Spellcaster by Aaron Weissblum and Norman Woods, Game Review

The landscape goes hazy as you are suddenly surrounded by a mist that turns into a fog. This day was coming. You know you are being summoned to the dueling arena, for the life of the Grandmaster Wizard is coming close to its end. Now is your turn to prove your mettle against another. Time to see how you compare against the other wizards of the realms and find out who will be the next Grandmaster.

The fog gets lighter. You look around until you see another materializing. He is unfamiliar. You quickly go through what spells you know to determine how best to manipulate the four elements when a force hits you causing you to step back and gain your balance. He’s quick.

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Spellcaster by Aaron Weissblum and Norman Woods is a card game of attack and defense. I had the opportunity to play Spellcasterat Salt Lake Gaming Convention 2018 (website) with an ambassador from Envoy/Double Exposure (website).

Concept

Spellcaster pits wizards against each other in a duel. Although Spellcaster is listed for 2–4 players, it works best with just 2, you are in a duel and those usually work better when you are one-on-one. This is a light version of a duel with limited actions and is more family friendly in its presentation.

Mechanic

Each player has a hand of cards which are used. At the start of a turn you draw one and then take two actions. Actions allow you to draw, play, or activate a card.

Playing a card is only done on the one of the four elements it matches. Only one player can control an element at a time. And, the card must be in play before it can be activated.

The rules are simple enough. Making the decisions for how you play your strategy based on the cards you have is the crux of the game as you work to remove all of your opponent’s energy or gain enough Sorcery Sapphires to win the game.

Art

Spell Caster has artwork from Kerem Beyit (website), who did the cover, and Suleyman Temiz (website), for the cards. When I was playing Spellcaster I thought the art was done by the same person. It was only upon closer inspection when I could see differences. The artists’ styles complement each other well.

All of the work fits with the theme of the game. I saw some younger players who were enjoying the art and sharing it while they were playing.

Overall

Spellcaster is an easy to learn game that would work well as a filler or cabin game. The age listed on the box is 14+. Younger players could easily play Spellcaster even though they might not understand the full aspects of strategy, such as when to block an opponent’s card before it is activated.

Spellcaster is listed to play in 20–30 minutes. For the games I played this time was generous. We played several 2 player games and each finished in under 10 minutes. Learning the game took only a few minutes.

If you would like a game to introduce more complex deck building games based on dueling, Spellcaster may be what you are looking for.

Spellcaster by Aaron Weissblum and Norman Woods is published by R&R Games (website). It is designed for 2–4 players of ages 14+ and intended to last 20–30 minutes.

Spellcaster is available on Amazon (link).

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You launch a complex spell, manipulating the field between you and your adversary. You feel a sensation of warmth run through you and you see a pained look on the man standing across the arena. You did it. He may have been faster in his castings, but you had a greater mastery of the complexity of the elements. And, gaining that mastery has now been rewarded.

As the mist settles you know you won this encounter. There are many more wizards in the realms who you will be tested against before a final spell caster emerges victorious.

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