Magic Maelstrom

Updated August 2013 after more playtesting and streamlining. On another Earth, in another Universe, the Magic Maelstrom sits, surrounded by the frozen northlands warped by the gravity-like pull of the mana. When the Magic Maelstrom spins, it can destroy all within its reach; only those with inherent immunity can resist its power. Fire, ice and darkness dominate the northland seasons; brief glimpses of light intervene to lift the doom and gloom. Mana is power; mana is all; those who control the mana can control the northlands... Standard Game: 4 rounds. Playing Time: 2-3 hours for experienced players, longer for newer players Number of Players: 2-4, best with 4 Winning: At the end of the agreed number of rounds, the player with the most mana points on the victory track wins. KEY FEATURES Alternate actions to limit player downtime - rounds are highly interactive. Potential use of card colour and/or function to give a player both options and a dilemma. See the Two-page Rules and Introduction documents below for more details. Each round consists of two communal actions, then alternate actions until all available options are either used or turn declared complete by all players. Players use units on a board to control their home region and to take over new areas. Areas can generate resource cards. Resource cards are used to purchase units, activate areas of their card colour to take actions in or are traded in for mana. Resource cards are generated by a dice roll once per round. At the end of the round, you must trade in any unused resource cards for mana points. Fate cards have a variety of effects, such as creatures, devastating events and strange occurrences that may help or hinder your cause. They may also be used to activate areas of their card colour to take actions in. Fate cards are drawn at the start of each round and can be retained in your hand until used or, perhaps, stolen by your enemies. All discarded Fate cards are placed face up and some discarded Fate cards may be affected by those held by other players. At the end of the game, the winner is decided by adding up a combination of mana points for areas, units and special places, then adding these to the victory track to see has the most mana in total.