Trickerion: Legends of Illusion Game Rules

Object of the Game

In Trickerion - Legends of Illusion, players take on the role of famous stage illusionists in the mystical city of Magoria. Their goal is to acquire the most Fame over the course of five weeks, thus winning a grand competition for the mighty Trickerion Stone.

Players will be able to learn more and more breathtaking Magic Tricks, acquire Components for them, and extend their team to be able to take more Actions each turn.

Tricks are stored and prepared in the Magicians' own Workshop. At the end of every turn, each Magician can perform their own spectacular magic show for Fame, fortune and shards of the mysterious Trickerion Stone. The player who is the most famous after five weeks wins the game.

Components

1x Main Game Board
4x Player Game Boards
12x Specialist Board Extensions
32x Wooden Character Disks (8 in each player's colors)
8x Player Markers
6x Downtown Dice
48x Trick cards (4+4+4 in each category)
40x Permanent Assignment cards (10 for each player)
48x Special Assignment cards (12 for each Location)
90x Power cards (30 in each color)
40x Performance cards
8x Magician cards (double-sided)
8x Magician Poster cards
12x Turn Setup cards
64x Trick Markers
16x Symbol Markers
96x Components (40 Basic, 32 Advanced, 24 Superior)
28x 1 Coin Tokens
16x 5 Coin Tokens
27x Prophecy Tokens
50x Trickerion Shards
1x Trickerion Stone turn marker
4x Magician Workbook
1x Rulebook

Setup

I. General Setup

Place the Main Game Board in the middle of the table, with the base game side up.

1 Separate the Trick cards with Fame Thresholds 1 and 16 (the number in the star symbol on the Trick card) into four decks by category, and put them face up above the respective slots in the Dahlgaard Residence part of the Downtown. Tricks with a Fame Threshold of 36 are not used in the base game.

2 Fill up the Market Row's Buy area with a Wood, a Metal, a Glass and a Fabric Component. This will be the Market Row's initial stock.

3 Create the Performance Deck with two Riverside Theater and two Grand Magorian Performance cards, chosen randomly and placed on top of each other in this order. Put this deck face down next to the Theater.

Finally, from left to right, fill up the Performance card slots in the Theater with a number of Riverside Theater Performance cards (drawn randomly from the remaining cards, not from the Performance Deck) equal to the number of players minus one. The Magnus Pantheon Performance cards are not used in the base game.

4 Place all Components, Trickerion Shards and Coins in a pile next to the game board where all players can reach them.

5 Finally, pl ace the Trickerion Stone on the I. slot of the Turn Counter track (below the Fame track).

2-3 Player Rules

In a 2 or 3 player game, two or one +1 Action Point slots respectively are not used at the Downtown, Market Row and Dark Alley Locations. You may use the face-down wooden disks of the leftover player color(s) to cover these slots for the duration of the game.

Optionally, you may use the Duel of Magicians rule variant for two-player games).

II. Player Setup

Starting with the player who most recently wore a top hat and in a clockwise order, each player chooses a Magician with a Favorite Trick category not chosen before, then receives the respective Player Game Board and the following:

The Magician card with the Base Game side face up.
The Magician Poster card.
All Trick and Symbol Markers in the player's color (4 different symbols with 4+1 Markers each).
Component(s) of the player's choice for a total Coin value of 2, placed in the Workshop.
A Trick ca rd with a Fame Threshold of 1, chosen from the Magician's Favorite Trick category, placed in the Workshop. Mark it with a Symbol Marker.
A starting hand of 9 Permanent Assignment cards (3 Theater, 2 Workshop, 2 Market Row, 2 Downtown).
All Character Disks of the player's color. Place the Magician and 1 Apprentice disk on their respective slots on the Player Game Board. Keep the rest next to the Player Game Board as a personal supply.
- Manager: Additional Component(s) for a total Coin value of 2, placed on the Manager's Board Extension.
- Engineer: A Trick card of the player's choice with Fame Threshold of 1, chosen after all starting Tricks have been selected, placed on the Engineer's Board Extension. Mark it with a Symbol Marker.
- Assistant: An additional Apprentice placed on the Apprentice slot on the Assistant's Board Extension.
A Specialist of the player's choice, its respective Game Board Extension, and a bonus based on the chosen Specialist:
10/12/14/16 Coins, based on the starting Initiative Order (see later).
1 Trickerion Shard.

First time setup for beginners

Instead of choosing starting Tricks, Components and Specialists, we recommend the following starting setup for first-time players: Based on the Favorite Trick category of the chosen Magician:

Optical: the Enchanted Butterflies Trick with two Trick Markers and the respective Symbol Marker, 2 Fabric and a Manager with 1 Animal.

Mechanical: The Linking Rings Trick with two Trick Markers and the respective Symbol Marker, 2 Metal and an Assistant with 1 Apprentice.

Escape: The Barricaded Barrels Trick with two Trick Markers and the respective Symbol Marker, 2 Wood and an Engineer with the Stocks Escape Trick.

Spiritual: the Mind Reading Trick with three Trick Markers and the respective Symbol Marker, 2 Glass and a Manager with 1 Rope.

Starting fame points and initiative order

After having completed the Player Setup, place a wooden cylinder in each of the players' colors on the Initiative Order circles (left edge of the Main Game Board) in a random order. This will be the Initiative Order in the first turn. In the subsequent turns, the Initiative Order will depend on the players' Fame points. (see 'Set Initiative Order' phase).

2 player rules: In two-player games, only the first and the third Initiative Order slots are used (this influences the cost of Advertise).

Then, players on the second/third/fourth slot in the Initiative Order receive 2/4/6 additional Coins.

Finally, place the second wooden cylinder in each of the players' colors on the 5 Fame slot on the Fame Track. Since it is possible to lose Fame points, the starting Fame score is 5.

Game Play

The Game Phases Summary:

Roll Dice
Set initiative order
Advertise
Assignment Phase
Place Characters Phase
Performance Phase
End Turn Phase

A. Roll Dice

Each turn begins with the starting player rolling the six Downtown dice. The result of this roll determines:

which Trick categories will be available for learning,
which Characters can be hired,
how many Coins can be taken at the Bank.

After the roll, the dice are placed on the respective, matching colored slots at the Downtown. An X result on a die means no Action is available for that particular die this turn.

B. Set Initiative Order

The players' Initiative Order is always tracked with the player markers of their color.

At the beginning of each turn, the starting positions are rearranged based on each player's Fame points. The Initiative Order is always set to be the opposite of the players' Fame Point order (the player with the least Fame points will act first).

Important: If two or more players finish their turns on the same Fame slot, reverse their Initiative Order when it is next set. The 'Set Initiative Order' phase is skipped in the first turn.

C. Advertise

After the Initiative Order is set, players have the chance to use their Poster cards to Advertise once per turn.

If they choose to do so, they pay Coins equal to the number of their slot in the Initiative Order (1-4), put their Poster on the slot above their wooden cylinder, and immediately receive 2 Fame.

The Poster cards are removed during the 'End Turn' phase.

D. Assignment Phase

In the 'Assignment' phase, players use their hand of Assignment cards to plan the placement of their Characters in advance for the 'Place Characters' phase.

To plan a Character's placement, the player places an Assignment card face down below the Character disk on the player board. This Character will be placed at the Location printed on the card during the next phase.

This is done simultaneously by all players until everyone has either placed a face-down Assignment card below all of his or her Characters, or chooses not to place any more.

Characters with no Assignment cards below them cannot be placed during the 'Place Characters' phase and will automatically be Idle (see Idle Characters in the subsequent section).

E. Place Characters Phase

At the beginning of this phase, all previously placed Assignment cards are simultaneously revealed.

Starting with the first player in the Initiative Order, each player places one Character on a free Character slot at a Location (either on the Main Game Board, or the player's own Workshop).

A Character can only be placed on the Location printed on the Assignment card below it. Players continue to place one Character at a time in this manner, until all Characters are either placed or Idle.

Idle Characters

An Idle Character is not placed on any Location during the 'Place Characters' phase, and is left on the player's Game Board. Idle Characters are not paid for during the 'End Turn' phase.

You may choose to leave a Character Idle by turning its Assignment card face down during the 'Place Characters' phase instead of placing it, then the phase continues with the next player in the Initiative Order.

The Action(s) a Character can take at any given Location depends on the following:

Available Action Points when the Character is placed
Available Actions at the Location

The Locations and all their available Actions are discussed in detail in the Locations chapter, while the Action Point system is detailed in the subsequent chapter.

The Action Point System

When a Character is placed at a Location, it receives Action Points, which are spent on one or more Actions at the Location. The amount of Action Points is based on the following:

Type Of The Character:

This determines the base amount of Action Points when the Character is placed.
- Apprentices: 1
- Specialists: 2
- Magician: 3
The Slot Modifier:

Character slots at all Locations have Action Point modifiers printed under them. When a Character is placed on a slot, this number is added to or subtracted from its base Action Point value.

Enhance Character

You can always buy +1 Action Point once when placing a Character by paying a Trickerion Shard at any Location except for the Theater.

When playing with the "Dark Alley" or "Magician Powers" expansions, other effects can further modify the amount of Action Points your Characters have.

The placed Character's Action Points are immediately spent on one or more available Action(s) at the respective Location - they cannot be saved for later. The Action Point cost of each Action is printed in a circle under its symbol.

Once the player has taken all Actions he or she wanted with a placed Character, proceed with the Character placement of the next player in the Initiative Order.

Character Placement

Locations

A detailed description can be found here.

F. The Performance Phase

Once all players have placed all Characters they wanted, the 'Performance' phase begins.

The players with their Magicians on the Performance slots may now take their 'Perform' Actions. The Performances are rewarded with generous amounts of Fame and Coins, and occasionally Trickerion Shards.

Perform

In a Thursday to Sunday order (NOT in the Initiative Order), a player with a Magician on the respective Performance slot may choose a Performance card that has at least one of his or her Trick Markers on it, and Performs ALL Tricks on it. The Performance card may have Trick Markers from other players on it as well. In this case, those opponents are guest performers in the show, and their Tricks are also Performed.

After a Performance is concluded, all Trick Markers from the card are returned to their owner's unused supply, then players may move on to the next Performance.

Yield Payment (everyone)

All players with at least one Trick Marker in the Performance receive the Yields (Fame, Coin and Shard) of ALL of their own Trick cards represented by their Trick Markers on the Performance card.

Yield Modifiers

The payouts of Thursday and Sunday are different than those of Friday and Saturday. When having at least one Character on a Thursday slot, player subtracts 1 from the Fame and Coin yields of all of his or her Performed Tricks, while when having one on any Sunday slot, he or she adds 1 to the Fame and Coin yields of all of his or her Performed Tricks.

This also applies when the player's Tricks are part of another player's Performance, and when the player's Magician is not present in the Theater. If the player has no Characters at all in the Theater when his Tricks are Performed, he receives the same Yield modifiers as the performer. A Trick's Fame or Coin yield can never be less than 0.

Performer Bonuses (performer Only)

On top of the Yields of his or her Tricks, the Performing Magician also receives the following bonuses:

Link Bonus: 1 Fame for each Trick Link in the Performance.
Specialist Bonus: The Performing Magician also receives the following bonuses if he or she has Specialist(s) behind them in the Theater this turn:
- 2 Fame for an Assistant
- 3 Coins for a Manager
- 1 Trickerion Shard for an Engineer
Performance card Bonus: The Fame, Coin or Shard value printed in the bottom box of the chosen Performance card.

Once all Performances are concluded and everyone received their payouts, the 'Performance' phase is over and the 'End Turn' phase begins.

Perform (summary)

In the weekday order, players with a Magician on one of the Performance slots choose ONE Performance card with their own Trick Marker(s) on it and Perform ALL Tricks on it. All players receive the Yields after their own Tricks.

Performer receives 1 bonus Fame per Link in the Performance.
Performer receives bonus Fame, Coins or Shards based on their Specialist(s) in the Theater.
Performer receives bonus Fame, Coins or Shards based on the chosen Performance card.

G. End Turn Phase

The 'End Turn' phase consists of six quick sub-phases to wrap up the turn and prepare for the new one.

Pay Wages:
- 1 Coin is paid for each working Apprentice (except for the one on the Assistant's Board Extension).
- 2 Coins are paid for each working Specialist.
- Players who cannot pay Wages lose 2 Fame for each Coin not paid, to a minimum of 0. Wages must be paid as long as the player has at least 1 Coin.
Return Characters: Every Character (including the ones hired during the turn) is returned to their owner's Game Board. If a Specialist was hired, its respective Board Extension is added to its owner's Game Board.
Orders Arrive: Move all Components from the Order area to the respective slots in the Buy area. The Components already on those slots are replaced by the ordered Components and returned to the supply. The Component in the Quick Order slot is also returned to the supply.
Move Performance cards: All Performance cards are moved one slot around the Theater in a clockwise direction. From

Remove Posters: All Magician Poster cards are returned to their owners' hands.
Move Turn Counter: Advance the Trickerion Stone one step forward on the Turn Counter track.

This concludes the game turn - after the Turn counter has been moved, a new turn begins.

the third turn onward, the last Performance card (and all Trick Markers on it) is discarded. Then, the top card of the Performance deck is placed on the leftmost empty slot. This means 2/3/4 players will always have 3/4/5 Performance cards available during turns 3-5.

End of the Game

After the fifth turn's 'End Turn' phase, a final scoring occurs, where players can collect further Fame points based on the assets they acquired throughout the game. In the Initiative Order, each player receives:

1 Fame for each unspent Trickerion Shard
1 Fame per 3 leftover Coins
2 Fame for each Apprentice
3 Fame for each Specialist

After the final scoring is concluded, the game ends and the player with the most Fame points wins, and receives the mighty Trickerion Stone. If there is a tie, the player who's ahead in the Initiative Order wins.