The Institute for Magical Arts Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Overview of Gameplay
• Setup
• The Player's Area
• Playing the Game
• Phase I: Assign Action Cards to Dice
  • Additional Rules for Phase I
• Phase II: Take and Cast Power Stones
  • Step A: Take Stones
  • Step B: Cast Power Stones
  • Additional Rules for Phase II
• Phase III: Use the Portal
  • Options for Using the Portal
  • Method for Declaring One's Option
  • The Ethereal Realm Card
• Phase IV: Trigger Permanent Powers
• Phase V: Award Institute Cards
  • Additional Rules for Phase V
• Ending a Round & Starting a New One
• Shifting the Portal
• Game End
• Using the Powers of Institute Cards
  • General Rules
  • Rules for Permanent Powers
  • Rules for One-Time Powers
  • Rules for Immediate Powers
• Variants
• Game Summary
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Thanks

Components

• 40 Institute Cards
• 6 Location Cards
• 12 Charm Cubes (small = 1 charm, large = 3 charms)
• 2 Score Cards
• 1 Portal Card
• 2 Phase Cards, listing the phases:
  1. Assign Action Cards to Dice
  2. Take and Cast Power Stones
  3. Use the Portal
  4. Trigger Permanent Powers
  5. Award Institute Cards
• 2 Scoring Markers
• 12 Action Cards
• 1 Card Summary
• 54 Power Stones (small = 1 stone, large = 3 stones)
• 1 Ethereal Realm Card
• 6 Reroll Cubes
• 8 Dice

Overview of Gameplay

The object of the game is to score 20 victory points (VPs). VPs are earned by winning Institute Cards, which represent Characters or Tools. Characters provide VPs, while Tools provide both VPs and special powers. During the game, players cast Power Stones onto Institute Cards at various Locations, trying to meet certain card requirements. Once a player has met a card's requirements, that player wins the card, scores its VPs, and possibly receives a special power. Players also have an opportunity to score VPs by casting their Power Stones into the Ethereal Realm.

Setup

1. Each player chooses a color and takes a set of 6 Action Cards, a Score Card, a Scoring Marker, 4 dice and 5 small Power Stones in that color. Note: Small Power Stones are equal to 1 stone. Large Power Stones are equal to 3 stones.
2. Each player takes 3 Reroll Cubes, 2 small Charm Cubes, and a Phase Card (for reference). Note: The small Charm Cubes are equal to 1 charm. The large Charm Cubes are 3 charms.
3. Place the remaining Power Stones and Charm Cubes off to one side into a general supply. The Power Stones, Charm Cubes, and Reroll Cubes in a player's possession is his personal supply.
4. Find the 2 copies of each of these Institute Cards: Novice Crystal Ball, Mortar and Pestle, and Ring of Influence (marked with a star). Shuffle these 6 cards and deal 1 to each player. Return the other 4 cards to the deck of Institute Cards.
5. Both players reveal the Institute Card they were just dealt (i.e., their "starting card") and place it face-up in front of themselves.
6. Both players place a Scoring Marker on the "3" on their Score Card, since each player begins with 2 charms (which are worth 1 VP each) and an Institute Card worth 1 VP.
7. Place the 6 Location Cards, in numerical order, in a row between the players.
8. Place the Ethereal Realm Card at the end of the row of Location Cards (i.e., as if it were Location 7).
9. Shuffle the deck of Institute Cards and then place 1 card face-up next to Locations 1-5.
10. Place the Portal Card next to Location 6.
11. Place the deck of remaining Institute Cards face-down in a draw pile next to the Ethereal Realm Card.

The setup diagram shows the row of Location Cards ending in the Ethereal Realm, with the Institute Cards deck, Portal deck, general supply of charms, Reroll Cubes and Power Stones, and each player's Score Card, Action Cards, and starting card arranged around the table.

The Player's Area

Each player's playing area should consist of 3 zones. Directly in front of each player is a zone for rolling dice and placing Action Cards. To the left is a zone for a player's Score Card, his personal supply of Power Stones and Reroll Cubes, and any "inactive" Institute Cards (i.e., cards whose powers have already been triggered or are no longer in effect). To the right is a zone for a player's "active" Institute Cards (i.e., cards with permanent powers and cards with one-time powers that have not yet been triggered). At the start, each player has a starting card in the zone for active cards.

The Player Area diagram shows, from left to right, the zone for inactive cards, the zone for action cards and dice, and the zone for active cards.

Playing the Game

The game is played in a series of rounds, each of which has five phases:

• I: Assign Action Cards to Dice
• II: Take and Cast Power Stones
• III: Use the Portal
• IV: Trigger Permanent Powers
• V: Award Institute Cards

Phase I: Assign Action Cards to Dice

Phase I is a planning phase in which players use a dice roll and Action Cards to choose actions that will be carried out in Phase II. Both players have 6 Action Cards, which are divided into 3 types.

1. Take Stones (2 cards per player). The Take Stones Card provides a way to acquire Power Stones, i.e., to move them from the general supply to one's personal supply. Players will assign this card to a die and receive the number of stones indicated by the die (see Phase II).
2. Cast 2 Stones (1 card per player). The Cast Stones Cards allow players to put Power Stones onto Institute Cards or the Portal. With the Cast 2 Stones Card, a player moves 2 Power Stones from his personal supply onto the Institute Card (or Portal). The Location is based on the die to which this card is assigned (see Phase II).
3. Cast 1 Stone (3 cards per player). The Cast 1 Stone Card is the same as the Cast 2 Stones Card, except only 1 Power Stone is cast.

We can now see how these cards are used in this phase. Both players simultaneously perform the following actions, in this order:

1. Players roll their 4 dice and keep them visible.
2. Players arrange their dice in a row (in any order).
3. For each of his 4 dice, a player secretly chooses an Action Card and places it face-down below the die, so that each card is assigned to a separate die.
4. The 2 unassigned Action Cards are temporarily placed aside, face-down, as they have no use in this round.
5. When players are done, they simultaneously reveal their Action Cards.

Example: Assigning Action Cards to Dice — Seth reveals his Action Card assignments at the end of Phase I.

Additional Rules for Phase I

• A player may assign any 4 of his 6 Action Cards.
• If any roll results in a combined total of 6 or fewer, the player may reroll all of his dice at no cost. A free reroll may be repeated until the combined total exceeds 6 pips.
• If the combined total on a player's dice is higher than 6 pips, he may spend 1 Reroll Cube to reroll any or all dice 1 time. Spent Reroll Cubes are returned to the general supply.
• A player may reroll as many times as desired, provided each reroll is paid for or the dice show a total of 6 or fewer pips.
• A player may hold a maximum of 3 Reroll Cubes in his personal supply.
• A player may refill his personal supply of Reroll Cubes to 3 by returning 1 Charm to the general supply. Upon doing so, a player reduces his score by 1 because each Charm is worth 1 VP.
• There is no turn order for rerolling dice.
• Before revealing Action Cards, then, both players should verbally confirm that they have finalized their own dice rolls.
• Phase I is completed immediately after the Action Cards are revealed. This point is important for determining when certain powers may be triggered (e.g., see Potion Card in the Card Summary).
• Reroll Cubes may also be used to reroll dice when Institute Cards call for a dice roll. See "Using the Powers of Institute Cards" below.

Phase II: Take and Cast Power Stones

In Phase II, players perform 2 steps (in this order):

• A. Take Stones, if applicable
• B. Cast Stones

Step A: Take Stones

Both players simultaneously take Power Stones (of their own color) from the general supply and add them to their own personal supply. The number of stones taken is the number on the die above the Take Stones Card. If a player assigned both of his Take Stones Cards to dice, he takes a number of stones equal to the total on the two dice. If a player did not assign a Take Stones Card to a die, that player skips this step.

Example: Taking Power Stones — Becca assigned a Take Stones Card to a die showing 4 pips. Thus, she takes 4 Power Stones from the general supply and places them into her personal supply. Seth, however, did not use a Take Stones Card, so he does not take any Power Stones.

Step B: Cast Power Stones

Both players simultaneously cast stones, i.e., place Power Stones from their personal supply onto the Institute Cards (or Portal Card) at the various Locations, as determined by the assignments of the Cast Action Cards.

• For each Cast Card assigned to a die, the die shows the Location to which the Power Stones are moved.
• The Cast 2 Stones Card is used to place 2 Power Stones from one's personal supply onto an Institute Card (or Portal Card), while the Cast 1 Stone Card is used to place 1 Power Stone.

Example: Casting 2 Power Stones — Billy assigned a Cast 2 Stones Card to a die showing 3 pips, so he places 2 Power Stones from his personal supply onto the Institute Card at Location 3.

Additional Rules for Phase II

• When casting Power Stones, place them on the Institute Cards (or Portal Card) and not on the Location Cards; some Institute Cards may move at the end of Phase V and the Power Stones must move with them.
• A player must cast Power Stones to the fullest extent possible. If a player does not have enough Power Stones in his personal supply to fulfill all Cast Cards, he decides which ones to fulfill. If he cannot fulfill a Cast 2 Stones Card completely, he does so to the fullest extent possible.
• Power Stones are limited. If a player runs out of Power Stones in the general supply, he may not take any stones, but must wait until stones are returned (see Phase V).
• If the general supply is too low to fulfill a Take Stones Card completely, the player takes as many as possible.
• In the rare case that both players have no Power Stones in both the general and personal supply, at the end of Phase II, 1 Power Stone of each color is removed from every Institute Card that has at least 1 stone of both colors. These stones are returned to the general supply.

Phase III: Use the Portal

In this Phase, players may shift Power Stones from the Portal Card to an Institute Card or to the Ethereal Realm Card, according to the following rules.

Options for Using the Portal

If a player has 1 or more Power Stones on the Portal, he must either:

a. move all of them from the Portal to an Institute Card, or, b. move exactly 1 stone to the Ethereal Realm and keep the other(s), if any, on the Portal.

Point of Emphasis: A player may not move more than 1 Power Stone from the Portal Card to the Ethereal Realm Card in the same round.

Method for Declaring One's Option

If only 1 player has Power Stone(s) on the Portal, he simply announces which option he will take and performs the corresponding action.

Example: Moving Stones to the Ethereal Realm — Anthony has 3 Power Stones on the Portal and Steve has none. Anthony opts to move 1 of these stones to the Ethereal Realm and so he must leave the other 2 stones on the Portal (i.e., option b).

If both players have Power Stone(s) on the Portal, they secretly and simultaneously decide what to do:

1. Both players take an Action Card to use as a shield to block the other's view.
2. Both players take 1 die and turn it to a particular pip value, depending on what option they want to perform.
3. If a player wants to move the Power Stone(s) to an Institute Card at a Location, the player turns the die to match the desired Location.
4. If a player wants to move 1 Power Stone to the Ethereal Realm Card and keep his others on the Portal Card (if any), the player turns the die to match the current Location of the Portal Card. At the start of the game, the Portal is at Location 6, but it may move in Phase V.
5. When both players are ready, they reveal their dice and then move their Power Stone(s) to the Institute Card at the specified Location or to the Ethereal Realm Card, as indicated by their die choice.

Example: Using the Portal — Both Seamus and Orion have 2 Power Stones on the Portal Card, now at Location 4. They must decide secretly what to do. Using an Action Card as a shield, both players choose where to move the Power Stones. Seamus wants to move them to the Institute Card at Location 2, so he adjusts the die to show 2 pips. Orion wants to move 1 to the Ethereal Realm, so he adjusts his die to show 4 pips (i.e., to match the present Location of the Portal). When both players are ready, they reveal the dice and take their corresponding actions.

The Ethereal Realm Card

The Ethereal Realm Card itself cannot be won, but a player might earn an award by having Power Stones on the card.

• A general rule for the Ethereal Realm Card is that only 1 player may have Power Stone(s) on the card at a time. Thus, if a player moves a stone to the Ethereal Realm card and his opponent already has a stone there, both players must lose a stone from the Ethereal Realm and return it to the general supply.
• If a player has 1 or more Power Stone(s) on the Ethereal Realm Card (after checking to see if any need to be removed), that player may either claim an award by returning all of those stone(s) to the general supply, or the player may leave the stone(s) on the Ethereal Realm Card, hoping to claim a better award in a future round.
• The award depends upon the number of Power Stones returned to the general supply:
  • 1 Power Stone: 1 Charm.
  • 2 Power Stones: 2 Charms and refill personal supply of Reroll Cubes to 3.
  • 3 Power Stones: 4 Charms.
  • 4 Power Stones: 4 Charms and the top Institute Card from the deck.
• A player scores 1 VP for each Charm he wins, which is registered on his Score Card.
• A player may only claim an award from the Ethereal Realm during Phase III.
• If a player claims an award, he must return all the Power Stones, i.e., he cannot claim a lesser award and leave stones on the card.
• If a player has 4 Power Stones on the Ethereal Realm Card, he must claim the award.
• If a player wins an Institute Card as an Ethereal Realm award, it is placed face-up in his personal supply and he scores the VPs listed on the card. If the card has an immediate power, he plays it now in Phase III (even if the card is a Phase V card) and then moves it to the region for inactive cards. If the card has another type of power, he may use it accordingly. See Card Summary.

Example: Claiming An Ethereal Realm Award — Michael currently has 3 Power Stones on the Ethereal Realm Card and no Power Stones on the Portal. Yami has no stones on the Ethereal Realm, but 2 stones on the Portal. It is time for Yami to move her stones from the Portal. She decides to move 1 stone to the Ethereal Realm, therefore leaving 1 on the Portal. Now, Michael has 3 stones and Yami has 1 stone on the Ethereal Realm Card. So, Yami's stone is returned to the general supply, along with 1 of Michael's stones (leaving him with 2 stones there). Michael opts for an award, so he returns the 2 stones from the Ethereal Realm to the general supply and he gains 2 Charms, scores 2 VPs, and refills his Reroll Tokens to 3.

Phase IV: Trigger Permanent Powers

During this phase, players may trigger the permanent powers of Phase IV Institute Cards they possess (see Card Summary for identifying Phase IV cards). Each Phase IV card is uniquely numbered in the lower right corner. The actions of this phase are not carried out simultaneously, but are done in order starting with the lowest numbered card.

• For each Phase IV card with a permanent power, the owning player may trigger the power once per round, but must pay 1 Power Stone from his personal supply to the general supply.
• A player may choose to trigger any, all, or none of the powers of his Phase IV cards.
• See "Using the Powers of Institute Cards" below for more details on triggering powers.

Example: Triggering Permanent Powers — Steve has the #2 and #7 Phase IV Cards. Brown has the #4 card. Steve begins this phase with the option of triggering the power of card #2, which he does and pays 1 Power Stone to the general supply. Steve then performs the action described on the card. Brown declines to trigger the power of his #4 card because he does not want to spend a Power Stone. Steve then declines to trigger his #7 card.

Phase V: Award Institute Cards

In this phase, players check the Institute Cards to determine if either player meets the requirements for earning one or more cards.

The requirements for each Institute Card are listed in the upper left corner as 2 numbers. The first number is the Cost, which is the number of Power Stones a player must have on the card to win it, not the total number of Power Stones from both players. The second number is the Surpass Requirement, which is the number of Power Stones by which a player must surpass the other player (see Card Summary).

If a player has enough Power Stones on an Institute Card to meet both requirements, that player wins the Institute Card. Additional rules for checking Institute Cards are:

• The Institute Cards are checked in Location order, starting with Location 1.
• If an Institute Card is awarded, all Power Stones on that card are returned to the general supply.
• After winning an Institute Card, the player immediately registers the VPs on his Score Card. The number of VPs is listed in the upper right corner of the card.
• Some Institute Cards have an immediate power, which must be triggered directly after scoring the VPs. Institute Cards with immediate powers are moved to a player's zone for inactive cards after the power is triggered and the corresponding action has been performed.
• Other Institute Cards have either a permanent or a one-time power. These type of cards are placed face-up in the zone for active cards when they are acquired.
• All Institute Cards possessed by the players remain face-up (even those that are inactive) and should be visible to both players throughout the game.

Example: Players check the Institute Cards starting at Location 1, which is a "Broken Wand" (Cost=3; Surpass Requirement=1). Chris has 1 Power Stone on the card and Andre has none, so neither player meets the Cost. Location 2 has a "Novice Crystal Ball" (Cost=4; Surpass Requirement=3). Chris has 6 Power Stones and Andre has 4. Although both players meet the Cost, neither meets the Surpass Requirement. Location 3 has a "Ring of Influence" card (Cost=4; Surpass Requirement=3). Chris has 5 Power Stones and Andre has 2, thus Chris meets both requirements and wins the card. Players then check the remaining Locations.

Additional Rules for Phase V

• Once a given Location is checked, it is not checked again during the same round, despite the fact that Institute Card powers might affect the number of Power Stones on the card at that Location. For example: After checking the Institute Card at Location 1, the players discover that no one wins the card. However, after winning the card at Location 3, Becca triggers that card's immediate power and moves Power Stones onto the Institute Card at Location 1 in such a way that she now meets the card's requirements. However, since Location 1 has already been checked, she does not win the card during this round.
• If, after checking Institute Cards in Phase V, an Institute Card has a total of 20 or more Power Stones because neither player met both requirements, all of the Power Stones are returned to the general supply and the Institute Card is discarded from the game. No one wins the card.
• After an Institute Card is awarded, there is an empty space temporarily at that card's Location. However, some powers of Institute Cards affect specific Locations. If an Institute Card targets an empty Location, the power is ignored. For example, the "Ring of Influence" allows a player to roll a die and put a Power Stone at the Location indicated by the die. However, if the die indicates an empty Location, the player does not put a Power Stone there.

Ending a Round & Starting a New One

• After the Locations are checked, if either player has 20 or more VPs then the game ends (see "Game End"). Note: If a player advances past 20 VPs, he flips his Score Card and uses the other side.
• If the game is not over, players prepare for a new round by filling empty Locations (if any); however, before drawing new Institute Cards to fill empty Locations, the remaining Institute Cards at Locations (and possibly the Portal Card) are shifted towards Location 1 into open slots, leaving open the higher numbered Location(s), which are then filled with new cards.

Example: Preparing for a New Round — The round has ended and neither player has 20 or more VPs. Institute Cards were just won from Locations 2 and 4, leaving empty spaces there. The Portal Card, presently in Location 3, is shifted down to Location 2. Locations 3 and 4 are now empty. Thus, the Institute Cards from Locations 5 and 6 are shifted down to 3 and 4, respectively, and new cards are drawn and placed in Locations 5 and 6.

Shifting the Portal

The Portal is moved down to fill in empty Locations, just as Institute Cards are. If the Portal is shifted into Location 1, it is removed and temporarily placed aside. All the remaining face-up Institute Cards are then shifted down towards Location 1. The Portal is then placed into Location 6. Any empty Locations are now filled in with new cards.

Important Rule: When the Portal Card is moved from Location 1 to Location 6, any Power Stones on it are returned to the general supply.

At the end of Phase V, then, each of the 6 Location Cards should have an Institute Card or the Portal Card next to it.

Game End

The game ends after Phase V if a player has 20 or more VPs. If both players meet this goal, whoever has more VPs wins. In case of a tie, players check the following items in this order to see who has more.

• Institute Cards
• Character Cards
• Charms
• Power Stones in Personal Supply
• Reroll Cubes

If a player has more of an item, that player wins. If a tie is still not broken, players declare a draw, unless they both agree to play another round to break the tie.

Using the Powers of Institute Cards

During the game, players may use the powers of Institute Cards to gain various benefits. Institute Cards are divided into two main types: Characters and Tools.

Character Cards are recognized by the question mark in the space showing the card's VPs (upper right corner). Character Cards provide only VPs. Functionally, all of them are the same. Upon winning a Character Card, a player scores 1 VP for each Character Card now possessed by that player. Thus, the first Character Card scores 1 VP, the second scores 2 VPs, and so on. After registering VPs on the Score Card, a Character Card is moved to the player's area for inactive cards.

Tool Card powers are divided into 3 types: permanent, one-time, and immediate. Each type of power is guided by its own rules, though general rules apply to all.

General Rules

• All powers must be triggered during the phase indicated on the card (see lower left of card). Exception: A card won as an Ethereal Realm award might be triggered immediately. See "Rules for Immediate Powers" below.
• A player is not required to carry out the actions of a power to its fullest extent. For example, if an Institute Card grants the power to shift 3 Power Stones, the player may decide to shift only 2.
• Scoring VPs is technically not a "power" that may or may not be triggered. So, if a player wins an Institute Card, the VPs must be scored.
• If it is not possible to trigger a power to its fullest extent, the card's owner may exercise it as much as possible.
• If a power includes a die roll, the player may spend a Reroll Cube to reroll in an attempt to gain a more favorable result.

Important Rule: No card's power may affect either the Portal Card or the Ethereal Realm Card. For example, if a power allows a player to shift a stone, he may not shift it to/from the Portal or Ethereal Realm.

Rules for Permanent Powers

An Institute Card with a permanent power is placed in the player's zone for active cards and it provides its owner with a power that may be triggered on a recurring basis, following these rules:

• Each permanent power may be triggered once per round.
• To trigger a permanent power, a player must pay 1 Power Stone from his personal supply to the general supply.

Rules for One-Time Powers

An Institute Card with a one-time power is placed in the player's area for active cards and provides its owner with a power that may be used once during the game and at no cost.

• There is no turn order for triggering one-time powers. A player wishing to do so simply stops play, triggers the power, and performs the corresponding action.
• After the action, the player moves the Institute Card to his zone for inactive cards. Once a card is inactive, its power may not be triggered again.

Rules for Immediate Powers

An Institute Card with an immediate power must be triggered (at no cost) in Phase V after the card is awarded and its VPs recorded. After use, such cards are moved to a player's zone for inactive cards.

Exception: If a player receives an Institute Card with an immediate power as the result of an Ethereal Realm award, he plays it immediately in Phase III.

Important Note: Some immediate powers might have no effect due to the circumstances. For example, a power may allow a player to move an opponent's Power Stone, yet if no opponent Power Stones are present, the power has no effect. In such a case, the power is still triggered and the card then becomes inactive.

For a description of the specific powers, see the Card Summary.

Variants

• For a longer game, try playing to 25 or 30 VPs.
• For a game with more powers at the start, try giving each player 2 of the 6 designated starting cards.

Game Summary

Phase I: Assign Action Cards to Dice

• Roll dice and assign a card to each die
• Reveal cards

Phase II: Take and Cast Power Stones

• Take stones from general supply and cast onto Institute Cards or Portal

Phase III: Use the Portal

• Shift stone(s) from Portal to an Institute Card or shift exactly 1 stone to Ethereal Realm Card
• Use die to secretly decide, if needed
• Check Ethereal Realm Card and claim award (if desired)

Phase IV: Trigger Permanent Powers

• Perform in numerical order
• Pay 1 Power Stone per use

Phase V: Award Phase

• Check Locations in numerical order
• Award Cards if requirements are met
• Score VPs and trigger immediate powers
• Prepare for next round

Frequently Asked Questions

Visit www.doctorfinns.com/faq.html for F.A.Q.

Thanks

Much thanks to all the Kickstarter backers! I would also like to thank the following playtesters: Petey, Billy, Seamus, Chris, Mike, Anthony, Michael, Yami, Brown, Bennett, Joe, Paul. If I have forgotten someone, I apologize. Thanks also to Dustin and Victor for their assistance in editing the rulebook.

© 2014 Dr. Finn's Games. Illustration © 2014 Lawrence van der Merwe.