There is an established image of wizards in the world. If you are asked to imagine a wizard, you will most likely think of Gandalf. The typical image of a magician is a gray-haired bearded man in a robe who holds a long wooden staff in his hand. Instead of a staff, there can also be a book with spells. A magician may have magic rings on his fingers. The magician can harness the elements. Cause rain, hail, drought. The magician can tame a dragon, a golem, and most likely he knows the language of animals. Of course, there are both good and bad wizards, not only in terms of skill, but also in terms of their sociotype. Good wizards love to create and help. They build cities, build bridges, pour rain on dry fields, give bread to the hungry, heal the wounded, save the army from a million arrows, stones and various misfortunes. Bad wizards are more often called sorcerers. They destroy and spoil everything. They destroy cities, dry up the earth, turn people into frogs and stones, steal princesses and much more.

Most often, a wizard specializes in global spells. Those. he is not very interested in fixing a broken clock or driving a nail into the wall without a hammer to hang a bookshelf. Magicians often like to say - “ Don’t speak to me here, because I know one very harmful and dangerous spell that I can use on you...". But what can a magician do to a person? Can turn into stone, into wood, into an animal. Can make it invisible. May freeze. But this is a magician! He can do everything. What should he mentally tear off a person’s limb? Explode it from the inside into billions of particles? Cut in half with an invisible sword? After all, sorcerers can do anything, it’s just that writers, directors and other creative people don’t want to scare people with dismemberment. It is easier to turn a person into a moth than to decapitate him with the power of thought. So it’s more romantic...

Today we will talk about very tough battles between battle magicians. In this game, all the magicians fight very brutally, using the most evil and cynical spells. This game is a real mental test. You are ready? Then I open the box.

Opening the skull

Although let's hold off on removing the lid from the box for now and just look at the picture on the lid. The game logo is very similar to the logos of American cool programs about racing/fights/competitions. When you read the name of the game, the powerful voice of a commentator immediately flashes through your head, announcing some important NHL match. " And now... EPIC SPELL WARS!!!“, and a cheerful heavy metal burst sounds.

The box depicts magicians gathered around some kind of artifact. The picture is pretty good, because all the art that you will find on the cards will be much tougher.

Open the box. The content is typical for a middleweight game. When there is one deck of cards in the box, it is a low-weight game. When there are several decks, a bunch of sheets with tokens, a large playing field, then this is a heavyweight game. Epic fights - this is something in between - two decks of cards, a set of D6 dice, one sheet of tokens, hero sheets and two small coasters.

There are quite a lot of cards in the game (190 pieces). If you put them together, you get a decent stack. Card quality is typical Hobby World (and today I’m reviewing the localized version from HW).

Hero boards are a regular life counter. All heroes are the same, none have special properties. They differ only in name and picture.

In the box you will find a rather large cardboard Skullflame Mountain. It is for this that two stands are needed. I was unable to reveal the essence of this component. Apparently this is just a decorative element that gives the game more epicness and entertainment.

Crazy magic

Epic fights can't be called a new game. It came out in 2012, and I kind of even followed this game for a while. Getting to know the board game (reading the rules) was like a clear instruction on how to survive in harsh world magicians On the second page of the rules you will find a detailed description of what “epic battles of magicians” are and what they can lead to. This story is made as if the rules are talking to us. Moreover, this conversation does not take place in a pompous tone, but with the use of simple slang words. It’s as if a friend with whom you grew up in the same residential area is talking to you. He tells you - “ Friend, you simply must become a sorcerer. You can experience this adrenaline madness for yourself.«.

If you agreed to play the game, then you have nowhere to go - you will have to become a combat sorcerer. Note - a sorcerer! And they, as I wrote above, are sometimes very angry and mischievous.

The goal of this game is to win 2 unfinished sorcerer tokens. To win a token, you need to be the only surviving sorcerer in one of the battles.

This game can be played by 2 to 6 players.

Several games/fights take place in one game. In each game, there is one surviving sorcerer who receives a victory token, after which the a new game with the restoration of the condition of all sorcerers and a new distribution of cards.

Each individual game is divided into rounds. At the beginning of each round, the sorcerers draw up to 8 cards from the deck. Regardless of how much health you lost in the last round and how much damage you dealt to other sorcerers, all players will have the same 8 cards at the beginning of the round.

Maps are the main engine of the game. They are all powerful spells with different effects. Spells are divided into 3 types: ringleaders, bells and whistles And parishes(cards are distinguished by a frame and a letter in the lower right corner). Separating spells is important game element. After the cards are dealt at the beginning of the round, players begin collecting spells. The number of cards used in a spell varies from 1 to 3. Than more cards you collect in a spell, the stronger it will be. One important rule to remember is that a spell should not contain two or more identical types of cards. Ideally, you should have a spell that is a set of ringleader + bells and whistles + arrival.

Of course, when the cards are dealt, you may get unlucky and not have a certain type of card in your hand. Or it will be disadvantageous for you to compose a spell from three types of cards. In such cases, the spell may consist of two or even one card.

All cards of the collected spell lie face down in front of the players, so none of the players knows what their rival sorcerers have collected. Who will go first in this case? The one who has fewer cards in a spell. If there is a tie, the numbers on the parish cards are compared (whoever has the higher number goes first).

When opening spells, you can stage a real verbal performance - just read the name of your spell out loud. It should turn out something like " Delicious self-drink from Drunken Walker". If your gaming company reacts cheerfully to such things, then you can happily read all the resulting spells. But then you will most likely get tired of doing it.

All spells work from left to right. Those. First, the quality of the ringleader is played out, then the bells and whistles, then the arrival. Sometimes certain cards in a spell (most often parishes) require the player to make a mighty throw. For this you will need cubes. For a powerful throw, it is very important that your cards in the spell are of the same type. Types are damage, darkness, intoxication, kumar and grass. If a card with a powerful throw is a corruption type, then for each corruption card in the spell you take one die. The higher the number on the dice, the stronger the effect of the card. For example, if you roll a 1, you will deal 1 damage to the sorcerer, and if you roll a 10+, you will deal 7 damage. Agree, the difference is significant. Especially considering that the starting life value of a sorcerer is only 20.

Most often, the effect of cards in a spell allows you to damage all sorcerers, left or right, the weakest or the strongest. Sometimes the effects allow you to restore several points of life.

If you are unlucky and don't get a certain type of card in your hand, you can replace it with the Crazy Magic card if you do get one. This is a joker card that allows you to replace the Crazy Magic card with the first card of that type from the deck when the spell is revealed. This is a very cool help if you are unlucky during the distribution.

Sooner or later, the health of one of the sorcerers will drop to zero. In this case, he receives the status of a dead sorcerer. What does it mean? This means that he discards all his cards, receives one dead sorcerer card, and will receive one such card each time other surviving players start a new round. Even though the name “dead sorcerer” does not sound very pleasant, in fact, each such card in the next game will bring the player one good bun. For example, you can start the game with more cards in your hand, get guaranteed Crazy Magic, start the game with more health, etc. Those. it’s like supporting the loser so that he can win the next fight.

Some cards allow the player to draw a treasure card. These types of cards give the player different game bonuses. For example, it gives +1 die to a mighty roll, one additional symbol of corruption, kumar or other types, +10 to the number on the parish card to go first, and much more. Treasures are a very cool thing, you can use them to do super cool magic tricks.

The last mage surviving the battle receives a token of an unfinished sorcerer and is one step away from victory. Then a new game begins, which is completely identical to the first. The only difference is that dead sorcerers will give advantages to some players.

Have you collected 2 tokens of an unfinished sorcerer? Congratulations - you've won!

I give him a thousand, he gives me a thousand!

At first glance Epic fights - this is very, very correct Munchkin . In no case do I want to say that ESBM (I will shorten the name of the game to four letters for convenience) is a copy of the boring game by Steve Jackson. The games are still different, but they have a common spirit. IN Machkina you had quite funny, sometimes mean cards in your hands, which were most often spent on some neutral monster, but you really want to use a sledgehammer on another player, and not on the plutonium dragon. There are no neutral monsters in ESBM, there are only you and other sorcerer players that you can hit with a fireball. And it's much more fun to do than soak a monster in Munchkin .

In general, to be honest, I would like to start talking about my impressions of the game from its most controversial side. I would call this aspect the cornerstone - its theme and design. You can discuss the mechanics of the game for a long time, share your impressions of different tactics and strategies, but the very first thing you have to step over is the topic. The game is replete with real black humor. Sorcerers don't just throw around fireballs with each other, eh... Let's just look at the pictures - dismemberment, trepanation, blood from the ears and eyes, intestines, total rupture of parts of the human body, etc. Luckily these are all pictures and not photographs (as a grindcore fan and the brother of a doctor, I've seen my fair share of "cute" photos). Painted flying guts - this, of course, softens the perception a little, but still only a little. I strongly recommend that before purchasing the game, you study the pictures in my article or on other specialized sites, and if you don’t experience any negative emotions from what you see, then you can safely read the review further and find out what’s good about the game. If the theme of the game shocks you, then I'm afraid that this is not your game.

As for me, I want to say that I’m not exactly a puritan, but I still find some of the art for the game disgusting. Before writing the article, I ran around to different sites, looked at who was writing what about the game, and accidentally came across my comment left back in 2012. I wrote in it that I was following the game, but when it came out, I saw the pictures and decided that such art was not for me, so I stopped following the game and crossed it off my wish list. It’s very funny to read 4 years later, when the box is right in front of me and I’m playing this game with all my might =) Despite the fact that the theme is still on the verge of good and evil (or, well, it still has one foot in evil) , the look of the game does not disgust me. I find some of the pictures funny and amusing. The names of the cards are also quite cool. Of course, if you look at all the nuances that the artist has drawn, maybe I will find something completely unpleasant, but I looked at the cards only in the first game, in the second I only paid attention to the text, which in the game quietly fits within the bounds of decency.

Do you digest pictures of mind-blowing magicians? Yes? Then we move on!

I can classify ESBM as fairly simple card games, in which you don’t need to build individual decks and struggle with collecting combinations. This is, let’s say, a “situational” game - you receive cards in your hands and try here and now to put together something sensible from them. Those. everything is like in card games, not for geeks, but for ordinary people.

As a joke, I call the board I review not one game, but two at the same time. It's like it's a game within a game. First game - collect a spell from what came into your hand. You will almost always have something to think about when composing powerful magic tricks. I really like that there are quite a lot of card options in the game. Each of the three types of cards has 20 unique ones, which are repeated exactly once. Those. 20 pieces of 2. When I unpacked the decks and saw repeating cards, I assumed that they would come across often, but in fact nothing like that happened. Some new types of spells with different actions were constantly gathering at our table. Yes, after 3-4 games you will already know the cards almost by heart, but there is still enough variety, it seems to me.

Collecting spells is quite fun because your decision depends on different factors. For example, let's say you're trying to put together a three-card spell to get the maximum effect possible. But you don’t always have all three types at hand, and the cards don’t always interact well with each other. For example, you have an excellent parish with the “darkness” type, and there is also the ringleader-darkness and the twist-darkness. Everything seems to be going well, but then you read that the ringleader’s effect can cause damage to you, and you only have 1 point of health left and you risk immediately dying from your own effect. Therefore, we need to come up with something else. Or you desperately need to go first, so you choose the parish with the highest possible number. You can really get stuck over collecting spells. Sometimes the optimal spell comes up easily and you immediately cast it, and sometimes you spend 1-2 minutes collecting it.

The second game is a drawing of a ready-made spell. This is truly a game because you will often have to roll dice, the result of which can lead to unexpected consequences. It happens that you go first and during your turn you manage to take out one or two opponents, who instantly lose their turn and are eliminated until the end of this battle. Sometimes during your own or someone else's move you gain interesting maps treasures that give you special properties. In general, any spell cast, yours or someone else’s, is always unexpected and fun.

The game struck me with its recklessness. It is somewhat reminiscent of crazy obstacle races without rules. In one round, your health can be reduced from 20 to 0. Or maybe in four rounds no one can do anything to you. Actually, this is where another “munchkin” legs grow from here. This is not a game about strategy and tactics, it is a game about chance and luck. Yes, you may simply receive unsuccessful cards, with which it will be difficult to collect something sensible. Yes, the dice can show strictly ones. But... But it's fun! I felt great pleasure while playing. It's actually funny when your opponent has twice as much health, and he teases that victory is in his pocket, and then you knock him out of the game with literally one or two cards. In this game, more often than ever, when throwing dice, they lament “ please roll a 10!". Only in this game they constantly viciously promise you revenge next time.

The theme of the game is so tightly tied to the mechanics that the author of the game wants to shout “Bravo!” I was already thinking about what would have happened if the game had a different theme. For example, a battle of robots with dinosaurs or Pokemon with Teletubbies, but without bloodshed. And I came to the conclusion that this would not be the same. Of course, a vanilla-cute theme would expand the circle of fans of the game, but I’m not sure that it would keep them for long. Epic battles of magicians with a gore component make the game stand out from hundreds of others similar games. It's good that this is not just another fantasy film.

What I also like is that the game has a lot of different aspects that make the game fresh. Starting from determining the turn order, ending with dead sorcerers and treasures. At the same time, it seemed to me that all these elements do not overload the game. For example, in card Kneading , especially in Kneading. Munchkin , you might miss something and regret it. In ESBM you can only forget about the treasure property, and I also often forgot that one bloat card is guaranteed to give you the right to make the first move. When playing ESBM it is difficult to forget to cause damage to someone, because this action is always obvious. There are no tricky reactions or unexpected turns played from hand in this game. And for me this is a plus.

In my first games, for some reason I decided that the most best spells collected from the same types. For example, if you collect 3 herbs, you get a super bang-bang. And I always don’t really like this idea in any board game, since it makes the player very dependent on what came into his hand. But when I played almost all the cards in this board, I realized that 3 identical types in a spell are only good for a powerful throw, and even then with bonuses you can get all 4 dice without matching card types. Cool spells can be produced in “different ways”. This discovery calmed my soul and added another plus to the game =)

But enough about the pros and let's talk about the cons. They are, of course, also in this tabletop.

And I will again mention the bloody, albeit cartoonish, theme of the game. Still, hand on heart, for me this is still more of a minus than a plus. Such a small minus, but still a minus. I'm sure there are people who will absolutely not play ESBM. For example, on BGG I didn’t find any reviews of this game from very well-known reviewers who always reviewed any games, and then suddenly there was silence. Although, of course, the “Christian” badge on these comrades hints that Brawl has little chance of these reviewers turning their attention to this game. Actually, I don’t see a lot of reviews of Fights on Tesera either, although I found it a very tasty toy. But okay, it's a matter of taste, of course...

The catastrophic failure of cards to appear in the hand is a more obvious disadvantage, which does not occur often, but does occur. As I already wrote, if you have cards different types- this is a very good situation. But if you don’t have a ringleader, a comeback or a trick, and even worse, if all 8 cards in your hand are of the same type, then this is much, much worse. The only advantage of a spell consisting of two cards is that you will most likely go first. During this turn, you can try to knock one or more players out of the game in order to receive less damage later. If you survive and start a new round, you draw 2 cards up to 8 cards in your hand. And you won't get the third type of cards again. You will again have a spell consisting of only two cards. In my experience, I played one whole battle like this until I finally crashed out of it. The Crazy Magic card helps a lot when you don't come, but you also have to be lucky for it to come into your hand. Such sad situations are rare, and they are the result of a poorly shuffled deck. The deck, by the way, is large; you will have to shuffle it more than once during the game, so it is best to do this carefully and with the help of other players. On the other hand, the randomness of cards coming into your hand is the scourge of all card games.

The next disadvantage is the length of the games. I'll tell you about my very first experience with the game, which was divided into 4 players. The first three battles were won by three different players. And at this stage, everyone had fun and cool playing Battle Mages. In the fourth battle, everyone started joking that now the player without the unfinished sorcerer token would definitely win, although three players were already one step away from victory. We've already played the same game three times, and it took us over an hour. And yes, the fourth player actually won the fourth battle. The fifth battle was decisive, but still almost all players had a feeling of drag. If you think about it, it becomes obvious that the player without a victory token is more likely to win the battle. In any fight, the first thing they try to do is knock out the player who already has the victory token, because if he gets the second token, he will win the game. It’s better to let a player who doesn’t have one get the token, but you still have a chance to win. Players without tokens are less likely to be touched, and “fat” players with tokens are more often targeted. For all 6 games that I have played so far, almost always all players have had one token. 1 or 2 times the games ended in such a way that one player was left without tokens, because he was simply unlucky and picked up fatal damage in advance. For myself, I decided that 4 players is best option. No, not optimal, but maximum. Five people, and especially six people, I wouldn’t play this game. 3-4 players is quite good. Four players is just enough to get enough of the game in one evening and leave it for the next day. Three of us is the minimum option to make playing fun and enjoyable. Because together... You can play together, but it’s not fun, since many cards stop playing as well as the authors of the game intended. For example, there are spells that target the right and left players. In a two-player game, one person plays the role of the right and left players. Exactly the same situation with the weakest or strongest enemy, because... it will also be the same person. And the trick of the game is to vary the goals so that they randomly switch without your knowledge. For example, you want to finish off one player because he is the weakest, but by the time it comes to you, the other player becomes the weakest, and this is a funny feature of the game that I like. When playing with two people, this feature simply stops working.

Some cards seem a little cooler than others, but that's true of all card games. Therefore, one whole spell can break the entire table, while another spell will only lightly pat the players on the cheek.

Funny Easter eggs with nicknames

Well, let's summarize. After the first game I had fears that I had already gotten the best from the game and that it would become sadder further, but after the next games I began to think about the game even better. It's a fairly simple card game with quite a bit of randomness, but that randomness is a ton of fun (for me personally). I like collecting epic spells, I like punching my opponents, I like taking them out of the game, I like accumulating dead sorcerer cards and coming up with a plan for revenge. I don’t really like the game’s jargon like “kumar”, “grass” and so on, but it doesn’t affect the gameplay in any way, but creates an atmosphere.

If you're tired of Munchkin , but you want something just as energetic (set up and rob your opponents), then be sure to try playing Epic Fights .

For me this game is one of the best I have played this year. But at the same time, I cannot recommend it to you. This probably sounds strange, right? I usually recommend games that I really like (like Port Royal or Pandemic: Legacy ), and I am sure that this game will work in almost any company. Epic battles between battle mages - a specific game. And the most important specificity lies in its brutal theme. If you play with children, moms/dads, grandparents, pregnant women, etc., then this game is probably not for you. If the sight of scattered painted brains doesn't make you feel nauseous, then you've got your ticket to a date with the game right now.

Hobby World has already announced the release of the second part of the game this fall. And I am extremely happy about this news, because in the fall we will continue the hellish crazy bloody battle of crazy battle magicians.

I give the game a “class”, and you decide for yourself how strong your board spirit is.

Board game Epic battles between battle mages was provided for review by the company

While you are reading this description, battle mages are already crushing each other into cabbages in an uncompromising battle for the title of the most epically powerful sorcerer in the entire kingdom of Bloodbath. Don't pull the cat's tail and join the tournament as soon as possible, because the fun is about to begin!
Collect spells from three components and cast them on your opponents. What the effect will be - the enemy will lightly slap the dome or turn into a cozy campfire - depends on your witchcraft abilities and the ability to create ultra-crazy combos. And in the end, when the dust settles, there will only be one sorcerer left. Perhaps it will be you - but it’s too early to celebrate victory!
Soon the dead sorcerers will crawl out of their graves, and the mess will begin a new round!

Main jokes

• Super killer fun for 2-6 wizards!
• Hundreds of unique ways to turn your enemy to ash/sludge/chicken/you name it. The chaos you create is limited only by your thirst for destruction!
• Dozens of magical artifacts to enhance your spells: hit your enemies with the mallet gun and dress up in magical slippers!
• Dead sorcerer cards allow even those weaklings who lose the battle and fall short of victory to stay in the game!
• Elementary rules and endless replayability - you'll be handing out magic kicks until your beard grows to your waist!
• Over 100 unique images from Nick Edwards to set the gritty mood for your epic battles!

“Epic Battles of Battle Magicians” is an original board game in its genre that will not leave anyone indifferent. The game will destroy your ideas about wizards too! They will fight in brutal battles, cast cynical spells and test the players' mental stability. If you love mind-blowing board games, then meet a battle mage and collect medals from undead sorcerers!

Difficulty level: average

Number of players: 2-8

Develops skills: attentiveness, sociability, cunning

In terms of components, everything is the same as in humans

• Skull Mountain with two stands – 1 pc.;
• cards with spells size 63*89 mm – 178 pcs.;
• tablets with characters to choose from – 8 pcs.;
• skulls necessary for tracking life - 6 pcs.;
• tokens required for victory – 7 pcs.;
• bones – 4 pcs.;
• brochure with rules.

In the full-fledged entertainment “Epic Battles of Battle Mages” of the next version, “Mayhem in the Slaughterhouse Castle,” the indestructible and inaccessible Octopus Slaughterhouse Castle is used instead of Skullflame Mountain.

The game is crazy, what's the cover like?

The madness of the board game manifests itself already at the stage of familiarization with the design and rules. The style of the entertainment “Epic Battles” is very strange, the instructions are written in too loose a language, and the message of the creators is immediately felt.

The entertainment fully immerses participants in a merciless massacre between magicians who are not afraid of anyone or anything! Don't be afraid to be killed, destroy any opponent who gets in your way.

When you study the images on the cards, you begin to doubt the adequacy of the illustrator. But considering that trash is the basis of the board game, we shouldn’t be surprised. Who has long wanted to have their brains blown out? “Epic battles of battle magicians” will provide such emotions!

These characters make up a separate deck, which is formed at the beginning of the game. The player receives a card from this pile when the character he has chosen runs out of lives after the next battle. Now the participant will draw cards from there at the end of each turn, which will give him an advantage at the beginning of the next battle with the hero named battle mage.

Before the first turn in the next game, participants play dead sorcerer cards and discard them. They can add lives to themselves, take them away from combat enemy and also earn treasures.

What epic spells are there and how to cast them?

The battle magician will make up magic spells from cards drawn out into his hands. Among them may be the following types, combining which you can get a brain explosion:

• The ringleaders— give some advantage when using a combat spell.


You'll like: Potions

The spell itself is assembled from one, two or three cards, without using cards of the same type. That is, the following combinations are possible:

• ringleader;
• coming;
• bloat;
• winder and bells and whistles;
• bloat and arrival;
• started and came;
• started up both the bloat and the arrival.

If you don’t come across a type of card, then it is replaced with “Crazy Magic” when it falls out. This is the “joker” who will come to the rescue in a hopeless situation with battle magicians.

If a combination is made incorrectly, the player must throw out extra cards from it so that it becomes correct. Unnecessary cards at the same time they are sent to the discard pile.

Schools of magic

If you carefully study the cards, it is not difficult to notice that the spells belong to a certain school of magic and they are marked with a special sign. The following signs exist:

• intoxication - fervent incineration of opponents;
• darkness - dark rituals destroy rivals in batches;
• damage - only a wet spot remains from enemies, assistance in dragging treasures is also provided;
• Kumar - quick spells that allow you to select specific victims;
• grass is a gift of nature that can be used to heal a battle mage and cripple enemies.

You just spend the entire game bashing each other with spells!

Initially it may seem like this. Although in essence it is so. “Epic Battles of Battle Magicians” is a game of continuous trash and merciless bloodshed. Yes, the mechanics are primitively simple:

• choose which battle mage will defend your name;
• place cards, cubes and other components on the table;
• pull eight cards into your hands, collect them and cast a crazy spell;
• attack each other without fear of consequences.

What are the actions?

In addition to the school of magic, on the maps the combat player will encounter the target of a combat spell, damage and other effects. To calculate damage, dice are often rolled, the number depending on how often the elemental symbol appears in the spell.

The target of the spell is everyone or someone specific (as an option, sitting to the right or left of the caster).

There are some effects that can be used to heal a battle mage or allow him to take the top treasure card with dangerous artifacts. However, more often they still cause damage, tear off limbs, explode entrails - something that will deprive the hero of his physical health.

hidden treasures



Players encounter such items from the effects of some cards with combat spells. Once you have the treasure, place it face up in front of you so that your opponents can see it. They should never be picked up.

Who will like it?

• groups of friends over 16 years old;
• for those who love trashy board games that explode the mind;
• those who are bored with tedious strategies;
• for those who are looking forward to a fun time.

Rules of the game



Some cards will require the participant to perform a powerful throw, to do this you need to look at the sign. You must roll one die for each card in the spell that contains the same sign.

Most cards in Epic Battlemage Showdowns target a specific victim, usually listed on the card itself. Study the texts carefully before firing an incredible spell. The victim sometimes turns out to be random, sometimes it will be the battle mage sitting next to him, as well as all the opponents at the same time.

You'll like: Barbaria

Tip: Always identify the victim before rolling the dice!

Preparation

1. Set up Skullflame Mountain.
2. Carefully shuffle the cards, sort them into piles by back - dead sorcerers, spells, treasures.
3. Each player chooses a sorcerer with whom he will compete in the game. Take the corresponding character tablet.
4. Place the sorcerer’s skull at the “20” mark, this is the initial number of lives. Throughout the entertainment, the slider will move if the hero loses or gains life.
5. Place stacks of magic spells in the middle of the table, and distribute the rest of the decks anywhere.

Who goes first and turn order?

After the players have collected cards in their hands, the stage of determining the first player begins. Each battle mage must tell his opponents how many cards his spell is made up of. Those players who have this number “1” go first, and those with “2” have priority next.

If several participants meet the above requirements, then their order is determined on the initiative of the parish skating rink - participants must communicate this value to the others, and they are not allowed to look at the opponent’s card. A battle mage who did not play a parish or provided a “Crazy Magic” card in return acquires initiative “0”.

Accordingly, the participant with greater initiative goes earlier than the rest; in case of a tie, the players roll the dice, and the battle mage with the highest result goes first.

How to play?

For each round of the “Epic Battles of Battle Magicians” board game, the following steps are performed:

1. A living battle mage replenishes his hand up to 8 cards, a dead one takes one dead sorcerer into his hands.
2. Lay out one to three cards face up, this will be the magic spell.
3. Determine the turn order as stated in the paragraph above.
4. Use the effects of the spell in the order “ringleader + twist + arrival”.
5. After all the battle mages have cast their spells, the participants again draw components from the pile up to 8 pieces.
6. A new round begins!

With each new stage, the ranks of battle magicians will begin to thin out - when their life stops at cell “0”, the hero drops out of the battle, discarding cards and accumulated treasures, and takes a dead sorcerer from the pile.

How to win?

Winning at Epic Fights is not a difficult task. It’s enough to earn a couple of “unfinished sorcerer” medals and you’re done! True, to do this you will have to destroy all your rivals, turn them into ashes and survive yourself. But you can handle such a simple task, right?

Other games in this series:

After the sensational release of the original version, the developers released a couple more full-fledged entertainments, continuations of the first version.

"Epic battles of battle magicians. Mayhem in the castle of Octopus"

This is not just an add-on for players over 18 years of age. Players are not prohibited from mixing a basic deck with this set to create incredible, mind-blowing spells. Compared to the original version of the board game, there are some cool new features:

1. All the arrivals here are Creatures that can be on the table for any number of rounds. Also, a combat hero can be blocked from an enemy spell.
2. Blood is a new game resource; it is obtained by killing opponents or holding the Slaughterhouse castle. The cards also exchange liters of blood to use the effect.
3. Now certain cards give the participant the opportunity to capture the castle, then the battle mage will receive a lit of blood. He may earn an ownership bonus.
4. “Unexpected” cards have appeared - cards that will work after the death of the hero.
5. The board game developers have created 8 more sorcerers with serious intentions.
6. For players who do not like to stand on ceremony when fighting with enemies, a “short tournament” is provided.

You'll like it: Board game Small World

In the entertainment of the next release - “Epic battles of battle magicians” version of “Mayhem in the Castle of Octopus Slaughter”, the winner will be the player who receives two extremely necessary tokens before others, as in other modifications. This is possible when a combat hero has destroyed his opponents and is the only survivor.

“Epic battles of battle magicians Mash on a mushroom swamp”

Another entertainment for players over 18 years old, where you will still have to mercilessly kill your opponents. But now this can be done with the help of new powerful spells, “pumping up” them with swamp sorcery. A battle mage awaits in the set.

Board game Epic battles of battle magicians

In the Unicorn store you will find all versions board game.

Every year a tournament is held only for the most brutal wizards. Leave your ideas about magicians as kind, bearded old men for the kids. A real magician is a terrible sorcerer who is ready to do anything to win. These are the ones you can meet in the most terrible places of the multiverse, for example, on the terrible Skullflame Mountain. Where the very flames burst out of the ground, and one wrong step costs the life of any creature.

So, in order to find out who is the strongest, cold-blooded, ruthless sorcerer, a variety of representatives of the magical fraternity come to the tournament. At the Epic battles of battle magicians you can meet necromancers, orc shamans, black sorcerers, undead, and other not “good wizards”.

The main thing is to remain the last survivor in the Epic battles of battle magicians after casting completely unpredictable spells! And they are in the game. Epic battles of battle magicians are truly unique, because here you can not just throw your magic at the enemy, but add the filling, and then the finishing touch. And voila - the fireball starts with additional ice damage, and then also deals additional damage to all other magicians! Isn't it amazing?

You can buy four now different games in the series Epic battles of battle magicians. Each of them is completely independent and original.

Gives rise to the bloodiest and most brutal battles between sorcerers and magicians.

Complements the series with even more unexpected and dangerous spells.

Continues the dirty games of black sorcerers, adding new opportunities to play spell cards to the game.

Only for the meanest sorcerers!

Whichever game from the Epic Battles of Battle Magicians series you choose, a lot of fun and dark humor awaits you. Are you ready to fight for the title of the most powerful sorcerer?

You can choose the version of the game Epic battles of battle magicians in any Unicorn store. All Unicorn branches have equipped gaming areas, where experienced game masters will explain the rules of the purchased board game and offer to play several games.

Action heroes love to choose the most dangerous places for decisive fights: the edge of a waterfall, a working factory, a sinking ship. But for the coolest wizards of the Universe this is somehow petty. Therefore, sorcerers and necromancers prefer to find out who has the most lumpy fireballs on the slopes of the ominous Skullflame volcano. The most terrible spells recorded in ancient tomes are used. By the way, have you ever wondered why magic books are so big and heavy? Of course, to finish off failed magicians!

Genre: card game, party game
Authors Stars: Rob Henso, Corey Jones
Artist: Nick Edwards
Publisher: Cryptozoic Entertainment
Publisher in Russia: Hobby World
Number of players: 2–6
Age of players: 14 years
Game duration: 20–40 minutes
Similar to:
Munchkin series
Nickelodeon cartoon series

There are never enough “Munchkin” clones, thought Cryptozoic Entertainment, hired two designers of card games for Dungeons & Dragons and released “Epic Battles of Battle Magicians.” It was not possible to move the king of the gaming library from the throne, but the attempt was counted.

The catchy design of the box immediately attracts attention. The illustrations on the cards are both attractive and repulsive: this is what a Hieronymus Bosch cartoon on Nickelodeon would look like. Worms, severed limbs and blood are on almost every map here. This is definitely not worth giving to children for their birthday, but adults who love dark humor might like it. Unless, of course, they are afraid of games with a high influence of chance. It's going to be hot on Skullfire Mountain: the core mechanics of Epic Showdowns hit hapless wizards over the heads harder than the traps in Dungeon Raiders and the oars in Overboard.

Being a dark mage is fun. The spell constructor allows you to build combinations from three cards- The ringleader (the great magician of the past, who shares his power), the Twist (an additional effect) and the Arrival (the final chord). From these three components you can create any spell - to heal yourself at the right moment, collect more treasures, or show your friends who is the best here. Some spells affect only neighbors, others - the strongest or weakest character, and others choose a victim at random. There are also treasure maps that add additional lethality to magic, allow you to manipulate initiative, and more. To get the Medal of the Unfinished Sorcerer, you will have to think through effective combinations one move ahead.

The power of Parish cards, among other things, depends on the dice roll. If all parts of the spell include magic of the same school, there will be as many as three (or even four) dice, the illustrations on the cards will merge together, and the enemies will certainly be in trouble. There are only five schools, but it is not always profitable to collect a “one-color” spell. For example, the shots of the Drunken Walker become even more dangerous in the company of the Twist of Grass magic and the Coming of Corruption spells.

The game is free from many of the shortcomings of the same “Munchkin”. While in Steve Jackson's game the road to level ten lasted for half a day, on Skull Mountain you only need two rounds to be the last living sorcerer to win. Players who lag behind the leader can close the gap in one card draw; those who dropped out of the race within 5–10 minutes replenish their life points and compete for the next Lost Sorcerer Medal. In addition, defeated mages each turn receive powerful spells from a separate deck that will help them in the next showdown.

“Epic battles of battle magicians” force you to choose between speed and lethality every time. The most powerful spells have low initiative, so think about what comes first: your turn or meeting the gravedigger. The final moves are often very dramatic and similar to duels in Westerns. Calculation, patience and luck allow us to live up to them. And the one who gets the revolver first wins.

Bottom line: this one is dynamic and very aggressive play for the company, unlike most other party games, it allows you to plan your actions moving forward. But the controversial design and the high role of chance may scare off some players.