Box of Spells

Use your spellcasting powers to obtain the most treasure by the time the deck runs out. 

• For newbies we recommend removing the Advanced Spell cards from the deck for the first few hands. These cards have a purple border and letter combinations below (ie ABD).
• Shuffle deck and place at the center of the table.
• Deal 5 cards to each player (players may look at cards).

• The player to the left of the dealer begins and gameplay moves clockwise.
• Begin your turn by drawing a card from the deck and ends upon putting a card from your hand into one’s Realm. (If it is not your turn you should ALWAYS have 5 cards in your hand.)
• During your turn you may take unlimited actions with the cards already in your Realm.
• An Item may not be used the same turn it is put down into your Realm.

Your space on the table--consisting of a Keep, a Sanctuary and a Spellhold--is your Realm. The first objective of the game is to obtain these three Edifices, either through drawing them from the draw pile or through negotiating with another player (during turn only).  Players will put their corresponding Items (ie Treasures, Relics and Elements) within each. Players may only have one of each type of Edifice at the same time, and Items may only be placed in your Realm if it has the corresponding Edifice.

• Keep (yellow border): Edifice for Treasures
• Sanctuary (green border): Edifice for magical Relics
• Spellhold (purple border): Edifice for Elements & Advanced Spells

Items are cards which you keep within the Edifices in your Realm.  There are three types of Items--corresponding to the three types of Edifices--plus the Advanced Spells. The color of the Item card border is the same as the Edifice in which should be placed:

• Treasures (yellow border): Keep in your Keep.  Duh.  There are two treasures--the Sun Disc and the Trinity Rings--which have low values, but with the complete set have much greater values.
• Relics (green border): Magical items with different effects used during one’s turn. Each Relic is different and cannot be stopped by Basic Spells. 
• Elements (purple border): Magical ingredients which are combined to cast Basic & Advanced Spells. Basic Spells and their effects are in the two included Spellbooks. 
• Advanced Spells (purple border): More powerful spells which cannot be stopped by Relics or Basic Spells and which require 3 or more Elements as well as the Advanced Spell card in order to cast.

You may hide one Item under each corresponding Edifice. These cards are NOT protected from Relics or Spells, but may be used or switched during gameplay as a surprise.

Note that any other Items in your Realm are open to the public--a thief may freely peruse your Treasures before stealing one of them!

• An Edifice or Item may be ‘enchanted’ either with an enchanting relic or via the Basic Spell: Enchant.
• The enchanted Edifice or Item must be turned upside down and may not be used until the enchantment is removed. You may NOT place Items into an enchanted Edifice or use Items from an enchanted Edifice. Enchanted Treasures do not count towards your total in the end--however Treasures in an enchanted Keep do count.
• Any enchantment may be removed via the Basic Spell: Dispell. An enchanted Edifice may also be replaced with a new Edifice from your hand during your turn.

• Items may be protected from theft either via an Item Aura card or the Basic Spell: Item Aura. A protected Item should be turned sideways.
• Protected Items may not be stolen with relics or Basic Spells--but may be stolen by an Advanced Spell.

Casting spells to enchant your opponents and/or steal their Treasure is half the fun!  There are two types of Spells: Basic Spells and Advanced Spells.  Both require specific combinations of Elements to be cast.

• Basic Spells: There are six Basic Spells, whose effects are detailed in the included Spellbooks.  Only Dispell may be used out of turn.
• Advanced Spells: There are ten Advanced Spells in total, which require not only the corresponding card but also the combination of Elements found at the bottom of the card. Advanced Spells may not be blocked by Relics or Basic Spells.

Elements: There are four Elements in total, as well as Wild Magic. Like it sounds--Wild Magic cards an be used as any Element.  Spell formulas use the first letter of each Element (ie AB, BCD, etc.)

• All Heal
• Beetle Bits
• Celestite
• Dragon's Blood
• Wild Magic

• The game ends when the last card is drawn and that player finishes his/her turn.
• Sum all of the treasures in your Keep.  Subtract any Treasures still in your hand and any enchanted Treasures.
• The player with the most Treasure is the new Spellmaster!

Being the Spellmaster comes with benefits!  For the next round of gameplay the Spellmaster starts by trading a card from his/her hand with a randomly selected one from each player in the game!

Try adding a couple of your own, specialized benefits for the Spellcaster, too!