Dragon Parade

About this board game

Dragon Parade is a quick 2–5 player game by Reiner Knizia, playable in about 30 minutes. Set on a small, beautifully decorated board featuring Chinese New Year fireworks around the Forbidden City, it challenges players to predict where a moving dragon will finally stop.

Players take turns playing movement cards to send the dragon pawn back and forth along the street in front of the Forbidden Palace. Red cards move it in one direction, while yellow cards move it the other. Each player receives a random hand of six cards but uses only four before the dragon’s final position is determined.

• Play movement cards to shift the dragon along the number line.
• After each of the first three cards, place one of your three street sellers.
• Collect coins according to how close each seller is to the dragon.

Street sellers may be placed anywhere along the red-and-yellow number line, one at a time after the first three cards are played. The goal is to be near the dragon when it stops, but the highest payment—5 coins—goes only to a pawn occupying the exact same space.

Dragon Parade is a game of groupthink: everyone is trying to read the developing situation and anticipate the final location, even though the outcome is not an exact science. Once players settle into its idea, the game should move quickly.

Play as many hands as there are players, with each player taking the first turn once. After all hands are complete, the collected coins determine the result.