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House of the Dragon season 3 restores a detail from A Song of Ice and Fire that Game of Thrones famously left on the cutting room floor.
HBO's Game of Thrones prequel returned for its third season on June 21, continuing the devastating war of succession known as the Dance of the Dragons. Naturally, House of the Dragon season 3 introduces several new characters, including Ormund Hightower (James Norton), the Lord of Oldtown, and Prince Daeron Targaryen (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth), King Viserys and Queen Alicent's fourthborn child, who was raised as Ormund's ward.
Now, HBO has unveiled a new image from House of the Dragon season 3, episode 5, revealing Daeron and Ormund playing Cyvasse, which notably did not appear in Game of Thrones, marking the first time the board game has appeared on-screen in the fantasy franchise. Check out the image below:
In the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, Cyvasse is a board game that originates from Volantis, though it becomes highly popular among the nobility in the Free Cities and Dorne. It's played by two players, and features ten different types of pieces – including dragons, horses, and a king – each with their own abilities and characteristics.
George R.R. Martin has not come up with official rules for Cyvasse.
Before each game, players arrange their pieces on the board and take turns maneuvering their forces across the battlefield. Although the intricate strategy game – often described as a blend of chess, Stratego, and Blitzkrieg – plays a significant role in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels, it was completely left out of the television adaptation, Game of Thrones.
Cyvasse was cut from Game of Thrones since the showrunners streamlined the novel's narrative by cutting the Aegon Targaryen and Quentyn Martell subplots in Essos and Dorne. In the books, the game serves as a strategic plot device primarily used to advance these arcs, which were deemed unnecessary for the television adaptation.
Whether the inclusion of Cyvasse in House of the Dragon is just a clever nod to the books or something more remains to be seen, though the game itself rewards patience, foresight, and calculated risks – making it an apt metaphor for the Dance itself. Daeron and Ormund's match could quietly foreshadow the choices and costly mistakes they will make once the fighting truly escalates.
House of the Dragon season 3 debuts new episodes every Sunday at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and are available to stream simultaneously on Max.
