- BGG rating
- 5.7
Wyvern: Phoenix
- 2 players
- 30 min
- Complexity 1.0/5
- 1994
- BGG rank
- BGG #30,762
- BGG rating
- 5.3
Wyvern
1994
Rules assistance for Wyvern
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2 players
- 30 min
- 10+
- Complexity 2.2/5
Rules assistant for Wyvern
For 2 players
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Wyvern is a board game released in 1994 for 2 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Mike Fitzgerald and its main mechanics are Hand Management and Interrupts.
Expansions
- BGG rating
- 7.0
Wyvern: Chameleon
- 2 players
- 30 min
- 1996
Similar games
- BGG rank
- BGG #169
- BGG rating
- 7.6
Magic: The Gathering
- 2–6 players
- 20 min
- Complexity 3.3/5
- 1993
- BGG rank
- BGG #11,815
- BGG rating
- 7.2
Magic: The Gathering — Game Night: Free For All
- 2–5 players
- 30 min
- Complexity 2.7/5
- 2022
- BGG rank
- BGG #19,161
- BGG rating
- 7.1
Magic: The Gathering – 2022 Starter Kit
- 2 players
- Complexity 3.0/5
- 2022
- BGG rank
- BGG #22,645
- BGG rating
- 5.9
Book of Dragons
- 1–8 players
- 15–60 min
- Complexity 1.3/5
- 2018
- BGG rank
- BGG #24,325
- BGG rating
- 5.8
Dragon Hunt
- 2 players
- 10 min
- Complexity 1.3/5
- 1997
- BGG rank
- BGG #30,671
- BGG rating
- 4.7
The Lord of the Rings Tarot Deck and Card Game
- 2–6 players
- 20 min
- Complexity 1.4/5
- 1997
- BGG rank
- BGG #28,574
- BGG rating
- 5.3
WCW Nitro Trading Card Game
- 2 players
- 10 min
- Complexity 1.6/5
- 2000
- BGG rank
- BGG #31,137
- BGG rating
- 4.1
X-Men Trading Card Game
- 2 players
- 20 min
- Complexity 1.4/5
- 2000
- BGG rank
- BGG #50
- BGG rating
- 8.1
Marvel Champions: The Card Game
- 1–4 players
- 45–90 min
- Complexity 3.0/5
- 2019
- BGG rank
- BGG #17,550
- BGG rating
- 7.7
Universal Fighting System
- 2 players
- 10–30 min
- Complexity 3.1/5
- 2006
- BGG rank
- BGG #6,014
- BGG rating
- 7.0
Shadowfist
- 2–7 players
- 60 min
- Complexity 2.6/5
- 1995
- BGG rank
- BGG #877
- BGG rating
- 7.3
Ashes Reborn: Rise of the Phoenixborn
- 2–4 players
- 30–120 min
- Complexity 2.9/5
- 2015
About the game
You command an army of Dragons engaged in battle with your opponent's Dragon army. Each game of Wyvern is a struggle for domination of the tabletop Battlefield; your objective is to completely clear your opponent's Battlefield of Dragon and Terrain cards. To accomplish this, you will use your Dragons to attack cards in the enemy's Battlefield. However, your Dragons will not fight for you free of charge. Dragons love gold, so in Wyvern you must pay your Dragons to fight. You start with a bankroll of 25 gold pieces, and you are trying to clear your opponent's Battlefield while spending as little of your gold as possible. Wyvern, one of the first CCG's after Magic, is played with two decks. One deck holds your dragons and terrain cards. The other deck has your treasure cards and action cards. To set up the game you take the top six cards from your dragon deck and lay them face down in two rows of three cards. Your front three dragons can fight the opponents front three dragons so you do have to be careful how you place. Flying dragons can fight over one row. Each player gets 25 gold (any markers you supply) and draws seven cards from their action deck. On your turn... You draw a card from your action deck. Place a treasure or replace a treasure. You may have up to two treasures per row. You may change the position of one or two cards in your grid. All players may play action cards one at a time around the table until everyone has played as many as they want. You must choose one dragon to attack or replace a dragon or terrain card in your grid with the top card from your dragon deck face down. A dragon can attack a face up card or a face down card hoping he can beat it. Dragon numbers are compared and the strongest wins. A losing dragon or terrain is not replaced and you lose by losing all six positions. A second action phase now ensues. You must discard down to seven cards. See also Dragon Hunt
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
Questions and answers
Wyvern supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Wyvern 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 Wyvern 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.
Wyvern has a complexity rating of 2.2 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-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.
Wyvern belongs to these categories: Card Game, Fantasy, and Fighting. Its main mechanics are Hand Management and Interrupts. 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 Wyvern are: Mike Fitzgerald. 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 Wyvern 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.