Get ready for more ice melting, sparkling stone collecting, dragon breathing excitement! This time we’re teaming up with mama dragon to help collect sparkling stones while protecting the dragon egg! Let’s review Dragon’s Breath: The Hatching!

What is Dragon’s Breath: The Hatching? 

The Hatching is a stand alone sequel to HABA’s 2018 Kinderspiel Award winning game Dragon’s Breath. (You can read our full review of Dragon’s Breath here.)

The Hatching is a simple game set in the same universe where you will earn points by collecting different colors of stones to fulfill card requirements. Completed cards earn you points and the player with the most points at the end of the game wins. 

How to Play:

Each round, one player will play the role of the Dragon Mom who is trying to protect her next which has become frozen inside an ice column. At the start of a round, that player will carefully remove an ice ring which will cause sparkling stones to fall, all while trying to keep the egg safely on top of the nest.

After an ice ring is removed, players will take turns in clockwise order collecting the fallen stones one at a time and adding them to their amulet cards. If a player completes an amulet card, they clear off the stones, add their completed card to a personal pile for points, and draw a new card. 

When it is the Dragon Mom’s turn, if the egg did not fall from the nest, that player may collect two fallen stones and add them to the treasure chest. They may not complete cards as the Dragon Mom. If the egg fell, then the player covers one of the two treasure chest holes with the wooden dragon piece and may only collect one stone for the rest of that round. 

Once all the stones have been collected, another ring is removed. Once all rings have been removed, players collect all stones not on cards, reform the nest, add the stones, place the egg, and the role of Dragon Mom is taken by the next player. 

Once all players have been the Dragon Mom one time, the game ends. 

The player with the most points wins.

What do we think?

Much like its predecessor, The Hatching is an adorable, well made game. This is a great option for children around age 5 and 6 who are transitioning from more toddler and preschool games to that next step up.

I really like that kids are beginning to use strategy here. When looking at the sparkling stones that are available to collect, they need to look at their amulet cards and decide which would be most advantageous to try and complete first. Then there’s also the critical thinking element of looking at just how many of each type of stones fell. If there are 4 green stones but only 1 red and they need both colors, you can help them think about which stones they might want to collect first. 

The player who plays as the Dragon Mom also has some strategizing to do. The amulet cards are known knowledge, so when it is their turn, they need to strategically decide which stones to take so that other players can’t complete their most valuable cards. It is a great chance for kids to learn more of that offensive/defensive play without it ever becoming too mean. 

We have enjoyed watching our son (5 nearing 6) really begin to contemplate these decisions and learn from his choices in the game. This also provides a fun element for our daughter (8) to enjoy. While she enjoys the general spirit of Dragon’s Breath, it is too easy for her. The Hatching is much more fun for her to play and she likes that she still gets enjoy the dexterity element that made Dragon’s Breath fun.

While the strategy required is a bit beyond the preschooler level, The Hatching is still able to be easily enjoyed by younger players! Our younger sons, (2 & 4) are able to play right along. Even the two year old can almost play independently, though he gets disheartened when someone else collects his favorite color. 

What’s even cooler, is if you have a larger family like ours, you can combine the pieces from The Hatching with the original Dragon’s breath to allow for a fifth player! This is great since we often have everyone wanting to join in and now no one has to play on mom or dad’s team!

That said, The Hatching, on its own, isn’t a game that I would suggest over Dragon’s Breath for younger kids — but if you have a family with multiple ages like ours, it’s a nice way to help Dragon’s Breath grow with your family. 

Summary

All in all, Dragon’s Breath: The Hatching is a nice stand alone game that does a great job of carrying on the fun, dexterity spirit of Dragon’s Breath. 

This serves as a nice next step out of the preschool level games without being so intense that it overwhelms kids. Even better, I love that in a short time frame of about 10 minutes,  your kid will learn some really valuable game skills such as dexterity and set collection while also working on learning the order and timing of when to make certain choices and when to wait. 

Since multiple ages are able to play, including younger kids for whom the strategy might escape, this is a good choice for families with multiple kids in varying age groups as well. And since it plays quickly in just about 10 minutes, it never overstays its welcome and keeps the game fun for parents and kids alike. 

If you’d like to pick up your own copy of Dragon’s Breath: The Hatching, you can find it on Amazon. 

For a full look at HABA’s game line, be sure to check out their website. 

A special thank you to our friends at HABA for sending us a copy of Dragon’s Breath: The Hatching for review. As always, our thoughts and opinions are our own. 

Game Info:
Title: Dragon’s Breath: The Hatching
2-4 players Ages 6+ 
Designer: Günter Burkhardt, Lena Burkhardt, Annemarie Wolke
Artist: Daniel Döbner
Publisher: HABA

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