Trickerion: Master Magicians and a Finale of a Lifetime
Enjoy the spellbinding world of magicians and daring tricks of all sorts in the beautiful game of Trickerion.
Some solo board games take minutes to set up and clean up… And Trickerion: Collectors Edition is not one of them! I expect this to take over my game table for a while, which is fine by me. Magicians and tricks of all sorts? Definitely a unique theme that appeals to me in many ways! So out came my imaginary top hat again. To the theater!
Game Overview
Game Name: Trickerion: Collector’s Edition
Publication Year: 2019
Designers: Richard Amann, Viktor Peter, and Dávid Turczi
Artists: Villő Farkas and László Fejes
Solo Mode: Included in Trickerion: Dahlgaard’s Academy
As before, I stuck with the easy difficulty setting with just the base game and dark alley components. No sense making it too complex right from the start! It took some time to get everything ready to go, but I was focused on taking down the solo opponent. Orpheo! I started off well enough with a wide selection of tricks and components.
First Play
June 15, 2020
Complexity
5
Latest Play
August 9, 2023
Expansions
0
Setup Time
10 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
7
Play Time
1 Hour & 30 Minutes
High Score
156
Game Area
52" x 34"
Low Score
45
The Magnus Pantheon
All of the hard work led up to the final performance at the end of the 7 weeks, or turns. I fought hard to put together a coherent strategy and I thought I was in good shape.
That’s the beauty of the game: Many strategies take form based on die rolls and other variable conditions.
But here it was! The last night for Magoria to witness a pair of master magicians at work. The area teemed with activity and excitement. Magic, at its absolute best!
I had a special assignment card in hand that was going to make a huge difference. This would be a grand victory!
Inside the Theater
The tricks in the final performance were evenly matched, at least in terms of the trick markers. Creating these links is always a fun sort of challenge from the start.
As Yoruba Spiritmaster, I had the ability to force Orpheo to choose a suboptimal performance card. All for just a Trickerion shard! That seemed like an equal trade.
Figuring out the sequence of learning and setting up a new trick isn’t too bad, though I needed to focus on my goal.
Looking back as I write this, I set myself up for one of my more hilarious gaming moments… Just as the curtain rose.
A Grand Premiere
I had a little something special in store for the audience. That’s right: Yoruba Spiritmaster had a never-before-seen trick to debut! It promised to be excellent.
The special assignment cards acquired through the dark alley definitely changed things up and made for an exciting experience… Particularly with the right cards!
I saved the best for last. The Wolf Cage trick was a tried and true crowd favorite, while Orpheo did… Well.
Then, the lights dimmed and the theater went dark. A lone spotlight shone on my magician. What had he planned?!
The Oldest Magic Trick
Behold! It’s the infamous Rabbit from the Top Hat! That’s right… Yoruba Spiritmaster prepared the entire audience for this flimsy 1-star magic trick. Why not?!
It actually boiled down to horrible planning on my part. I couldn’t get the components ready for the high-level tricks I wanted. Yikes. This was my only option!
So I laughed hysterically as I pictured this playing out and the crowd possibly booing a magician off the stage.
Still, I couldn’t think of a better ending for this failure! Because try as I might, Orpheo was just too good for me.
Session Overview
Play Number: 2
Solo Mode: Included in Trickerion: Dahlgaard’s Academy
Play Details: Easy Difficulty Level with the Base Game
Required Play Space: 46″ x 34″
Setup Time: 15 Minutes
Play Time: 2 Hours
Outcome: 82-120 (Loss)
There was no competing with these fantastic tricks! Orpheo won early on and I couldn’t find a way to catch up. I learned a few more things along the way, and hope to put on a proper magic show one of these days. ORPHEO!!!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
8
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
8
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
7
Victory Conditions
Score the Most Points
- Overall Goal Progress 50%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 game at the easy difficulty level.
Win at least 1 game at the normal difficulty level.
Continue the Conversation
How have you fared with Trickerion: Collectors Edition? My battle against the one-and-only Orpheo wages on, though it’s a very tame sort of duel! Are there any magicians you prefer to play as? If I ever record a victory, I’ll definitely switch things up and try out another character. This is a deep sort of game I’m just starting to understand. Excellent!
Nicely done session recap.
Deciding the sequence of tricks to get and plan consequently to get the right components at the right time is the core of this game. Easier said than done when someone else snags the trick you wanted just a few actions before and you have to re-plan half your strategy.
I mostly agree with your scores, save for the “6” in originality. I think the theme is pretty unique and everything is cleverly thought out: learning new tricks from Dahlgaard’s mansion, getting the right components to build them, sending one of your crewmen to the lab to actually assemble them an later to the theater to set them up for the exhibition… There are no other games that I can think of with this intricate but still pretty consistent and realistic sequence of interlocking mechanics.
And though the use of differently tiered workers and secret assignment may not be a novelty, I think that this game mixes everything together in a way so brilliant to be original in its blending with all the game parts.
Thank you for the comment and thoughts about the sequence of tricks! It’s definitely something I’m getting better at, but there’s a long road ahead to truly master it… If I ever can!
I’ve had several questions about my rating system recently, all for good reasons! I have a slightly odd question grouped under Originality that might throw things off from afar, although I know what it means. It has to do with easily recognizable icons and symbols. For a beginner, I definitely didn’t feel like I could memorize those without a lot of help. So technically that’s very original… Just another flaw with my system!
It’s one of the most unique games I own in terms of theme and mechanics, although when I see a “6” I typically know what I struggled with. Rating systems are very personal and rather problematic. I’m going to write a detailed post about how I go about rating my games very soon. It’s far from perfect, and maybe not even great. But it works for me, and I’m comfortable with it.
I’ll definitely have a lot more to write about the subject! But I definitely agree that the “6” stands out oddly. If anything, I’ll be the first one to admit that my rating system has a lot of issues and flaws. Perhaps it only works for me, though I think some explanations might help show why I use it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!