Guerra de Calderos
Guerra de Calderos Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Contents
- Character cards x5
- Magic cauldron cards x5
- Golden cauldron cards x5
- Ingredient cards x28
- Attack cards x21
- Defense cards x6
Important: For games of 2 to 4 players, before starting, remove 1 golden cauldron card from the game.
For games of 5 players, use the full deck.
Student Stories
The characters have stories, strengths and weaknesses. They exist only to enrich the experience and give no advantage in the game.
Aldric dreams of becoming a wizard in order to live great adventures and help the less fortunate with his ancestral magic. Strengths: brave, compassionate and dreamy. Weakness: sometimes he loses his wand just when he needs it most.
Lyra wants to become a great sorceress and, together with her cat Milo, discover the hidden secrets of forgotten kingdoms. Strengths: shrewd, curious and fearless. Weakness: she often believes her cat Milo is the key to solving all the mysteries of the universe.
Magnus is the son of a gladiator and a sorceress. He dreams of becoming the strongest and most powerful mage, facing his enemies on the battlefield. Strengths: bold, fierce and tenacious. Weakness: he always feels the need to make a dramatic entrance, even when it is not necessary.
Celestia dreams of learning alchemy and opening a potion shop, so that she can keep sharing the secrets of magic in small crystal vials. Strengths: ingenious, persevering and creative. Weakness: sometimes she mixes ingredients badly and causes explosions that smell of burnt cake.
Corvus is little known, but in the halls of Verkanish there are rumours about his parents, great sorcerers of black magic. Strengths: enigmatic, intelligent and reserved. Weakness: he believes the owls are conspiring against him.
Setup
I. Separate the character cards and the magic cauldron cards from the deck. Each player chooses one character card and the magic cauldron of the matching colour. (You can read each character's story on pages 4 and 5 to choose the one you identify with.)
II. Place your character card in front of you, and place its magic cauldron card directly below it.
III. The players sit in a circle. The oldest player shuffles the cards and deals five cards to each participant.
IV. This player places the remaining cards face down as the draw deck. The player to the right of the dealer begins the game.
Note: When the draw deck runs out, take the discard pile, shuffle it, and place it face down as the new draw deck.
Object of the Game
To win the game, a player must gather the five fantastic ingredients (yeti frost, unicorn flatulence, crocodile tears, ghost laughter and gnome vomit) in their magic cauldron, or collect the three golden cauldrons in their hand.
Player's Turn
On their turn, each player may take only one action from the following:
I. Attack a rival: Use an attack card to throw it at another student. Draw a card at the end of your turn.
II. Add a fantastic ingredient to the magic cauldron: Place the ingredient card face up next to your magic cauldron, making sure it is not a duplicate of one you already have. Draw a card at the end of your turn.
III. Discard a card: Place a card from your hand face down on the discard pile. Draw a card at the end of your turn.
Important: You may take only one action per turn, and you may not pass your turn without doing anything.
The rulebook shows examples of the actions described above: Attacking a rival; Adding a fantastic ingredient to the magic cauldron; Discarding a card. (The example images are not transcribed.)
Card Types
Each card has a symbol in its upper-left corner and in its lower-right corner. That symbol indicates the card's action. The card types are as follows:
- Enchantment: Makes the rival lose their turn.
- Cauldron Theft (Robo de caldero): Swap a rival's magic cauldron with their ingredients.
- Possession (Posesión): Forces a rival to give you the card you ask for, without you being able to look at their hand.
- Cauldron Block (Bloquea Calderos): Disables a rival's magic cauldron for one turn.
- Explosion (Explosión): Destroys all the ingredients in a rival's magic cauldron.
- Wand Break (Rompe Varitas): Breaks a rival's magic wand, rendering it unusable for one turn.
- Ingredients: Add them to your magic cauldron to perform the ritual.
- Golden Cauldron (Caldero dorado): If you gather three cards, you win the game.
- Counterspell (Contrahechizo): Cancels any spell cast at you.
- Mirror (Espejo): Cancels or bounces back any spell cast at you, toward any rival at the table.
Action Cards
Using Cauldron Block: When a player plays this card against an opponent, that opponent must turn over their magic cauldron card, showing the extinguished (off) side of the cauldron. While it is off, they may not add ingredients to their magic cauldron. The effect lasts until the player who played the card completes their next turn, at which point the cauldron automatically returns to its active side.
Using Wand Break: When a player plays this card against an opponent, that opponent must turn over their character card, showing the broken-wand side. While their wand is broken, they may not attack or defend. The effect lasts until the player who played the card completes their next turn, at which point the character automatically returns to its active side.
Using Possession: When playing Possession, the attacker must say aloud the name of a card. If the opponent has that card in their hand, they must hand it over without showing their other cards. If they do not have it, the attacker draws in the usual way and places the action card on the discard pile.
Important: If the attacker receives a card through Possession, they do not draw at the end of their turn, unless they end their turn with fewer than five cards in hand.
Using Enchantment: If a player casts Enchantment at an opponent, that opponent loses their entire turn.
Using Cauldron Theft: When a player uses Cauldron Theft, they swap their magic cauldron with another player's. The swap includes the cauldron and the ingredients placed in it.
Example, Cauldron Block + Cauldron Theft: If a player has their cauldron blocked and another player casts Cauldron Theft at them, at the moment the swap takes place the stolen cauldron is reset and is active again.
Using Explosion: If a player plays Explosion, the opponent loses all the ingredients they have added to their magic cauldron, and places them on the discard pile.
Using Golden Cauldron: If a player gathers three Golden Cauldron cards in their hand, they must wait until the start of their next turn to declare victory. Declaring victory counts as the turn's action. It is only possible to win if their Magic Cauldron is not blocked and their wand is not broken.
Defense Rules
If a player attacks and the rival defends, only the attacker draws a card at the end of their turn.
To defend, a player must spend a defense card (Counterspell or Mirror). They may defend as many times as they wish, but they do not draw cards until it is their turn and they take an action. At the end of their turn, they draw as many cards as they spent, to return to five cards in hand.
Using Mirror: When a player casts a spell at another, the opponent may use the Mirror card to:
I. Cancel the spell, so that it has no effect; or
II. Bounce it toward another player of their choice, in which case the Mirror user becomes the attacker.
Example: If a player casts Possession, the opponent may cancel it or bounce it. If they choose to bounce it, the player who used the Mirror will now choose the card they wish to receive from the newly affected player.
Questions?
The rulebook invites players to scan the QR code to watch a step-by-step explanatory video. (The QR code is not transcribed.)