Red Dragon Inn 2 Review

Earlier I wrote about a fantastic game called Red Dragon Inn from Slugfest Games. Today I will talk about the expansion/stand alone second game Red Dragon Inn 2.

The game itself plays exactly like the original so I'm not going to re-review game play. It's still exactly as much fun and if you've played the original you won't have a learning curve. Of course if you haven't played the original it's just as much fun of a way to start into the game series
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First I need to mention that the components of the game such as gold, player boards and attribute gems are completely compatible with the original game so mixing and matching characters between versions is easy. Getting Red Dragon Inn 2 along with the original will provide a much greater variety to your game as well as allow for more players. Adding the two editions together will allow for up to 8 players which is a wild party. This is by far the best way to expand upon your original game as it's components and characters are closest to the base game.

While the name of this sequel/expansion isn't all that creative the writing behind the new characters is. So I will definitely talk about them:




Eve the Illusionist
Eve is a fun take on the illusionist character, her cards reflect those powers in a very funny way. You have cards like "It's the disappearing coin trick, not the reappearing coin trick." Which causes one player to give you a coin. Most of her cards have a very entertaining title to go with the usual actions. She seems geared towards avoidance of damage and alcohol and is a blast to play. Of course the artwork on the cards will appeal to some players. Yowzers.

Fleck the Bard
This character is geared towards gaining coins and avoiding paying coins. I haven't had a chance to play him yet as most players seem to want a chance. His cards are funny. Take "How about a rowdy drinking song?" Each player loses 1 fortitude and each player (including you) gains one alcohol content, and you pay one gold to the inn (... to pay for damages) His cards seem to be the most creative and different from normal play.

Dimli the Dwarf
A fantasy setting needs it's token dwarf and that's Dimli. His cards for the most part are standard fare but he does have some gems. "Best two out of three?" causes a round of gambling to continue after it is resolved. It can be a lot of fun to play on someone who really wanted to win that round. He is geared towards avoiding alcohol gain and spiking others drinks with firewater. A fun character if you like to play a dwarf.

Gog the Half-Ogre

I've saved the best character for last, at least from my opinion. While most of Gog's cards are standard for every player they are given very entertaining titles. Mostly Gog is for those in the mood to get into character as every card just begs to be role played as you lay it down. "Dance with Gog" is a fun card to play. Especially since it deals 4 fortitude damage. If you are up for goofy fun and some easy role play you want to pick Gog as your character.

The drink deck has a better variety of cards than the first edition. Dwarven firewater, mead and orcish rotgut to name a few. This deck can be swapped out for the original drink deck. There are also different drink events giving an alternate flair to the events in the game. Are you up for "The Challenge!?" You take two cards off the top of the drink deck and drink them. If these don't knock you out every player pays you one gold.

There are some minor nitpicks I don't like about this edition. First off is most of the new drink event cards are optional. The player who draws them can choose not to use them. It makes drawing the drink cards a little less of a gamble and takes the punch out of them. The backing on the drink deck cards is different from the original making it difficult to make a mixed deck. You really don't want players knowing that special cards are coming up. Finally I wish some of the creativity for Gog spilled over to Dimli. While Dimli is an interesting character I wish he was just a little more... more. Of course there are players who love him so I think this is a matter of preference.

To sum up I think Red Dragon Inn 2 is a great game to pick up. You can grab it as a stand alone game or use it to expand your Red Dragon Inn original game. The character writing in this game is brilliant and aside from a few minor nitpicks I think it's a really great addition to your shelf. Of course as with the original game the theme of drinking/gambling/roughhousing is really geared for an older crowd. I recommend Red Dragon Inn for any game group up for a rowdy fantasy based game with a minor role play element. I really recommend this edition to people who already love the original game. This is the first expansion you should grab if you plan on expanding your game.

Check back next week when I review SuperMunchkin