星竜の冠 (Seiryuu no Kanmuri)

星竜の冠 (Seiryuu no Kanmuri, "Crown of the Star Dragon") is the third game from Polygonotes. You play adventurers chasing after the precious scales of the Star Dragon; the game is semi-cooperative, with a pure coop mode for 2-3 players and a more competitive mode with the potential for betrayal for 3-4 players. Each turn has three phases. In the preparation phase, you can spend Stars to buy items or heal, and you choose an item to use in the combat phase. In the combat phase, you flip a card from the Star Dragon deck and resolve its attack. Only the players with the highest attack or defense rating take part in combat. If things go well you can earn Stars here, but if they poorly some players will take damage. Some Dragon cards also have special effects like doing damage to players with too many Stars. Finally, in the Spoils phase the Stars earned in combat are split evenly among all participants. The game ends after ten turns, when the Dragon's Crown is revealed. Because Stars are used to heal damage as well as to buy the items you attack with every turn, you'll have to balance offense and defence in order to survive the dragon's attacks. If you're playing to win you can play it safe in a round by trying to avoid combat... but since you won't get a share of the spoils that's risky too. You'll need balance in how you deal with the Dragon as well as your allies to come out ahead. —user summary