Theme : In the Year of the Dragon sets players up as Chinese princes seeking to maximise the wealth of their provinces in 1,000 A.D. Players will have to call on the talents of their various courtiers of monks, warriors, scholars and craftsmen. All your resources will be required and those of your courtiers as untoward events occur from month to month such as droughts, contagions and Mongol invasions. Only those who can guide their provinces with enough foresight and courage will win the Mandate of Heaven and the game.

Gameplay : In the Year of the Dragon places players as one of five princes in Ancient China, going through a really bad year. Players must do their best to court the favour of the Emperor while developing their provinces to the best of their ability for twelve turns (months).

Each turn follows the same sequence of actions - pick an action, play a person card, deal with the event of that turn and scoring. Players pick actions in order of 'people points' (a separate track), with there being seven (7) actions available. Players who pick the same action as another must pay an additional three (3) gold.

When playing a 'person card', players are able to recruit an individual into their palace to aid them. These courtiers come from the 11 cards provided to the player (9 specific courtier cards and 2 wild cards), with each courtier having a different 'people person' point, allowing players to move up or down the people person track.

Lastly, events are the meat of the game with major calamities occurring throughout the year. Players will have the chance to view what the calamities are throughout the game, but must be certain to be able to deal with these calamities or sacrifice the necessary individuals.

A game of decision making and resource management, In the Year of the Dragon is a highly recommended Euro game.