Review: Bomb the Dragon
Throw the firecrackers simultaneously, and bomb the dragon for blessings!
Designed by DuGuWei
👤  2-6 Players
🧩  Bidding
⚖️  Light
Overview
Bomb the Dragon is a celebration of the Hakka held in Miaoli, Taiwan, during the Lantern Festival. Players in the game bomb the dragon by throwing firecrackers to win blessings for themselves!
—description from the publisher
Gameplay
To play the game, you shuffle the 19 dragon-body cards and layout dragon-body cards based on the number of players face-up between the dragon-head card and the dragon-tail card. Then you mix the 45 firecracker cards and deal three cards to each player.
With each turn, players simultaneously choose and reveal a firecracker card from their hand, then place it onto the bomb zone by the dragon-body cards in order (lowest to highest). When the total firepower number is larger than or equal to the vitality point, win the corresponding dragon-body card.
Once the dragon-body cards run out, the round ends. Play as many rounds as needed until one of the players reaches 50 points.
Thoughts
Bomb the Dragon is a small card game with simple rules. The rules are written on a single sheet of paper. This makes it even more impressive, considering how much fun we have with this game.
The most exciting part for me is the bidding part of the game. Reading your opponents, playing the correct card, and bombing the best dragon-body cards feel satisfying and rewarding. When you get the right dragon-body card, this usually means that your opponents will be getting something they did not expect. This results in some fun interaction and verbal exchanges between players. Screams and grunts are not excluded from these verbal exchanges.
In the firecracker deck, you will find regular numbered cards and cards with a special ability. This adds a bit of variability, so you can't always be 100% sure you get the card you want, as some other player might snatch it away from you.
The colorful art and illustrations make it a pleasant experience. The cards are of good quality, and I particularly like the chunky dragon-body cards. These are easy to read from across the table.
The game plays quickly and works well with all player counts. There is also a two-player variant that we really enjoyed and is equally as fun as playing with more players.
Overall there is not a single thing we disliked in the game. It's not super innovative, but overall it's a fantastic little game that you can play to the close of the evening.
đź‘Ť Interactive gameplay (curses, screams, and grunts guaranteed)
đź‘Ť Artwork and card quality
đź‘Ť Quick and satisfying gameplay
đź‘Ť Two player variant is just as fun
âž– Not that innovative
Bomb the Dragon
Bomb the Dragon is a light bidding game with strong interactions between players. It looks fantastic and fun to play with most player numbers. While it doesn't bring much innovation, it is still entertaining to play as a filler or close off the game night.
Alternatives
Looking for alternatives or similar games? Have a look at That Old Wallpaper
