Three-Dragon Ante

So, this past weekend a friend of mine introduced me to a standalone card game called Three-Dragon Ante. The game is published by Wizards of the Coast and is part of the Dungeons & Dragons canon.

The simplest way to describe the game is Poker, Rummy and Hearts…with Dragons.

This however, is a gross understatement. This game is not one of pure chance, and is steeped in subtle strategy, so as such, there is seemingly an infinite number of ways to gain an advantage and eventually win. The cards themselves are very well designed; the artwork is absolutely beautiful, and the shape of the cards are unique, but not overly so, to the point that they’re hard to work with (Like another card game WotC once had…*cough*Hecatomb*cough*).

Even more fascinating, this game was designed in such a way that it could even be incorporated into a D&D Campaign scenario. I’ve yet to try this myself, but from what I’ve heard, it can add a whole new dimension to a campaign.

Overall, This is a really great, fast, geeky little game that’s great to play just about anywhere. It’s extremely portable, being only really a deck of cards and a rulebook, so you can always have a copy with you and say, hit a coffee shop with some friends and have a few games (a popular weekend pastime for my friends and I), and at $10, it’s one of the cheapest little games out there. I would DEFINITELY recommend this game to anyone, even the less geeky of us out there can find some appeal in this gam. As it stands, I’ve introduced my VERY non-geeky younger siblings to the game, and they absolutely love it.

If you want to learn more about the game itself, check BoardGameGeek or of course, the all-knowing oracle of teh internets, Wikipedia.