- BGG rank
- BGG #3,918
- BGG rating
- 7.0
Duos
- 3–6 players
- 30 min
- Complexity 1.4/5
- 2015
- BGG rank
- BGG #6,974
- BGG rating
- 6.6
DOG Royal
2012
Rules assistance for DOG Royal
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–6 players
- 45 min
- 8+
- Complexity 2.0/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for DOG Royal
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
DOG Royal is a board game released in 2012 for 2–6 players, 45 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Johannes Schmidauer-König and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Take That, and Team-Based Game.
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About the game
Dog Royal plays like its predecessor DOG in that the object of the game is for a player (or team) to move his (their) tokens from home to the target area as quickly as possible. Tokens are moved in a clockwise direction along the track on the game board according to the value on the cards played. The first player or team to move all of its tokens to the target area first wins. What distinguishes Dog Royal from Dog are two twists: First, Dog Royal includes a number of special cards not present in the previous game. You can move 1-7 spaces, switch the location of two tokens, draw one token to another like a magnet, equal the value of the card previously played, and more. Second, each of the four tokens controlled by a player bears a symbol – king, knight, citizen, jester – and each such token has a special power. The king, for example, cannot move more than seven spaces on a turn, so all cards with a higher value cannot be used to move the king, but the king cannot be bumped off the track by any token other than another king. (Players can choose to keep the symbols face-down and treat all tokens the same, if desired.)
Categories
Designers
Publishers
- Schmidt Spiele
- Lion Rampant Imports
Questions and answers
DOG Royal supports 2–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for DOG Royal is 45 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists DOG Royal for ages 8 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
DOG Royal has a complexity rating of 2.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
DOG Royal belongs to these categories: Racing. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Take That, and Team-Based Game. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of DOG Royal are: Johannes Schmidauer-König. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists DOG Royal as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.