# In the Year of the Dragon

In the Year of the Dragon is a board game for 2–5 players. It plays in 75–100 minutes and is meant for ages 12 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 4. It is rated 7.3 out of 10 by 60 Ludoya reviewers.

- **Players:** 2–5 (best with 4)
- **Playing time:** 75–100 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 12+
- **Complexity:** 3.1 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2007
- **Categories:** Economic, Medieval
- **Mechanics:** Hand Management, Action Drafting, Events, Variable Set-up, Turn Order: Stat-Based
- **Ludoya rating:** 7.3 out of 10, from 60 reviews
- **Owned by:** 50 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 264
- **Unique players:** 260

**Designers:** Stefan Feld

**Artists:** Michael Menzel, Harald Lieske

**Publishers:** Ravensburger, alea

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fantasiapelit | 49.5 € | https://www.fantasiapelit.com/index.php?main=ai&kat=single&mista=indeksi&etsittava=_174513 |

## Expansions

- [Treasure Chest](https://www.ludoya.com/games/treasure-chest)
- [In the Year of the Dragon: The Great Wall of China & The Super Events](https://www.ludoya.com/games/in-the-year-of-the-dragon-the-great-wall-of-china-and-the-super-events)

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## Rules questions

### If a group already has a dragon on it, do I have to pay before taking an action from that group?

Yes. If at least one dragon is already on a group you must pay 3 yuan to join it or you may not take any action from that group or place your dragon there. (Rulebook p.4)

### Can I skip Phase 1 to take 3 yuan no matter how much I already have?

You may skip Phase 1 to bring your money up to 3 yuan, but you only take as many coins as necessary to give you a total of 3 (you do not automatically take 3 if you already have some). (Rulebook p.4)

### When I play a person card and all my palaces are full, must I replace someone or can I decline to add the new person?

You may replace an existing person (the displaced courtier is removed from the game) or immediately release the new person instead; if you release the new person you do not move your person marker. (Rulebook p.6)

### Do the coin icons printed on my tax collector tiles count toward paying the Imperial Tribute?

No. The coins pictured on tax collectors do not count when paying Imperial Tribute; you must pay actual yuan or release persons for any missing payment. (Rulebook p.6)

### If a palace becomes uninhabited, when does it lose floors, and is it useful to build empty one‑story palaces?

After each event, every uninhabited palace loses one floor (and a one‑story uninhabited palace can disappear), so there is no point in building a one‑story palace unless you plan to assign a person to it immediately. (Rulebook p.8)

### How is action turn order determined each round and what if multiple players share the same person‑track space?

Action turn order is set by players' positions on the person track (farthest ahead goes first); if multiple markers share a space, those players take turns in the top‑to‑bottom stacking order of their markers. (Rulebook pp.3–4)

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/in-the-year-of-the-dragon)
- [In the Year of the Dragon in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/in-the-year-of-the-dragon)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/31594)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-24. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._