Contents
The Tea Dragon Society Card Game Rules
Hey there! Welcome to the enchanting world of The Tea Dragon Society Card Game. I’m excited to walk you through these rules, so you can dive right into the fun. Let’s get started!
Setup
To begin, shuffle the deck of beautifully illustrated Tea Dragon cards. Each player will start with 2 Tea Dragon cards face-down in front of them and draw 3 additional Tea Dragon cards into their hand. Place the deck in the center of the play area as the draw pile.
Gameplay
On your turn, you have two main actions to choose from:
- Share a memory: Take a Tea Dragon card from your hand and place it face-up in the center. This represents one of your beautiful memories with the Tea Dragons.
- Visit Market Street: Draw 2 Tea Dragon cards from the draw pile and add them to your hand. You can then choose to discard any number of cards from your hand and draw that same number of replacement cards.
The goal of the game is to collect and share memories by placing Tea Dragon cards in the center. In order to collect a Tea Dragon at the end of the game, you must have shared a memory that matches the Tea Dragon’s memories. Each Tea Dragon card will have a specific memory type indicated below their name.
For example, if a Tea Dragon card named “Hibiscus” has a memory type of “Card Making,” you would need to have a Tea Dragon memory card with the “Card Making” memory to collect “Hibiscus” at the end of the game.
Celebration Round
Once all players have played all of their Tea Dragon cards from their hand, the Celebration Round begins. During this round, players can either share a memory or visit Market Street as their action.
After the Celebration Round ends, it’s time to add up points! Each player adds up the memories they’ve collected and scores points accordingly. The player with the most points wins the game and gets to immerse themselves in the magical world of The Tea Dragon Society.
That’s it! You now have a solid understanding of The Tea Dragon Society Card Game. Gather your friends, brew a cup of tea, and let the memories flow as you embark on this delightful journey!
Step into a magical world of friendship and fantasy as we explore the beautiful art of Tea Dragon caretaking. In this captivating realm, you have the incredible opportunity to form a deep connection with your very own Tea Dragon, creating cherished memories that will endure.
As you embark on this extraordinary journey, your Tea Dragon will become an extension of yourself. Each player possesses a unique deck that represents their Tea Dragon. With every turn, you’ll face a choice – draw a card to trigger special effects and strengthen your position or purchase a new card to enhance your deck and accumulate points.
Your adventure will span across the four enchanting seasons, beginning with the blossoming moments of spring and culminating in the serene embrace of winter. When winter comes to a close, the player with the highest number of points reigns supreme as the ultimate victor.
Components
- I want to tell you about the different parts of this awesome game called “The Tea Dragon Society.”
- First, there are 4 Player Aid cards that help you remember important rules and strategies.
- Next, you’ll find 4 Tea Dragon cards that show you different types of Tea Dragons you can collect.
- There’s also a Mentors card that gives you special abilities to use during the game.
- One of the most important parts of the game are the Memory cards. There are 24 of them, and they represent different memories that you can collect.
- The Market cards are also crucial to the game. There’s a total of 28 of them, and they help you get new resources and treasures.
- To start the game, each player gets 48 Starter cards. These cards are used to build your deck and play the game.
- If you’re new to the game, don’t worry! There’s a Quick-Start Comic Guide that will show you how to play in a fun and easy way.
- Lastly, there’s a Rulebook that has all the details and rules you need to know to play the game.
Setup
- Start with Dragon Cards and Starter Decks. First, grab a Tea Dragon card and put it in your hold. Then, get your matching Starter deck and give it a good shuffle. Any Tea Dragons or Starter decks that you don’t use, go ahead and put them back in the box.
In this game, I don’t have a hand of cards like in other games. Instead, I keep my cards face up on the table in my hold right next to my deck.
- If it’s just you and me playing, let’s return 3 Memory cards from each season back to the box.
- If there are three of us playing, we only need to return 2 Memory cards from each season.
- But if we have four players, then we only return 1 Memory card from each season.
Memory Cards: We use them in this order:
If you want to make the game more strategic, you can uncover the winter Memory cards now. This will help you plan better for the endgame scoring cards.
Now, let’s start playing. The first player goes first.
Here’s an example of how you can set up the game for three players:
Deck of Cards
When I play The Tea Dragon Society Card Game, I get to explore a mystical world filled with enchanting creatures and magical tea. The game offers a wide variety of cards, each with its own unique qualities and abilities.
The growth you gain when you let go of a card from your hand.
The growth you have to give away in order to acquire a card. (Starter cards, which are designated by 
, have no cost). 
When you draw this card or if you draw another card while you already have this card in your hand, something interesting happens. I’m not quite sure what that something is, but it definitely has an effect. It’s like a mystery waiting to be unraveled! Isn’t that exciting?
Let’s talk about the points you score when you have this card at the end of the game. They are pretty important in determining who wins.
If you want more information about the cards, you can find a detailed description in the Card Glossary in the back.
How to Play the Game
When it’s your turn, you have three options to choose from:
- Draw a card
- Buy a Market OR Memory card
After you’ve taken your action, your turn is over, and then it’s the next player’s turn.
Drawing a Card
To draw a card, simply take one from your deck and add it to your hold. If your deck is empty, shuffle your discard pile to create a new deck.
Keep in mind that a card might have a special effect that is triggered when it’s drawn or when another card is drawn. However, each card’s effect can only be triggered once per turn.
Buying a Market Card
To buy a Market card, you have to get rid of cards from your hold that add up to the same or more growth as the cost of the card you want to take. You won’t get any change for discarding more growth than the card’s cost, and you can’t carry over any extra growth to the next turn.
When you take a card from the Market tableau, you add it to your hold. After that, you draw a new Market card to fill in the empty spot in the Market tableau. If the Market deck is empty, you shuffle the Market discard pile to create a new Market deck.
There are two special Market cards, Brick and Fickle Dragons, that have effects that activate when they are revealed on the Market tableau.
Now, let’s talk about buying a Memory Card.
When you’re looking to purchase a Memory card, it’s important to keep in mind that the process is similar to buying a Market card.
Once you’ve bought a Memory card, you’ll need to place it in your discard pile. To create a fresh deck, you’ll need to shuffle your discard pile and deck together.
Now, let’s look at what happens when there’s only one card left in the Memory tableau:
- You’ll have to discard the remaining Memory card.
- All of the Memory cards for the next season will be flipped up, creating a new Memory tableau.
- The cards in the Market tableau should be discarded, making way for four new cards to be drawn for the Market tableau.
Glossary of Card Types
Growth Cards: Feeding, Entertaining, Sleeping, and Grooming are the Growth cards. They’re the cards I use to buy other cards from the Market or Memory tableau.
The Mentors Card: I can spend my growth on Mentors just like I would discard a Growth card. But when I spend this growth, I don’t have to get rid of Mentors. Instead, I pass it to the player on my right.
Item Cards: Lots of Market cards are Items. You can use some cards to get rid of an Item for an effect, or they might give you points based on how many Items you have.
Naughty Cards: Bite, Bored, Picky, and Grumpy are the Naughty cards. When I draw one, I must get rid of it right away and can also discard a listed Happy card if I have it in my collection. If I have more than one Happy card with the same name, I get to choose which one to discard. Naughty
Protect Yourself: There are a few cards in the game that can provide protection for you. These cards include the Feeding Clock, Gloves, Wind Chime, and Incense. When you have one of these cards in your possession, it will shield you from certain negative cards called Mischief cards. The specific Mischief cards that can be blocked depend on the type of Growth card you have. The Protection cards act as a shield, preventing the Mischief cards from discarding your Growth cards.
Tea Dragon Cards: Meet the Tea Dragon cards – Chamomile, Jasmine, Rooibos, and Ginseng. These delightful creatures are always by your side, tucked safely in your hold.
Your dragon friend comes with a deck that reflects its unique personality. Whenever you draw the most common Growth card associated with your Tea Dragon, and you don’t have any of those cards in your hold, something special happens!
Weakness Cards: The Weakness cards are Sugary Treat, Milk, Book, and Necklace. Whenever you draw one of these Mischief cards, you have to discard the corresponding Weakness card. Other cards cannot protect you from this effect.
Finishing the Game
The game comes to an end when there is only one Memory card left during the winter season.
At the end of the game, players add up the points on the cards in their deck, and the player with the highest total wins.