(This review compiled from a few weeks of postings from my blog, the Tao of Gaming. If you wish this wall of text was much much longer, then check it out).
Note -- I mainly play these games solitaire or co-operative, not with PvP combat.
I've played 300+ games of Mage Knight, and I burned out.
Reading a review comparing Magic Realm to Mage Knightpiqued my interest in trying Magic Realm, since I wanted another solo/co-op game. I'd tried Magic Realm before, but it hadn't stuck. Still, I started reading the “Book of Learning,”: session reports that double as tutorials. Given the plethora of revised rules (I particularly recommend Magic Realm in Plain English) and the existence of <PERSON> brilliant Realm Speak program) the barriers to entry are much lower than they used to be the last time I tried to play. And I had tried.
Magic Realm retains a dedicated following almost forty years after its arrival, despite obvious warts like an Avalon Hill Rule Set that makes Up Frontseem simplistic. There must be something to it, so I dove in. I now have a dozen games under my belt, mostly co-operative, taking two characters each.
Mechanisms
I don’t normally summarize rules, but sometimes you have to. Magic Realm’s basic ideas aren’t difficult:
In general, to do anything you roll two dice and take the higher. So a 1-5 roll is a five. This is an interesting idea that lets the designer assign weird probabilities. Some characters (or items) roll a single die, which represents skill.
The map starts fully built, but face-down chits determine what might appear. So you know the layout, but treasures could be in any cave. A flutter chit may indicate Dragons or Bats. The setup sheet lists which monsters can show up on which chits. Setting up the game is a huge time suck (the first time is about an hour, but with practice that comes down) which is why a computer moderator is such a godsend. One click setup.
Pre-programmed turns. Everyone writes down their turn and you resolve in random order. 504
(<PERSON> also designed the classic Gunslinger, which shares this). Each character gets roughly four actions per day to move, hide, search, prepare, enchant, rest, trade, hire followers, and the like. The planning phase is called Birdsong instead of morning (a lovely touch that feels out of place in the rulebook, like finding a colorful <PERSON> print your IRS auditor’s cubicle)
You resolve turns (daytime) in random order. Some actions are automatic, some have a die roll. Hiding is simple — fail on a six — others involve charts (typically lower is better). One roll determines which monsters are ‘prowling’ each turn. Prowling Monsters appear on the board based on the chits. Prowling monsters already on the board move if you end up on the same tile as them (unless they’ve already blocked another character).
After everyone has moved, you have evening. At night spells are cast and combat occurs.
Each character has twelve action chits which are mainly used at night. Each chit dictates its use (mainly Move, Fight or Magic) and a speed (a number, lower is better) and how exhausting it is (0-2 asterisks).
The rules for combat are non-trivial, but not as bad as I'd feared.
Each monster randomly attacks one unhidden character. (Characters can choose to lure monsters to them, and if everyone is hidden monsters won't attack until they become unhidden). Each character gets an action (maybe running away, or casting a spell, or preparing a weapon). These typically take a chit and may have some restrictions, usually your chit has to be 'faster' than the monsters that are attacking you this round.
After your action, you assign attack directions and defensive maneuvers for yourself and the monster, but the monster will roll to adjust. You set up which tactic it uses, but will roll and possibly adjust. It may also flip over (double sided monsters) which may change its attack or maneuver speed, or damage.
Faster attacks go first, and if it’s faster then the opponents defense? It hits. If it’s not faster, it hits only if the defense used fails against the attack. If you ducked when the attack was a downward smash, no help there.
So — there’s a Rock Paper Scissors aspect (as noted on BGG's page) but it’s intuitive: Faster attacks hit. Equal (or slower) attacks hit if the defender dodged into them. 755