2026Rob Fisher, Adam Porter
- Videos
- 8
- Creators
- 5
Mainly reviews and how-to-play
1 - 6 players30 - 45 minMedium weight
Emberheart
2025Rob Fisher, Adam Porter
- Videos
- 32
- Creators
- 24
Mainly reviews. Emberheart is covered on BoardGameVideo.com by 16 reviews, 6 how-to-play guides, 3 recorded sessions, 4 unboxings, and 3 other videos.
2 - 4 players
60 - 90 min
Medium weight: Teach it in one sitting
From BoardGameGeek
The mystical island of Emberheart is home to the last dragons. They were living in harmony with the villagers until poachers from the Distant Lands arrived to capture, raid, and plunder. To keep the island safe, the Dragon Ambassador now seeks the King's support. As one of the King's champions, your mission is to join forces with the villagers, rescue and protect the dragons, and stand against the evil poachers. Emberheart is a quick-playing, medium-weight worker placement game . As one of the King's Champions, your task is to recruit heroes, rescue dragons and expand their preserves, train your own dragon companion, and oppose the roaming poachers. On your turn, you can either take an Aide token (granting you a unique bonus for the round), or send a party of hirelings to one of the locations on the island. The number of hirelings you send matters just as much as where you send them: the more you commit to a location, the earlier you get to choose from its limited rewards, and the less likely your opponents are to outbid you with a larger party. There are various hirelings at your disposal: Grunts are versatile but single-use, while Scouts, Rangers and Wardens are permanent, but limited to specific locations. Your Dragon Companion can also join a party of hirelings as you place them, giving them various bonuses based on how you trained it. The locations' rewards allow you to recruit Heroes with unique abilities, rescue Dragons from the poachers' grasp to get them to safety in matching Preserves, and launch counterattacks against the poachers. In the heat of some actions, and during the Poachers' Raid at the end of each round, you may get burned, and advancing too far on the Flame track will take its toll at the end of the game. Rescuing Dragons, recruiting Heroes, training your Dragon Companion, and keeping your Flame low will earn you Glory at the end of the game. After five rounds, the Champion with the most Glory wins, inheriting the title of Dragon Ambassador. -description from the publisher
Watch first
Which Emberheart video should I watch?
Emberheart has 32 videos from 24 creators: 16 reviews, 6 how-to-play guides, 3 playthroughs, 4 unboxings and 3 other videos. They date from 2025 to September 2026.
To learn the rules, start with "Emberheart - How To Play" by Watch It Played, which runs 37 min. For a quicker teach, "Emberheart How to Play by Purge Reviews" by Purge Reviews runs 10 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "Emberheart This gorgeous worker placement game is going to make a lot of top10 lists!" by Rahdo Runs Through. 14 creators have reviewed it. To see it played, watch "How to Save Your Dragon (from Poachers) | Emberheart Gameplay + Giveaway" by The Grove, one of 3 playthroughs.
If you like it, try Flip Pick Towers, Zing-a-Zam, Big Bazar and Kompromat, also by Adam Porter.
All videos
8 of 24
Creators who cover this
Purge Reviews
3 videos of this game
Adam in Wales - Board Game Design
2 videos of this game
Bald and Bored Games
2 videos of this game
Board Gaymes James
2 videos of this game
Life of a Board Gamer
2 videos of this game
Tabletop Gaming Guild
2 videos of this game
The Grove
2 videos of this game
Allies or Enemies
1 video of this game
Games like this
2020Rob Fisher, Adam Porter
- Videos
- 2
- Creators
- 2
Reviews and playthroughs
2 players30 minLight weight
About Emberheart
From BoardGameGeek:
The mystical island of Emberheart is home to the last dragons. They were living in harmony with the villagers until poachers from the Distant Lands arrived to capture, raid, and plunder. To keep the island safe, the Dragon Ambassador now seeks the King's support. As one of the King's champions, your mission is to join forces with the villagers, rescue and protect the dragons, and stand against the evil poachers. Emberheart is a quick-playing, medium-weight worker placement game . As one of the King's Champions, your task is to recruit heroes, rescue dragons and expand their preserves, train your own dragon companion, and oppose the roaming poachers. On your turn, you can either take an Aide token (granting you a unique bonus for the round), or send a party of hirelings to one of the locations on the island. The number of hirelings you send matters just as much as where you send them: the more you commit to a location, the earlier you get to choose from its limited rewards, and the less likely your opponents are to outbid you with a larger party. There are various hirelings at your disposal: Grunts are versatile but single-use, while Scouts, Rangers and Wardens are permanent, but limited to specific locations. Your Dragon Companion can also join a party of hirelings as you place them, giving them various bonuses based on how you trained it. The locations' rewards allow you to recruit Heroes with unique abilities, rescue Dragons from the poachers' grasp to get them to safety in matching Preserves, and launch counterattacks against the poachers. In the heat of some actions, and during the Poachers' Raid at the end of each round, you may get burned, and advancing too far on the Flame track will take its toll at the end of the game. Rescuing Dragons, recruiting Heroes, training your Dragon Companion, and keeping your Flame low will earn you Glory at the end of the game. After five rounds, the Champion with the most Glory wins, inheriting the title of Dragon Ambassador. -description from the publisher
Designers
Rob Fisher, Adam Porter
Artist
Andrew Bosley
Publisher
Mindclash Games
Categories
Mechanics