Three-Dragon Ante

Three-Dragon Ante (ISBN ) is a card game developed by Rob Heinsoo, and published by Wizards of the Coast in November 2005. The game is a combination of luck and skill, and blends concepts from traditional card games such as poker, hearts, and rummy.

Based on Dungeons & Dragons, it is intended as a game in its own right or as an element in a role-playing campaign.

In April 2010, Wizards of the Coast released a follow up game, Three-Dragon Ante: Emperor's Gambit, which added additional dragon types and was both playable alone, and with the original game cards.

The deck consists of 70 cards (plus two reference cards). The structure of the deck is reminiscent of standard playing card or Tarot decks. Each card in the deck represents either a dragon or a mortal, has a strength between 1 and 13, and a special ability or power. Six cards are initially dealt to each player. There is a maximum hand size of ten cards and players are not allowed to have more than the maximum at any time. Players keep their hands secret from the other players. The undealt cards are placed face-down into a draw pile from which players take new cards.

The game is recommended for 2 to 6 players, each of whom begins with 50 points (called gold). The game is divided into gambits in which gold is added and subtracted from the stakes (similar to the pot in poker). Each gambit normally has three rounds (four or more can break ties). In each round, players play cards in front of them (comprising their flight). The strongest flight is the one with cards summing the highest numerical value. After each gambit, each player draws two cards. All ante cards and flights are then discarded. When the last card is drawn from the pile, you shuffle the discard pile and it replaces the draw pile.

In a gambit, players initially choose a card from their hand to ante-up (see poker). The highest ante determines the amount of gold every player must pay to the stakes.

The player with the highest ante plays first, triggering the special ability of their dragon. The special powers of each card varies from allowing players to draw more cards or steal money - from the stakes or other players. In general, good dragons allow players to gain cards, whereas evil dragons allow players to get more gold from the pot or other players. Mortals are especially powerful, so players often maneuver to trigger their mortals' special power.

...
Wikipedia