- BGG rank
- BGG #3,785
- BGG rating
- 7.1
Xi'an: Terracotta Army
- 2–4 players
- 30–60 min
- Complexity 2.8/5
- 2017
- BGG rank
- BGG #14,090
- BGG rating
- 7.0
Druid
2018
Rules assistance for Druid
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–5 players
- 30 min
- 10+
- Complexity 1.3/5
Rules assistant for Druid
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Druid is a board game released in 2018 for 2–5 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Taylor Hayward and its main mechanics are Set Collection, Area Majority / Influence, and Simultaneous Action Selection.
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About the game
Darkness is a strategy card game set in ancient Northern Europe where druids vie for control of powerful artifacts. It's a simultaneous action game where players play a progressing amount of colored cards in order to acquire unclaimed artifacts and relics, in a complex, and fun game of prediction, observation, and thought. Game play takes place over the course of six rounds. In each round player try to acquire cards that give them end game points, and special abilities. The objective of the game is to score the most points at the end. Each round is separated into four phases. In the first phase, players place three of their colored cards from their hand in front of them, face down. Then everybody reveals their cards. Next, everybody places two cards down in front of them, and then reveals those. Then players play one final card face down and reveal that one, for a total of six revealed cards. Finally, there is a resolution phase where the players determine who has the largest amount of dominant, and sub-dominant colors for each of the available artifacts, and they are divided up accordingly. Players have the same hand of 15 cards throughout the course of the game, thus limited luck. The 15 cards a comprised of five colors, with three cards of each color. Once a card is played during a round, it is put back in a player's hand at the end of the round and can be played again. On each artifact card this is a dominant, and sub-dominant color. The card goes to the player that has played the most color cards that match the dominant color. In the case of a tie, the player with the largest number of color cards played that match the sub-dominant color gets the card. The reason the game is complex and fun is, there are many different dominant and sub colors on the board at the same time, and people have to predict what other people are going for based on set collection, and the optimization of color specialization. The game ends after six rounds. The person who wins is the person with the most number of points, which is determined by how much of a type a player has in each of their sets, and how many gem relics they have.
Designers
Publishers
- Green Meadow Games
Questions and answers
Druid supports 2–5 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 Druid is 30 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 Druid for ages 10 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.
Druid has a complexity rating of 1.3 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.
Druid belongs to these categories: Card Game and Ancient. Its main mechanics are Set Collection, Area Majority / Influence, and Simultaneous Action Selection. 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 Druid are: Taylor Hayward. 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 Druid 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.