Sorcerer City
Sorcerer City Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal
To be crowned Head Wizard you must possess the most Prestige after five rounds, each round being one year passing in Sorcerer City.
Game Credits
- Design: Scott Caputo
- Additional development: Tim Eisner, Ben Eisner, Doug Butler
- Illustration: Damien Mammoliti
- Box illustration: David Kegg
- Additional illustration: David Kegg, Mr Cuddington, Justin Chan
- Graphic design & layout: Kate Finch, Joel Finch
- Rulebook: Kate Finch, Joel Finch, William Sobel
- Druid City Games Director: James Hudson
- Staff writer: Derek Funkhouser
Game Components
- 6 sets of 12 Starting tiles
- 115 Market tiles across 4 Vendor tiers
- 102 Monster tiles (60 Tier 1 tiles, 42 Tier 2 tiles)
- 12 Rainbow Vendor tiles
- 12 Artifact tiles
- Influence Rewards board
- 24 "+30" Annual Progress tokens
- 6 sets of 3 Magic Transformation cards
- 24 Annual Progress markers
- Market board
- 15 Influence Reward cards
- 80 Prestige tokens
- 6 Annual Progress tracks
- 14 Monster Randomizer cards
- 5 sets of 3 Mystery Player cards
- Sand timer
Identifying and Sorting Tiles
Tile backs
All tiles have an identifying code on the back, and each type of tile has a unique icon on the back in the lower left corner.
The code is unique to that particular tile type, and the number after the dot tells you how many copies of that tile are in the game. (For example, an ID code of "284.4" means there are 4 copies of that tile in the game.)
Starting tiles. Starting tiles are a special set of twelve that all share the same symbol on the tile back. Each symbol is used to mark one complete set of Starting tiles. No symbol is better than any other since each set of Starting tiles is the same.
Market tiles. Market tiles are marked with a Money bag icon, and separated into four Vendor tiers by the number on the bag.
Monster tiles. Monster tiles have one or two swords to show their tier.
Rainbow tiles. Rainbow tiles have a rainbow icon. Note: not all tiles with a multi-colored front are Rainbow tiles.
Artifact tiles. Artifact tiles have a wooden chest icon.
Tile faces
Different types of tiles have different features on their faces (the front side of the tile).
Market tiles always have a gold Money bag in the top right corner that shows the price to purchase that tile at the Market.
Some Market tiles have Goals which are shown on a colored shield. Some Market tiles contain Spells which are depicted with a scroll and an icon to tell you when the spell activates. Other Market tiles may contain a Goal and a Spell, while yet others may contain neither of these things.
Monster tiles always contain a Monster illustration. See the Monsters in Detail section for more information about Monsters.
Rainbow tiles always show a multi-colored swirl over the entire tile background.
Some Rainbow tiles are also available in the Market, and these can include Spells or Goals. See the Monsters in Detail section for more information about Rainbow tiles.
Game Setup
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Give each player a set of twelve Starting tiles, a set of Raw Magic Transformation cards, an Annual Progress track, and four Annual Progress markers to place one per row on the Annual Progress track at the 0 position.
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To set up the Market, place the Market board in the center of the table. Take each set of Vendor tiles and shuffle them independently to form four Vendor decks. There are five Vendors on the Market board. Reveal three tiles at the bottom of the first, second, third and fourth Vendors. Place each Vendor deck face-down above the Market board. Place the stack of twelve Rainbow tiles costing 7 Money at the bottom edge of the fifth Vendor.
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Place the Influence Rewards board near the center of the table. Take the Year 5 Influence Reward card from the deck of Influence rewards and place it below the Year 5 position. Shuffle the Influence Reward cards and reveal cards one at a time to fill the positions on the Influence Rewards board labeled Year 1 through Year 4. Note that some Influence Rewards cannot be used in the 1st Year of the game: if one of these cards is revealed for Year 1, return it to the bottom of the deck and reveal another in its place. Return the unused Influence Rewards cards back to the game box.
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For a 2-player game only, randomly select one Mystery Player card from each Year, being sure to keep the cards face down. Place these five cards at the bottom edge of the five Influence Reward cards.
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To set up the Monsters:
- Shuffle the Tier 1 Monster Randomizer cards and reveal one to use as the Monster at the conclusion of Year 1. Place the stack of Monster tiles that match the revealed Monster next to the Year 1 position of the Influence Reward board. The Monster Randomizer card contains a summary of that Monster's ability so place the card at the side of the playing area for reference during the game.
- Reveal a second Tier 1 Randomizer card to use as the Monster at the conclusion of Year 2. Place the stack of Monster tiles that match the revealed Monster next to the Year 2 position of the Influence Reward board. Place the card at the side of the playing area for reference during the game. Put the remaining Tier 1 Monster cards and tiles back in the box.
- Shuffle the Tier 2 Monster Randomizer cards and reveal one to be the Monster at the conclusion of Year 3. Place the stack of Monster tiles that match the revealed Monster next to the Year 3 position of the Influence Reward board. Place the card at the side of the playing area for reference during the game.
- Reveal a second Tier 2 Monster Randomizer card to be the Monster at the conclusion of Year 4. Place the stack of Monster tiles that match the revealed Monster next to the Year 4 position of the Influence Reward board. Place the card at the side of the playing area for reference during the game, and put the remaining Tier 2 Monster cards and tiles back in the box.
Notes on Monsters: If playing with 3 or fewer players, you may choose the same Tier 1 Monster for both Year 1 and 2, and/or the same Tier 2 Monster for both Year 3 and 4. Don't choose both the Skeleton and the Lich for the Tier 1 Monsters when playing with 5 or 6 players.
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Place Prestige tokens conveniently within reach of all players.
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Each player shuffles their starting City deck tiles and keeps that deck face down. Each player should make sure they have enough room in front of them to build their district, and store their Annual Progress markers, Raw Magic Transformation cards, and Annual Progress track off to one side.
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Give the timer to the player who most recently saw a fantasy movie or TV show to indicate they are the current starting player.
After a few games: Artifact tiles. Once you are comfortable playing Sorcerer City, consider playing with Artifacts. During Game Setup, randomly deal each player two Artifact tiles. Each player chooses one Artifact tile to keep and one Artifact tile to return to the box. All unused Artifact tiles are also returned to the box. Each player shuffles their chosen Artifact tile into their Starting tiles so they start with thirteen tiles. Details about the Artifacts can be found in the Artifacts in Detail section.
Artifact tiles show the unique ability that Artifact bestows when played.
Round Overview
Each round follows the same mandatory phases:
Prepare phase
- Each player shuffles their tiles and places them face down as their new City deck for the next round.
Build phase
- The player who has the timer starts it and everyone simultaneously builds their district.
- Monsters marked with the Build phase icon (hammer) activate immediately when they are built. You must resolve them before building another tile.
- Once built in your district, all non-Monster tiles (including Artifacts) marked with the Build phase icon may be used at any point until the timer runs out.
- Once the timer runs out, all players must stop building. Any tiles not placed in their districts do not count toward scoring.
Score phase
- Monsters marked with the Score phase icon (color swirl) activate now. They may be used in any order you choose.
- Each player scores their own district on their Annual Progress track.
- Spells marked with the Score phase icon activate now. They may be used in any order you choose.
- Raw Magic points are transformed into another form.
Influence & Buy phase
- Step 10 contains 3 substeps that are completed by a single player before passing to the next player. The player who has the greatest Influence begins the phase, and when they complete all 3 substeps, it passes to the next player in order of descending Influence.
- Influence Rewards are awarded to the players with the most Influence. Rewards marked with the Reward phase icon (wax seal) activate now.
- Players may buy up to two new tiles from the Market (see Round Phases in Detail).
- Rewards and Spells marked with the Buy phase icon (coin) activate now. They may be used in any order you choose.
Prestige phase
- All players determine the quantity of Prestige they have and take Prestige tokens equal to that amount.
Cleanup phase
- Shuffle the Monster deck for the next round face-down and give one to each player.
- Each player dismantles their district and returns all their tiles to form their City deck for the next round. All Annual Progress tracks are reset to zero.
- Pass the timer to the next player on the left ready for the next round.
Round Phases in Detail
Prepare phase
Each player shuffles their tiles and places them face down as their new City deck for the next round.
Some players may have abilities that allow them to place tiles during this phase.
Build phase
Place Tiles to complete Goals
Each round, players are trying to build their district in order to satisfy as many Goals as possible to score Money, Influence, Raw Magic, and Prestige. Players' districts are not connected to each other.
Each player reveals one tile at a time from their personal City deck. They can place the first tile as they wish to start their district, and all tiles after that must be placed adjacent (with one or more sides touching) to a tile already placed. Once a tile is placed, it cannot be moved or rotated. Also, players may stop building their district at any time, so they are not forced to keep drawing tiles if they don't want to keep going. Note that once a tile is revealed, it must be placed in your district.
Goals are represented by a shield, and each Goal contains two parts: the resource produced (Money, Influence, Raw Magic, or Prestige) and the structure needed to complete the Goal. The icons for Money, Influence, Raw Magic and Prestige each appear on the corresponding Goal.
Adjacent Tiles and Neighboring Tiles
If a tile is adjacent to another tile, it is immediately above, below, or to the left or right of the other tile. It is not diagonal to the other tile.
If a tile neighbors another tile, it is in one of the eight possible positions around the other tile.
Group Goal
To complete this Goal, you must create a group of 3 or more connected tiles of the marked color. This group of connected tiles can be any shape, not just an L-shape. To work out the score, simply count the number of tiles in the group. Note: just having a group of connected tiles of the same color does not score any points unless it includes a tile with a Group Goal shield of that color.
Example: a group of 3 connected tiles of the marked color, one of which bears the Group Goal shield, scores 3 Money. A group where the tile bearing the Goal is only connected to 2 tiles of the marked color does not score, because the section containing the Goal only includes two tiles. Likewise, a group of tiles that does not include any tile with a Goal shield of that color does not score, even if the group is otherwise large.
Line Goal
To complete this Goal, you must create a horizontal or vertical line of three or more connected tiles of the marked color regardless of the angle of the line. To work out the score, simply count the number of tiles in the line.
If a Line Goal is in both a horizontal and vertical line, it still only scores once, but the player may choose which line to score.
Simply having a line of connected tiles of the same color does not score any points unless it includes a tile with a Line Goal shield of that color.
Example: a line of 3 connected tiles of the marked color, one of which bears the Line Goal shield, scores 3 Money. This still counts as a horizontal line completing the Goal even when drawn on the page at an angle, as long as the tiles themselves are placed in a horizontal line.
Shield Goal
To complete this Goal, the tile with this Goal must have at least two neighboring tiles with a shield of any type or color on them.
To work out the score, simply count 1 for each shield on the center tile and add 1 for every shield on a neighboring tile. If a tile has two Goals of this type on it, score each Goal separately.
Examples:
- A Shield Goal with only one neighboring shield does not score, since a minimum of two is required.
- A Shield Goal with two neighboring shields scores: for instance, an upper-left Shield Goal neighboring two other shields scores 3 Influence, while a center Shield Goal neighboring five other shields scores 6 Prestige.
- With five Shield Goals arranged together, a Prestige Goal on the center tile would score 6 Prestige (1 for the Goal itself, plus 5 for the other Goals neighboring it), while a Goal on one of the Double Goal tiles would score 5 each of its respective types (1 for the Goal, plus 4 for the other Goals neighboring it).
District Disconnection
Watch out for disconnection. Some effects can remove or destroy tiles, which could lead to your district becoming disconnected. When placing tiles, it's possible for you to replace these spaces and reconnect your district.
Abilities: Monsters, Spells and Artifacts
Some Monsters, Spells and Artifacts have extra abilities. Each is marked with an icon showing the point during each round it takes effect: Prepare, Build, Score, Influence Rewards, or Buy.
If a tile is not built in your district, its ability does not activate unless it activates during the Prepare phase.
Refer to the Monster Randomizer Card for details on the various Monsters during play. See the Monsters in Detail section for complete information.
Score phase
Scoring Your District
Each player scores their district on the Annual Progress track to see how much Money, Influence, Raw Magic and Prestige they produced. Use the markers on your Annual Progress tracker to keep track of how much Raw Magic, Money, Influence, and Prestige you have earned this Year.
Flip the matching Annual Progress token to the "+30" side if you exceed 30 points on a track.
During the scoring phase, players may not score higher than 60 in any Annual Progress category. Any excess points are lost.
Annual Progress scores are public information so everyone can figure out if they have a chance to have the most Influence that round.
In a 2-player game, each player must also consider how much Influence the Mystery Player might have, which is represented by the Mystery Player card for that Year. The three possible Influence values are shown on the front of the card.
Raw Magic Transformation
After scoring, each player has Raw Magic recorded on their Annual Progress track. Each player transforms all of their Raw Magic into one resource of another type: Money (yellow), Influence (red) or Prestige (green).
To do this, each player looks at the other players' Annual Progress track, and then secretly chooses the Raw Magic Transformation card matching the resource they want to convert their own Raw Magic into.
All players reveal their Raw Magic Transformation cards simultaneously and adjust their Annual Progress tracks accordingly.
Example: if you have 5 Raw Magic and 5 Money and decide to transform Raw Magic into Money, you would then have zero Raw Magic and 10 Money.
Influence & Buy phase
Awarding Influence Rewards
1st Place:
- The player with the highest Influence (red) wins both the Prestige and Influence Reward shown on the Influence Reward board for the current Year.
2nd Place:
- The player with the next highest Influence chooses to take the Prestige OR the Reward shown on the Influence Reward board for the current Year.
- If there is a tie for 2nd Place, no 3rd place is awarded.
3rd Place:
- If there are 3 or fewer players then the player with the next highest Influence points may choose to take 5 Money or an extra buy. See "The Mystery Player" below for more information on how this affects 2-player games.
- If there are 4 or more players then the player with the next highest Influence points gains the effect that the 2nd place player did NOT choose unless there was a tie for 2nd place.
4th - 6th Place:
- All remaining players may choose to take either 5 Money or an extra buy.
If there is a tie for any place, all tied players receive the effects listed for that place.
| Place | 2 players (Mystery Player as 3rd player) | 3 players | 4-6 players |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st place | Influence Reward + Prestige for that Year | Influence Reward + Prestige for that Year | Influence Reward + Prestige for that Year |
| 2nd place | Choice of Influence Reward OR Prestige for that Year | Choice of Influence Reward OR Prestige for that Year | Choice of Influence Reward OR Prestige for that Year |
| 3rd place | 5 Money OR +1 Buy | 5 Money OR +1 Buy | Whatever was not chosen by the 2nd place winner |
| 4th - 6th place | N/A | N/A | 5 Money OR +1 Buy |
The Mystery Player
In a 2-player game, there is still a 1st and 2nd place, but the Mystery Player's card is revealed which represents the Mystery Player's Influence. The Mystery Player could end up winning 1st or 2nd place. However, the Mystery Player performs no other tasks besides vying for the most Influence. For 3rd place in a 2-player game, you may choose to either take 5 Money OR an extra buy (i.e. buy up to three tiles).
As Influence Rewards are awarded, each player adjusts their Prestige Annual Progress track to record Prestige earned from an Influence win (if any) and their Reward (if any).
As with all Annual Progress tracks, a player may not earn more than 60 Prestige in a round.
The Mystery Player is represented by a random card each year. The card back shows the possible values of Influence scored by the 3rd player in a 2-player game. Once flipped, the actual amount is revealed.
Buying Tiles
Going in order from most Influence to least, each player may spend their Money to buy tiles from the Market. All players may buy up to two tiles, and some spells and Influence Rewards give the ability to purchase additional tiles also.
If a player scores more than 20 Money in a round, they are also awarded an additional buy at the Market.
In case of ties, the player closest to the timer, going clockwise, buys first. Once a tile is purchased by a player, it is added to that player's deck.
As each tile is bought, a new tile is revealed immediately from that Vendor's deck.
Additionally, some Spells marked with the Money icon activate during this phase, such as "Gain a tile costing up to 6 for free".
Once per round, a player may pay 1 Money to discard a tile to the bottom of that Vendor's deck and reveal the next tile from that same deck.
Once bought, all tiles are discarded to be shuffled into the player's deck during the Prepare phase.
Collecting Prestige
After all players have bought their tiles, all players collect Prestige tokens equal to the Prestige score on their Annual Progress track.
The player who scored the least Prestige on their Annual Progress track that round receives a Market tile for free:
- Year 1: from the top of the Vendor 1 deck.
- Year 2: from the top of the Vendor 2 deck.
- Year 3: from the top of the Vendor 3 deck.
- Year 4: from the top of the Vendor 4 deck.
- Year 5: no tile is given away since there will be no more building.
If multiple players tie for the fewest points earned that round, each of those players receives a tile for free.
If a player is supposed to receive a tile for free from a given Vendor, but no more tiles are available from that Vendor, then no tile is given out for free.
Cleanup
Discarded tiles
Return all discarded tiles to players' decks.
Monsters
Monsters are selected before the game begins and are added to the game at the end of Years 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Shuffle the stack of Monsters to be dealt and turn the stack face down. Deal a Monster from the stack to each player, with the following exceptions:
- If the Monster is the Skeleton, deal two Skeletons to each player.
- If the Monster is a Lich, also make the stack of Skeletons ready for use. Put the stack of Skeletons face down in the middle of the table within easy reach of all players.
Variations for Round 5
The rules for the 5th round vary slightly:
- There is no Influence Reward. Only the player(s) with the most Influence wins the Prestige.
- There is no 2nd or 3rd place.
- Players do not buy any more Market or Rainbow tiles.
- Players do not acquire a new Monster.
- There is no additional end game scoring beyond what players normally receive in a given round.
At the end of the Year 5, count up all Prestige earned during the game to determine the winner!
In the event of a tie on Prestige, the player with the most Money is the winner.
Glossary
Ability: Certain Market or Artifact tiles with Spells, and Influence Rewards give players an ability to perform a particular action.
Adjacent: Immediately above, below, or to the left or right of a tile. Not diagonal.
Annual Progress: The measurement of how well you did during each round of the game which is a Year in the life of Sorcerer City.
Artifact: A set of optional tiles that give each player a unique ability.
District: The region of Sorcerer City built by each player.
Collect: Take Prestige tokens equal to the quantity of Prestige gained during a round and marked on your Annual Progress track.
Deck: A set of tiles that is randomized and kept face-down, revealed one at a time.
Destroy: Remove a non-Monster tile permanently for the rest of the game and return to the box.
Discard: Discarded tiles are not destroyed; they return to your deck during Cleanup and are shuffled in in preparation for the next round.
Gain: To receive Money, Influence, Raw Magic, or Prestige during a round. Also refers to tiles received for free through a Spell or Influence Reward.
Goal: Goals are shown on tiles by a large Shield with a symbol on it. Goals may be Line, Group, or Shield.
Influence: Produced by tiles with stone towers and blocks, colored red.
Influence Reward: Awarded to the player with the greatest amount of Influence at the conclusion of each round.
Kill: Remove a Monster permanently for the rest of the game and return to the box.
Market: A collection of Vendors, each selling a stack of city tiles of a particular value.
Money: Produced by tiles with Market stall tents, colored yellow.
Monster: A tile with a negative effect. That effect takes place either when the tile is played, or at the end of the round as shown on each Monster tile. Monster tiles show the Monster in a frame with the name of the Monster printed on it.
Neighboring: A tile that is neighboring is in one of the eight possible positions around the other tile, orthogonally or diagonally.
Prestige: The highest form of income in the game. Shown on tiles in green with trees and statues.
Rainbow: Rainbows are wild tiles that match any color.
Rainbow Vendor tiles: Tiles with a Rainbow icon on the back. These are only sold by the Rainbow Vendor.
Raw Magic: Produced by tiles with glowing crystal towers and trees, colored purple. It must be transformed into either Money, Influence, or Prestige each round.
Raw Magic Transformation: The process of changing Raw Magic into either Money, Influence, or Prestige.
Round: One round of the game covers six phases: Prepare, Build, Score, Award Influence Rewards & Buy Tiles, Collect Prestige, and Cleanup. Each game has five rounds.
Score: The individual quantities of Money, Influence, Raw Magic, or Prestige attained by a player.
Shield: Shows that the tile has a Goal on it.
Shuffle: Randomize a set of tiles or cards.
Spell: An ability bestowed by a tile. Presented on a scroll image on the tile.
Stack: A set of tiles kept face-up.
Tier: Levels of power across Monsters are broken into two tiers.
Token: Used for tallying Prestige attained during each round of the game.
Vendor: Sells a stack of city tiles all of the same type and range of values.
Year: One round of the game.
Influence Rewards in Detail
Influence Rewards are chosen randomly at the start of the game. Some Rewards cannot be used in the first round of the game. These are noted at the bottom of the card itself. If one of these is drawn in Year 1, simply discard and replace it with the next card. Rewards not selected for the game are returned to the box and are referred to as "Unused Rewards".
There are fifteen Influence Reward cards:
- Kill 2 Monsters in your district. Only visible Monsters in your district can be killed. Killed Monsters are removed from the game. (Do not use for Year 1: if this Reward is drawn for the Year 1 Reward, discard it and draw a different Reward.)
- Choose 2 tiles from the Market, each of which would normally cost you no more than 7, and add them to your district deck for free. Any discounts still apply, such as "All tiles cost 2 less".
- Gain 1 tile of any cost from the Market for free.
- For all buys you have this round, you may buy tiles at 2 less than the normal price. This discount happens first before any other discounts. The minimum cost of any tile is 1. Additionally, you may buy 1 more tile than normal.
- For all buys you have this round, you may buy tiles at half price rounded up. This discount happens first before any other discounts. If a player receives this Reward twice, all tiles would be quarter price rounded up. The minimum cost of any tile is 1.
- Gain a Rainbow tile from the Rainbow Vendor for free. Rainbow-patterned tiles from the other Market vendors do not qualify.
- While buying tiles from the Market, you may discard up to 4 tiles from the Market for free. These tiles can be from the same or different vendor, and you may discard before or after buying a tile.
- Give a Monster from your district to any other player. Only visible Monsters in your district can be given away. (Do not use for Year 1.)
- Score 5 Prestige per Monster in your district (not in your City deck). (Do not use for Year 1.)
- Gain 2 tiles from any single Vendor, including the Rainbow Vendor. In turn order, each other player gains 1 tile from the same Vendor going clockwise. Fill the vacant spaces in the Market as soon as they are created.
- Each other player must destroy a non-Monster tile in their deck of tiles. Destroyed tiles are removed from the game. (Do not use for Solo Mode.)
- Choose 1 tile from the Market to give to any other player. Gain Prestige or Money equal to the cost of that tile.
- At the end of the current Year, pick any 2 tiles from your deck and place them in your district during the Prepare phase, before the next round begins. Ignore any Monster effects if you play Monster tiles this way.
- You may kill 1 Monster in any other player's district to gain either 10 Prestige or 10 Money. (Do not use for Year 1 or Solo Mode.)
- No Influence Reward for Year 5. This card is always used for Year 5 — there is no Influence Reward awarded at the conclusion of the final round.
Spells in Detail
As soon as you place a Spell tile in your district you may use it. However, only Spells with the hammer-shaped Build phase icon may be used during the Building phase. Any Spells still in your City deck once the timer runs out cannot be used this round. Each Spell may only be used once per round. However, if you have multiple Spells of the same type, you receive the benefit multiple times.
Purple: Raw Magic
- (Cost 6) Move a Monster. Once per round, you may move a Monster tile to a new location in your district. You may disconnect your district when you use this Spell. You may move a Monster off a tile.
- (Cost 6) Gain Money when you buy a Raw Magic tile. Every time you buy a tile with any purple on it (including a Rainbow tile), gain 3 Money on your Annual Progress tracker.
- (Cost 6) Move a Raw Magic tile. Once per round, you may move a tile with purple on it to a new location in your district. You may disconnect your district when you use this Spell. You may not move a purple tile that is covered by a Monster.
- (Cost 10) Kill a Monster. Once per round, you may kill a visible Monster in your district. Killed Monsters are removed from the game. You may disconnect your district when you use this Spell.
- (Cost 10) Spend 3 Raw Magic to gain 3 Money, 3 Influence, and 3 Prestige. Before your Magic is transformed this round, you may transform 3 Magic into 3 Money, 3 Influence, and 3 Prestige. Then transform your remaining Magic as normal.
- (Cost 14) Spend 5 Raw Magic to gain 5 Money, 5 Influence, and 5 Prestige. Before your Magic is transformed this round, you may transform 5 Magic into 5 Money, 5 Influence, and 5 Prestige. Then transform your remaining Magic as normal.
Green: Prestige
- (Cost 8) Move a Prestige tile. Once per round, you may move a tile with green on it to a new location in your district. You may disconnect your district when you use this Spell. You may not move a green tile that is covered by a Monster.
- (Cost 8) Move a Goal tile. Once per round, you may move a tile with a Goal on it to a new location in your district. You may disconnect your district when you use this Spell. You may not move a Goal tile that is covered by a Monster.
- (Cost 14) For every two Goals, gain 1 Prestige. Gain 1 Prestige per two Goals anywhere in your district. This Prestige is in addition to any Prestige scored from the Shield Goal on this tile.
Yellow: Money
- (Cost 4) Move a Money tile. Once per round, you may move a tile with yellow on it to a new location in your district. You may disconnect your district when you use this Spell. You may not move a yellow tile that is covered by a Monster.
- (Cost 4) Gain a tile costing up to 6 for free. This triggers before you buy tiles. You are not allowed to use any discounts such as "All tiles 2 cheaper" when using this Spell.
- (Cost 4) Discard 2 tiles for free while buying. While you are buying, you may discard 2 Market tiles for free. Discarded tiles go on the bottom of each Vendor's stack. The 2 tiles you discard can be from the same Vendor or different Vendors. You may choose to discard in between buys: you could use one free discard, buy a first tile, and then discard again.
- (Cost 6) All tiles 2 cheaper. +1 Buy. For all of your buys, the cost is 2 cheaper. The minimum cost of any tile is 1. An extra buy means you can buy up to 3 tiles on your turn.
- (Cost 12) For every 3 Money, gain 1 Prestige. Before your Magic is transformed this round, gain 1 Prestige for every 3 Money you have. You still keep all of your money.
- (Cost 12) Gain a tile costing up to 10 for free. This triggers before you buy tiles. You are not allowed to use any discounts (for example, "All Tiles 2 Cheaper") when using this Spell.
Red: Influence
- (Cost 5) Move an Influence tile. Once per round, you may move a tile with red on it to a new location in your district. You may disconnect your district when you use this Spell. You may not move a red tile that is covered by a Monster.
- (Cost 6) Choose any Reward when you gain a reward. When you gain an Influence Reward, you may choose any of the 4 Rewards including Rewards from previous or later Years.
- (Cost 8) Gain Influence Reward. Gain the Influence Reward for the current round even if you would not normally earn it from being in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place. You only gain the Reward, not the points. If you gained the Influence Reward by being in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place, you may gain the Reward again!
- (Cost 12) For every 3 Influence, gain 1 Prestige. Before your Magic is transformed this round, gain 1 Prestige for every 3 Influence you have. You still keep all of your Influence.
- (Cost 12) Gain an unused Reward. Take the stack of unused Rewards (those not used during game setup) and choose one Reward to activate. This Reward activates before you buy tiles. You may choose to use it either before or after you receive any other Reward(s) this round. Once a Reward is used in this way, it is discarded and may not be used again this game. If multiple players have this tile in their city, then the stack of unused Rewards is passed between players as each player takes their turn. This tile is not recommended for new players.
Wild/Rainbow
A Rainbow tile counts for every color and all colors, so it can be used to complete multiple Goals at the same time.
- (Cost 7) The entry level Rainbow tile. Only available from the Rainbow Vendor.
- (Cost 10) Gain a Rainbow tile costing up to 7 for free. This activates before you buy tiles.
- (Cost 10) Play a Rainbow tile on top of another tile. Once per round, you may move any Rainbow tile (including this one) and place it on top of any tile in your district including on top of a Monster. You may disconnect your district when you use this Spell. You may not move the Rainbow tile if it is covered by a Monster.
- (Cost 12) A Group Goal of all four types at the same time. It's possible to score any one of the four colors with this Goal, but you may only use it to score for a single color each round. Example: with a cross-shaped group of tiles in green, purple, red and yellow around a Rainbow center tile, the player could choose to score the Group Goal as Green to gain 4 Prestige, or as Purple to gain 3 Raw Magic — there are not enough adjacent red or yellow tiles to score the Group Goal as red or yellow.
Monsters in Detail
While Monsters have negative effects on your districts, you still get to count any colored districts that are part of their tile.
All Monsters have an icon that show you when their ability activates.
Four different Monsters are selected at the start of the game. Tier 1 Monsters are added to the game at the end of Years 1 and 2. Tier 2 Monsters are added to the game at the end of Years 3 and 4.
Monsters and District Disconnection
Watch out for disconnection. Some Monsters may remove or destroy tiles, which could lead to your district becoming disconnected. Keep in mind that all Goals only count tiles that are connected. When placing tiles, it's possible for you to replace these spaces and reconnect your district.
Some Monsters force you to remove or discard tiles from your district, and then place them at the bottom of your draw deck.
With quick play, you may get a second chance to place removed tiles back in your district.
Level 1 Monsters
Dragon — Building phase: As soon as the Dragon tile is placed in the district, it permanently destroys one city tile adjacent to it. Once the Dragon has destroyed the tile, your district may be disconnected. The Dragon can be used to kill other Monsters.
Example: the Dragon appears and must be placed in the district, though the player knows an adjacent tile will be destroyed. The player must destroy the only tile adjacent to the Dragon. That tile is gone the rest of the game.
Dark Mage — Scoring phase: When scoring your district, all Goals neighboring the Dark Mage are treated as if no longer present. They cannot be scored and they also no longer contribute to any neighboring Goals.
Example: the Dark Mage effectively cancels the Influence and Raw Magic Goals above it. In another case, the Dark Mage has no effect since there are no Goals neighboring it.
Gelatinous Cube — Building phase: When you draw a Gelatinous Cube tile, remove one tile with a shield on it (if possible) from your district and put it on the bottom of your City deck. Then place the Gelatinous Cube in your district. Once the Gelatinous Cube has removed the tile, your district may be disconnected.
Example: the Gelatinous Cube tile appears and you must remove one shield tile from the district. Either of the two shield tiles may be chosen. The player opts to remove the Money shield tile on the left side of the district and then places the Gelatinous Cube tile.
Golem — Building phase: When you draw a Golem tile immediately determine the longest open straight line of the same color in your district and put the Golem at the end of that line. If you have several open lines, you may choose where to place the Golem. If you have no open lines, place the Golem anywhere in your district.
Example: the Golem is drawn and the longest open line is the three long line of yellow. The Golem is put at the end of the yellow line, effectively capping it.
Kraken — Building phase: As soon as you draw a Kraken tile, remove three tiles from your district and place them at the bottom of your City deck. Then place the Kraken in your district. If your district has three tiles or fewer, then the entire district is put on the bottom of the City deck. Once the Kraken has removed these tiles, your district may be disconnected.
Example: the Kraken tile appears and you must remove three of the 5 tiles from the district. The player opts to remove the three tiles on the left side of the district and then places the Kraken tile.
Lich — Building phase: When you draw a Lich tile, place it in your district, and then draw one Skeleton tile from the middle of the table and immediately add it to your district. This Skeleton tile will stay in your deck for the rest of the game. In this way, the Lich will progressively add more Skeletons to your deck over the course of the game.
Example: the Lich tile is drawn and played in the district which means a Skeleton needs to be drawn too. The player draws a Skeleton and adds it to the district as well.
Skeleton — Building phase: You must place the Skeleton so that the jagged black sides are not connected to any other tile. You may not place any tile adjacent to one of the jagged black sides of the Skeleton. If you notice later that you have mistakenly placed a tile next to a jagged black edge, discard the wrongly-placed tile.
Level 2 Monsters
Chimera — Scoring phase: Before scoring your district, the Chimera destroys one city tile containing a Goal that is in the same row or column. Once the Chimera has destroyed the tile, your district may be disconnected. If there are multiple such tiles, choose which is destroyed. If there are no such tiles, no tile is destroyed.
Example: the Chimera would destroy one of the two Goals in its same line — you could choose either Goal. In another case, the Chimera would not destroy any tiles since there are no Goal tiles in its same lines.
Demon — Building phase: When you draw a Demon tile, discard two tiles from your district with red on them, including Rainbow tiles. Then place the Demon tile in your district. Once the Demon has discarded these tiles, your district may be disconnected. If there are no such tiles, then play the Demon normally. If there is only one red tile, then just discard that tile. You may discard Monster tiles with red on them.
Example: the Demon appears and you must discard two tiles with red in them. The player decides to remove the two tiles on the left and places the Demon in the district.
Genie — Scoring phase: Before scoring your district, you must place all visible Monster tiles in your district (including the Genie) on top of other non-Monster tiles in your district. If a monster tile is uncovered by the Genie's action, move that monster also. Skeleton tiles may be placed without restriction on top of other non-Monster tiles.
Example: the Genie is drawn and placed in the district normally. Later the player places some Monsters in positions that continue groups of yellow and red, and covers a Shield Goal with the Dark Mage, saving the rest of the Shield Goals from the effects of the Dark Mage.
Giant — Building phase: As soon as you draw a Giant tile, you must place the Giant on top of a bought tile (one with a cost value on it) of your choice. If there is no such tile, then play the Giant tile normally.
Example: the Giant appears and must be placed on top of one of the two tiles that have costs on them. The player opts to place the Giant on the Money tile and continues play.
Goblin — Building phase: As soon as you draw a Goblin tile, you must discard two tiles from your district with yellow on them of your choice. Then place the Goblin tile in your district. Once the Goblin has discarded these tiles, your district may be disconnected. If there are no such tiles, play the Goblin normally. If there is only one yellow tile, then discard only that tile. You may discard Monster tiles with yellow on them.
Example: the Goblin appears and you must discard two tiles with yellow in them. The player decides to remove the two tiles on the right and places the Goblin in the district.
Invisible Stalker — Building phase: When you draw an Invisible Stalker tile, place it in your district, and then place the next two tiles FACE DOWN without looking at their fronts. Before scoring your district, turn over the face down tiles. You may orient the flipped tiles any way you wish. If a face down tile is a Monster, resolve its effect immediately.
Example: the Invisible Stalker is drawn and placed in the district normally. The next two tiles are placed face down. At the end of the round, the face down tiles are flipped over. The flipped tiles can be rotated in any way the player wants; the player rotates one of the tiles to make use of the yellow Group Goal.
Pixie — Building phase: As soon as you draw a Pixie tile, place the Pixie on top of a Goal tile of your choice. If there is no such tile, then place the Pixie tile anywhere you wish.
Example: the Pixie appears and you must place the Pixie on top of one of the three Goal tiles. The player opts to cover the Prestige Goal.
Artifacts in Detail
When added to the game, Artifacts give each player a unique bonus ability.
Some Artifacts act as a partial rainbow or wild tile, matching to two specific colors rather than all colors. This is shown with a swirl pattern in the colors it matches against.
- The Magic Boots Artifact is both red and green on all sides. After you build this tile, you may move a tile with red or green on it to a new location in your district. Once you have used this ability, your district may be disconnected.
- The Armor Artifact tile is both red and purple on all sides. It also contains a red Shield Goal.
- The Helmet Artifact is both yellow and purple on all sides. It also contains a yellow Line Goal.
- The Amulet Artifact is both green and purple on all sides. It also contains a green Line Goal.
- The Cloak Artifact contains a purple Shield Goal.
- The Staff Artifact: when choosing your Raw Magic Transformation cards, you may choose two cards instead of one. The number of cards you select is public knowledge. If you have an odd number of Raw Magic points, select one card to receive the leftover point.
- The Wand Artifact gives a discount at the Market: all tiles cost 1 less Money to buy. You also receive an extra buy at the Market.
- The Gem Artifact: gain a tile costing up to 5 for free. This activates before you buy tiles. You may not use any discounts (for example, "All tiles 2 cheaper") when using this Spell.
- The Gauntlet Artifact packs a mighty punch: after you build this tile, you may kill a Monster adjacent to this tile. That Monster is permanently removed from the game, and placed back in the box.
- The Golden Ring Artifact is both red and yellow on all sides. When you receive an Influence Reward, you may choose any of the four Rewards including Rewards from previous or future Years.
- The Chalice Artifact contains a green Group Goal.
- The Crown Artifact makes all tiles with green on them cost 3 less Money to buy.
Solo Mode
All of the other wizards are away on travels when suddenly a huge army of Monsters threatens to overrun Sorcerer City. Can you keep the Monsters at bay long enough until the other wizards return?
Setup
Follow the normal setup rules for 2 players with the following exceptions:
- Only one player (you) needs four Annual Progress markers, a set of twelve starting City deck tiles, a set of three Raw Magic Transformation cards, and one Annual Progress track.
- Randomly pick two Mystery Player cards from each Year, being sure to keep the cards face down. Put these ten cards below the five Influence Reward cards.
- Remove the following Influence Rewards as they don't make sense for a single player:
- All players must destroy a non-Monster tile.
- Kill a Monster in another player's district.
Goal
The solo game can end in two ways:
- If every Market tile (all thirteen tiles: every tile in the four Vendors and the Rainbow tiles) are covered by Monsters, then you lose immediately.
- Or, if you have no valid place to place a Monster in the Market, you also lose immediately.
If you make it to the end of Year 5, you are ranked based on your final Prestige total.
- 0-50 points: Junior Wizard
- 51-100 points: Veteran Wizard
- 101-150 points: Head Wizard
- 151+ points: Legendary Wizard
Solo Mode Game Play
Follow the normal game play rules with the following exceptions:
- When determining if you have the most Influence each round, reveal both Mystery Player cards for that round and compare your Influence total to both of those Influence amounts. It's possible for you to be in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in Influence.
- At the end of each buying round, distribute the remaining five Monsters for that round using the following method.
- Reveal each Monster and place the Monster on top of a tile in the Market that matches at least one color on the Monster tile. For example, a Monster with red/purple on it could be placed on top of a red tile, a purple tile, a red and purple tile, or a rainbow tile.
- Only one Monster may be placed on top of each Market tile. (It is suggested that Monsters are placed on top of Market tiles in an overlapping fashion so that part of the tile below it can still be seen.)
- If there is no valid place in the Market to place the Monster, then you lose immediately. If the Monster covers the last tile in the Market, then you lose immediately.
- If you buy a Market tile with a placed Monster on it, gain the tile and the Monster, and include both in your deck.
- If you discard a Market tile with a Monster placed on it, the tile is discarded to the bottom of its Vendor deck, and the Monster is destroyed (removed from the game entirely). Remember you can pay 1 Money to discard a Market tile once per round in the buying part of play.
Example: the player has selected the Dark Mage as the Year 2 Monster. They have dealt the first Mage to their deck, and the remaining five Mage tiles have been placed on top of Market tiles with matching colors.
Influence Reward Modifications
The effect of certain Influence Rewards are modified in a solo game:
- Give one Market tile to another player: Choose one Market tile to discard and gain Prestige or Money on your Annual Progress tracker equal to the marked costs on the tile/s. Any Monsters on those tiles are also discarded.
- Give away a Monster: Just discard a Monster from your district.
Expert Variant
If you have played the game many times and are familiar with all of the Monsters, try this challenging variant.
- Take half the Skeletons and set them aside. Add the other half into the Tier 1 Monster pile and shuffle well.
- Shuffle all Tier II Monsters together well.
- Draw six Tier I Monsters for Year 1 and six for Year 2. Whenever you draw a Skeleton, take a second Skeleton from the group set aside and place the pair together in the Market.
- Draw six Tier II Monsters for Year 3 and six for Year 4.
One of the six Monsters each round will go directly into your district, while you will need to place the other five Monsters in the Market per the normal rules.
Good luck!
Quick Reference
Each round follows the same mandatory steps:
Prepare
- Shuffle tiles; place them face down ready for the round.
Build
- Start the timer; everyone builds simultaneously.
- Monsters marked with the Build phase icon activate immediately when they are built.
- Market tiles and Artifacts marked with the Build phase icon may be used at any point until the timer runs out.
- Once the timer runs out, all players must stop building.
Score
- Monsters marked with the Score phase icon activate now.
- Score districts individually on Annual Progress tracks.
- Spells marked with the Score phase icon activate now.
- Raw Magic points are transformed into another form.
Award Influence Rewards & Buy Tiles
- Step 10 contains 3 substeps that are completed together, one player at a time beginning with the player with the greatest Influence and then going in descending order for each other player.
- Influence Rewards are awarded to the players with the most Influence.
- Players may buy new tiles.
- Rewards and Spells marked with the Buy phase icon activate now. They may be used in any order you choose.
Collect Prestige
- Determine Prestige quantities; take Prestige tokens equal to that amount.
Cleanup
- Shuffle the Monsters for the next round; give one to each player.
- Dismantle districts. Reset all Annual Progress tracks to zero.
- Pass the timer to the next player on the left.
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