated space, including the 3 spaces excavated at the start.
• Resources: meat, gold, crystal and milk. Coins and eggs are not resources.
• Cave: a row of spaces on your mat: the Crimson Cavern, Golden Grotto or Amethyst Abyss.
• Discard / pay: move cards, coins, eggs or resources from your player area, hand or nests to the public supply. Cards are always discarded face up.

On Your Turn

Choose 1 action on your player mat (excavate, entice or explore), move your adventurer there, pay its cost by placing the coin/eggs on the action, then carry it out.

The coins and eggs left on your mat track how many times you’ve taken each action this round. If the supply runs low you may return them early, but keep track of how many times you’ve explored each cave.

Excavate

Play a cave card into 1 of your caves.

1. Choose the space. Select the leftmost empty space in 1 of your 3 caves. Each cave is excavated from left to right. The first space of every cave starts excavated, so over the game you may excavate the 2nd, 3rd and 4th spaces of each cave.
2. Pay. Pay the base cost of 1 coin, placing it on the excavate action. Then pay 1 egg if you are excavating the 3rd column, or 2 eggs for the 4th column.
   • Eggs may be paid from any dragon(s) in your caves or from the nest icons on your mat.
3. Play the cave card from your hand onto that space, aligned with the square on your mat. Leave the stop sign visible below it.
   • Any cave card can go in any cave; their colours are only for looks.
4. In either order:
   • Take the cave card’s “when played” benefit. Benefits are optional. If the card gives opponents something, they may take their part even if you decline yours.
   • Take the “when covered” benefit of the mat space you covered, if it has one (4th column: once, pay 3 items for 1 coin).

Note: You may add several cave cards in a round, but each excavate action excavates only 1 space, unless the card you play says otherwise.

Note: When an ability lets you excavate for free, you don’t pay the coin or the column’s egg cost.

Tip: The extra coin is nice, but completing the last space of each cave is often worth more. Consider excavating it before you have spare items for the exchange.

Entice

Add a dragon to your player mat.

1. Select a dragon from your hand.
2. Pay the base cost of 1 coin, placing it on the entice action. Then pay the additional cost printed at the upper left of the dragon, from your player area to the supply.
   • The cost is usually a mix of gold, crystal and meat, but some dragons also need a coin, an egg and/or milk.
3. Play the dragon on your mat:
   • It must go in a cave that matches 1 of its preferred habitats, shown on the left edge of the card.
   • It must go into an excavated space. You may not play a dragon on top of another unless an ability explicitly allows it.
   • Dragons are played left to right within each cave.
4. Gain the “when played” benefit printed on the dragon, if any.

Note: You may play several dragons in a round, but each entice action plays only 1 dragon, unless the dragon says otherwise.

Important: A full player mat holds at most 12 dragons. Abilities that replace or cover dragons are rare, so choose wisely!

Explore

Walk your adventurer through one cave and activate the “if activated” abilities it passes.

To explore your Crimson Cavern, Golden Grotto or Amethyst Abyss:

1. Pay the entrance cost printed on your mat for that cave:

   • 1st time this round: 1 coin
   • 2nd time this round: 1 coin + 1 egg
   • 3rd time this round (the maximum, and rare): 1 coin + 2 eggs

   Eggs can come from any dragon(s) or nests on your mat. Leave the paid coin and eggs on the cave’s entrance to track how many times you’ve explored it this round.

2. Walk left to right along the path at the bottom of the cave, activating every “if activated” ability you pass, in order:

   • each “if activated” icon printed on your mat that you walk past, and
   • each dragon with an “if activated” ability that you walk onto.

3. When your adventurer reaches a stop sign (a space without a dragon) or the end of the cave, your turn ends. Return your adventurer to Base Camp.

Example: Tess explores her Crimson Cavern for the first time this round. She pays 1 coin and starts walking. She activates the first “gain any resource” icon and takes a meat. She walks onto the Chameleon Coatl, which has no “if activated” ability, so nothing happens. Next she walks over the Dragon Guild icon, advances her guild token 1 space and immediately gains that space’s benefit. She walks over the Hoarding Flyer and gains a gold. Then she activates the second “gain any resource” icon and picks a crystal. Her next space is excavated but has no dragon, so she hits a stop sign and returns her adventurer to Base Camp.

Dragon Abilities

All dragons have an ability or benefit. There are 4 types:

• When played: you may gain the benefit immediately when you play the dragon. You only get it once, unless another ability says otherwise. If it gives opponents a benefit, they may collect it even if you decline yours.
• If activated: whenever your adventurer walks onto the dragon, you may activate the ability. If it gives opponents a benefit, they may collect it even if you decline yours. Important: “If activated” abilities do not trigger on the turn you play the dragon.
• Once per round: gives a benefit at the end of every round (see Round End/Upkeep). If it gives opponents a benefit, they may collect it even if you decline yours.
• End game: scores VP at the end of the game if you meet its conditions.

Example Dragon Card

• Cost (upper left): to play the Bellicose Firevern, pay 1 meat and 1 gold (plus the 1 coin if you use the entice action).
• Habitats (left edge): the caves this dragon can live in, here the Crimson Cavern or the Golden Grotto.
• VP (upper right): 5 VP.
• Size: Large, Medium, Small or Hatchling.
• Nest icons: egg capacity, 1 egg per nest icon (this dragon has 1).
• Trait: shy, aggressive, playful or helpful.
• Ability: here a “once per round” ability.

Important: When a dragon looks for a category (in this cave, a trait, a size…), it includes itself if it qualifies. For example, the Smirking Ridgeback (card 130) tucks cards under playful dragons; since it is playful itself, a card is tucked under it too.

Cache, Tuck, Lay and Pay Eggs

Caching a resource means placing that resource onto a dragon. Unless otherwise specified, cached resources come from your personal supply. They stay there until the end of the game (they can’t be spent) and are worth 1 VP each, unless otherwise specified.

• Cache onto the dragon that gives you the ability, unless otherwise specified. “Cache here” means onto that dragon.

Tucking a card means placing a dragon card face down under a dragon already on your mat. Unless otherwise specified, tucked cards come from your hand. They stay until the end of the game and are worth 1 VP each, unless otherwise specified.

• Tuck under the dragon that gives you the ability, unless otherwise specified. “Tuck here” means under that dragon.
• For “Tuck a dragon card from your hand here to gain [any resource] of the cost printed on the tucked dragon”: you gain 1 resource (meat, milk, crystal or gold) that appears in the tucked dragon’s cost, not all of them. Coins are not resources, so you can’t gain a coin this way.

Important: Tucked cards do not count as dragons for end-game abilities or round objectives that count dragons on your mat. If a dragon scores for every medium dragon on your mat, tucked medium dragons don’t count.

Laying an egg means placing an egg from the supply onto any dragon with an empty nest icon, or onto 1 of the 2 nest icons on your mat. Each nest icon holds 1 egg. If you have no empty nest, you can’t lay an egg.

• “Lay an egg here” means only on that dragon. Other abilities may limit where, such as anywhere in a certain cave or column.

Paying an egg means discarding an egg from any dragon on your mat or from a nest on your mat.

• Some abilities require the egg to come from a specific place (e.g. “Pay an egg from anywhere in this cave”).
• Eggs on your dragons and mat at game end are worth 1 VP each, unless otherwise specified.

Hatchlings

Hatchlings are a special type of dragon. Every hatchling costs an egg and 1–3 milk. All hatchlings have a 3-part ability:

1. An “if activated” ability: each time your adventurer walks onto the hatchling, you may cache 1 resource (milk or meat) on it, or tuck 1 card under it, as the card says.
2. Any time you cache that resource on, or tuck a card under, the hatchling, you gain a benefit. This happens whether the cache or tuck came from your adventurer or from another ability.
3. The 3rd time you do so, you gain the regular benefit and a one-time bonus: the hatchling has grown up. This happens exactly once per hatchling, not every 3rd time.

Important: You can keep using a hatchling’s first 2 abilities (e.g. cache a meat, gain a gold) after its bonus has triggered.

Important: Hatchlings work differently from other “if activated” dragons. An adult dragon’s “if activated” ability only fires when your adventurer walks onto it. A hatchling’s second ability has no “if activated” icon, so it fires any time its condition is met, whatever caused it.

Note: Most hatchlings need purple crystals and live in the Amethyst Abyss. Hatchlings for the Golden Grotto or Crimson Cavern are hard to find!

Additional Rules, Notes, and Concepts

Ability Activation Sequencing

When an ability lets all players do something, the active player goes first, then the others in clockwise order. The card display isn’t refilled until the end of the current turn, after everyone has had their chance. So when an “all players gain a card” ability fires, later players may find no face-up card left, though they can still draw from the deck.

Acquiring Items

Whenever you acquire a dragon, cave card or resource, it goes into your hand or personal supply by default. Some abilities let you acquire an item and also offer an optional second step, such as caching the resource or tucking the card. If you decline, the item stays in your hand or supply.

For example, the Beckoning Cricketcatcher gains you 1 card (from the display or the deck) at the end of each round. After looking at it, you decide whether to keep it in hand or tuck it under any dragon. If you tuck it under a hatchling with a “tuck” ability, you also gain that hatchling’s benefit.

Activating Abilities Multiple Times

Some abilities let you perform an action or exchange up to a certain number of times. Resolve each one separately. You may use what you gained from the first exchange to pay for the second.

Capacity Limits

At the end of each of your turns you may have at most 9 resources, 9 cards (dragons and cave cards combined) and 9 coins. Discard any excess. If you go over during another player’s turn, you don’t discard until the end of your own next turn.

Card Refill

Don’t refill dragons or cave cards into the display until the end of each player’s turn.

Playing a Card at a Discount or Free

For “play a dragon” abilities on cards and Dragon Guild tiles, the only payment is the cost printed on the dragon. You pay the coin only when you take the actual entice action. For “play a cave” abilities, the only payment is the egg cost of the 3rd and 4th columns. Even when play is discounted or free, optional extra costs on dragons, caves and the 4th column of the mat are not discounted.

“In This Cave”

“In this cave” (e.g. “Gain 3 VP for each other dragon in this cave”) means the specific cave the dragon is in (Crimson Cavern, Golden Grotto or Amethyst Abyss), not your whole mat.

Gaining Cards

• Gain a dragon or cave card: unless otherwise restricted, take it from the face-up display or the top of the deck. The display doesn’t refill until end of turn, so if it’s empty you can still draw from the deck.
• Gain from the display: you must take a face-up card. If the display is empty, you can’t take this benefit.
• Draw a dragon or cave card: you may only take the top card of the relevant deck.
• Reveal a dragon card: show the top card of the deck to everyone. The ability says what to do with it; if it doesn’t, return it to the top of the deck.

On Your Player Mat or In a Cave

Abilities that count dragons on your mat or in a cave never count tucked cards. Hatchlings are dragons.

Paying an Item

Some abilities make you pay an item to trigger them. Discard it from your hand (cave card or dragon), your supply (resources or coins) or any nest on your mat (egg), unless the ability says otherwise.

Resources

Resources are gold, crystal, meat and milk. Coins and eggs are not resources.

Resource Exchange

At any point in the game, you may exchange 2 resources (any combination) for 1 resource of another type.

Dragon Guild

You earn Dragon Guild advancements (shield icon) by walking your adventurer through your caves and by playing certain dragons and cave cards.

• Each advancement moves your guild token 1 space clockwise around the track. You immediately gain the benefit printed on the space you land on. Any number of tokens may share a space.
• If you take more than 1 advancement in a turn, you gain the benefits of every space you pass as well as the one you land on.
• Whenever your token reaches 1 of the 2 brown spaces (top and bottom of the track), you must immediately place an unused player marker on a square of the Dragon Guild tile and collect that square’s benefit. Each square holds 1 marker, except the long rectangle at the bottom right of each tile, which holds any number.
• Each player may place at most 4 player markers on the Dragon Guild tile. After your 4th, you keep advancing around the track but can’t place more markers.

Important: If several players reach a brown space on the same turn, they choose their bonuses in clockwise order, starting with the active player.

Note: If space is available, the same player may take the same bonus more than once.

Markers placed in the tile’s END GAME row score the printed VP (6 / 3 / 1, the last unlimited) at the end of the game.

Selected Dragon Guild Powers Explained

• Guild of Highlands: “Pay a coin, then excavate up to 2 spaces for free with cave cards from your hand.” Discard 1 coin, then excavate up to 2 spaces (same or different caves) without paying coin or egg costs. If you only have 1 cave card, or only want 1 space, you may skip the 2nd.
• Guild of Highlands: “Pay a cave card, then play a dragon from your hand on top of any other dragon on your player mat for free.” Discard a cave card from your hand, then play a dragon from your hand onto a dragon already in your caves, paying no costs. It must still go in one of its preferred caves. The original dragon becomes tucked, and its tucked cards, cached resources and eggs move to the new dragon. The new dragon holds only as many eggs as its printed capacity; discard any extra.
• Rainforest Guild: “Gain 1 VP for every printed resource cost on all dragons in any one of your caves.” Choose 1 cave. Count the resource icons (gold, meat, crystal, milk) printed in the cost of every dragon in it (not tucked cards). Gain 1 VP per icon.

Turn End

Your turn ends after you complete 1 action (excavate, entice or explore). Then:

• Discard down to 9 coins, 9 cards and 9 resources.
• Refill any open slots on the card display.
• Play passes clockwise to the next player who hasn’t passed this round.

Round End/Upkeep

After all players pass, the round ends:

1. Players discard the coins and eggs they paid as costs on their player mats.
2. All “once per round” dragon abilities activate.
   • Players activate them in turn order, starting with that round’s start player. A player with several may resolve them in any order.
   • If a “once per round” ability gives all players a choice or benefit, each player resolves it in clockwise order, starting with the dragon’s owner.
3. The round’s objective is scored. Each player places 1 player marker on the round tracker under that round’s objective, in the row matching their position. These score VP at the end of the game.
   • Ties are friendly: players tied for 1st all place on “1st place”, and the next player places on “2nd place”.
   • A player with zero of what the objective counts places on “all others” (0 VP), whatever their relative position.

Note: Each objective tile shows the Automa icon and some numbers. Ignore those in games with 2+ players.

At the beginning of the next round:

1. Move the round marker 1 space right.
2. Refresh the display: discard the 3 face-up dragons and 3 face-up cave cards and deal 3 new ones of each.
3. Each player gains 6 coins and 1 egg. Coins add to any carried over. Place the egg on any empty nest on your dragons or mat; if you have none, you don’t gain it.
4. The start player marker passes 1 player clockwise.

Game End and Scoring

The game ends after round 4. Add up your VP:

• Markers on the Dragon Guild in the END GAME scoring spaces.
• Printed VP on visible dragons on your mat (not in hand, not tucked).
• End-game abilities on visible dragons on your mat (not in hand, not tucked).
• Eggs: 1 VP each, unless otherwise specified.
• Cached resources: 1 VP each, unless otherwise specified.
• Tucked cards: 1 VP each, unless otherwise specified.
• Public objectives: ties are friendly. Everyone whose marker is on a level scores that level’s VP. For example, if several players tie for 1st on an objective worth 6, they all score 6; the next player scores the 2nd-place value (e.g. 3).
• Leftover coins and items:
  • 1 VP per remaining coin.
  • 1 VP per 4 other items remaining (resources, dragon cards and cave cards in any combination), rounded down.

The player with the most VP wins. Tiebreaker: most visible dragons on your mat (tucked cards don’t count). If still tied, the players share the victory.

If You Already Know Wingspan

Key differences in Wyrmspan:

• Actions cost coins and often eggs, not action cubes.
• You explore caves left to right, not right to left.
• Your mat has 2 nest icons before you play any dragon.
• You start with your choice of 4 cards (from 3 dragons and 3 caves) and any 3 resources.
• Each round you gain 6 coins and 1 egg, and there are 4 rounds.
• The 2-for-1 resource exchange works at any time, not just when playing a card.
• You must excavate a cave space before enticing a dragon there; you start with 3 excavated spaces.
• Card abilities are optional; if an ability gives an opponent a benefit, they may take it even if you decline.
• Discard down to 9 cards, 9 coins and 9 resources at the end of each of your turns.
• Round-end objective scoring is friendly: if two players tie for first, both get full first-place VP, and the next player takes second place.

Official FAQ and how-to-play video: stonemaiergames.com/games/wyrmspan/rules-faq.