Objective of the Game

Welcome, fellow illusionists, to Magoria, the mystical city where the greatest magic happens! In Trickerion: Legends of Illusion, you step into the shoes of a renowned stage magician, vying for fame, fortune, and the legendary Trickerion Stone. Your ultimate goal? To become the most famous illusionist over seven weeks of intense competition. Master breathtaking magic Tricks, gather the necessary Components, expand your team of Characters, and put on spectacular Performances to earn Fame and claim your legacy as the next Legend of Illusion!

Preparation (Setup)

Setting up your stage for Trickerion is a crucial first step. Here’s how to get everything ready for your grand debut:

1. Place the Main Game Board in the center of your table. For your first game, we recommend playing without the Dark Alley location to simplify things.
2. Separate the Trick cards into four decks by category (Mechanical, Spiritual, Escape, and Optical) and place them face up above their corresponding slots in the Dahlgaard Residence at the Downtown. If playing without the Dark Alley, set aside all Level 3 Tricks (Fame Threshold 36) in the box.
3. Fill the Market Row’s Buy area with one Wood, one Metal, one Glass, and one Fabric Component. This is your initial stock.
4. Create the face-down Performance deck by stacking two random face-down Performance cards of each type: 2 Riverside Theater, 2 Grand Magorian, and 2 Magnus Pantheon (from top to bottom). Place this deck next to the Theater. Then, draw a number of Riverside Theater Performance cards equal to the number of players minus one (randomly from the remaining cards, not the deck) and fill the Performance card slots in the Theater from left to right. If playing without the Dark Alley, remove all Magnus Pantheon cards from the game.
5. Place all Components, Trickerion Shards, and Coins in a general supply pile accessible to all players.
6. Place the Trickerion Stone on the "I." slot of the Turn Counter track.
7. Each player chooses a Magician (starting with the player who most recently wore a top hat, clockwise) and receives their respective Player Game Board and the following starting items:
   • The chosen Magician card (use the side without the ability icon if playing without the Dark Alley).
   • The Magician Poster card.
   • All Trick and Symbol markers in their player color.
   • Component(s) of their choice for a total Coin value of 2, placed in their Workshop.
   • A Level 1 Trick card from their Magician’s Favorite Trick category, placed in their Workshop and marked with a Symbol marker. This is your starting Trick.
   • A starting hand of Permanent Assignment cards: 2 Theater, 1 Workshop, 1 Market Row, 1 Downtown, 1 Dark Alley. If playing without the Dark Alley, you get 9 Permanent Assignment cards instead: 3 Theater, 2 Workshop, 2 Market Row, 2 Downtown.
   • All Components of their player color. Place your Magician and 1 Apprentice disk on their respective slots on your Player Game Board. Keep the rest as a personal supply.
   • A Specialist of their choice (Manager, Engineer, or Assistant), its respective Game Board Extension, and a bonus:
     • Manager: Additional Component(s) for a total Coin value of 2, placed on the Manager’s Board Extension.
     • Engineer: A Level 1 Trick card of their choice, placed on the Engineer’s Board Extension and marked with a Symbol marker.
     • Assistant: An additional Apprentice placed on the Apprentice slot on the Assistant’s Board Extension.
   • Coins based on their starting Initiative Order: 10/12/14/16 Coins for the first/second/third/fourth player, respectively.
   • 1 Trickerion Shard.
8. Place a wooden Magician meeple in each player’s color on the Initiative Order circles (left edge of the Main Game Board) in a random order. This is the Initiative Order for the first turn.
9. Place a wooden cylinder in each player’s color on the 5 Fame slot on the Fame Track.

The Game Turn

A game of Trickerion unfolds over seven thrilling turns, each representing a week of magical competition. Each turn consists of several phases:

1. Roll Dice Phase

The starting player rolls all six Downtown dice and places them on the Downtown Location. These dice determine which Trick categories are available to learn, which Characters can be hired, and how many Coins can be taken from the Bank this turn. An 'X' result means no action is available for that die.

2. Set Initiative Order Phase

(Skipped in the first turn) Players rearrange their Player markers on the Initiative Order track. The player with the fewest Fame points goes first. If players have the same Fame, reverse their current Initiative Order.

3. Advertise Phase

Players can use their Poster cards once per turn to Advertise. Pay Coins equal to your position in the Initiative Order (1-4), place your Poster above your Player marker, and immediately gain 2 Fame.

4. Assignment Phase

This is your planning phase! Simultaneously, all players choose Assignment cards from their hand and place them face down below their Character disks on their Player Game Board. Each card indicates where that Character will go this turn. Characters without an Assignment card will be Idle.

5. Place Characters Phase

All Assignment cards are revealed! Starting with the first player in Initiative Order, players take turns placing one of their Characters on a free Character slot at the Location specified on their revealed Assignment card.

• Action Points: When a Character is placed, they gain Action Points based on their type (Apprentices: 1, Specialists: 2, Magician: 3) plus any slot modifiers at the Location.
• Enhance Character: You can spend 1 Trickerion Shard to gain 1 additional Action Point for a Character (except in the Theater).
• Actions: Immediately spend these Action Points to perform one or more Actions at that Location. Action Points cannot be saved.

Here's a glimpse of what you can do at each Location:

• Downtown:
  • Learn Trick (3 AP): Choose a Trick from the Dahlgaard Residence matching an available die. Place it in your Workshop and mark it with a Symbol marker. You don't need Components to learn a Trick. You can always learn a Trick from your Magician's Favorite Trick category.
  • Hire Character (3 AP): Choose an Inn die and hire the corresponding Character (Apprentice or Specialist). They join your team at the end of the turn.
  • Take Coins (3 AP): Choose a Bank die and take Coins equal to its roll.
  • Reroll Die (1 AP): Reroll a Downtown die.
  • Set Die (2 AP): Change a die's result to any face.
• Market Row:
  • Buy (1 AP): Buy up to three Components of the same type from the Buy area. Pay 1/2/3 Coins for Basic/Advanced/Superior Components. Components are placed in your Workshop.
  • Bargain (1 AP): Use with a Buy Action to decrease the total price of bought Components by 1 Coin per Action Point spent on Bargain (cannot reduce to 0).
  • Order (1 AP): Place a Component from the supply onto an open slot in the Order area. It will be available next turn.
  • Quick Order (2 AP): Place any Component onto the Quick Order slot. It becomes available for purchase this turn (for all players) but costs 1 additional Coin.
• Workshop:
  • Prepare (1-3 AP): Spend Action Points equal to the Trick's cost (printed in its lower-left box). Place Trick markers on it equal to the overlapping squares. You must meet the Trick's Component requirements and have no Trick markers on the Trick card itself. Components are NOT spent when a Trick is prepared!
  • Move Tricks (1 AP) (Engineer hired): Move a Trick to the Engineer's Trick slot or swap it.
  • Move Components (1 AP) (Manager hired): Move a Component pile to the Manager's Multi Component slot or swap it.
  • Move Apprentice (1 AP) (Assistant hired): Reallocate an Apprentice to the Assistant's Apprentice slot.
• Theater:
  • Weekday Restriction: You can only place Characters on one weekday (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday) per turn, and it cannot be occupied by an opponent.
  • No 'Enhance Character': You cannot buy extra Action Points here.
  • Performance slots (bottom row): Only Magicians can be placed here to Perform later.
  • Set Up Trick (1 AP): Move one of your Trick markers from a Trick in your Workshop onto a free slot on a Performance card. The Trick category must be in a Link circle. Two Trick markers of the same color AND symbol cannot be in the same Performance.
    • Trick Links: If two of the same Trick category symbols are in the same Link circle, you immediately receive a bonus (Level 1: 1 Fame; Level 2: 2 Fame or 2 Coins; Level 3: 3 Fame or 3 Coins). If there's a Shard symbol in the Link circle, each player with a Trick marker in the Link receives 1 Trickerion Shard.
  • Reschedule (1 AP): Move one of your Trick markers from one Performance card to another free slot (rules of Trick marker placement apply). No Link bonuses are gained.
  • Perform (Magician Only): Place your Magician on a Performance slot. This doesn't have an immediate effect but allows you to Perform in the next phase.

6. Performance Phase

In weekday order (Thursday to Sunday), players with their Magicians on Performance slots choose one Performance card with at least one of their Trick markers and Perform ALL Tricks on it.

• Yield Payment (Everyone): All players with Trick markers in the Performance receive the Yields (Fame, Coin, and Shard) of their own Trick cards represented by their Trick markers.
  • Yield Modifiers: Thursday slots subtract 1 from Fame and Coin Yields; Sunday slots add 1.
• Performer Bonuses (Performer Only): The Performing Magician receives:
  • 1 Fame for each Trick Link in the Performance.
  • Specialist Bonus: 2 Fame for an Assistant, 3 Coins for a Manager, 1 Trickerion Shard for an Engineer (if they are in the Theater).
  • Performance card Bonus: The Fame, Coin, or Shard value printed on the chosen Performance card.
• After a Performance, all Trick markers from the card are returned to their owners' unused supply.

7. End Turn Phase

This phase wraps up the current turn and prepares for the next:

1. Pay Wages: Pay 1 Coin for each non-Idle Apprentice (except the one on the Assistant’s Board Extension) and 2 Coins for