Spell (FR)

*French version

The Aphalest tournament comes around only once a generation, and this year it is your turn to compete. In Spell (FR), you play a wizard or sorceress determined to win guardianship of the Vrinolur gem, an artifact forged to control the dark forces. Facing you is an opponent just as fearsome, ready to manipulate that same unstable arena to beat you to it. Each turn, you activate the tiles around your mage to reproduce the exact shape of the runes you have drawn: the faster and more precise you are, the more powerful spells you unlock to cast against your rival in this clash-and-puzzle game.

What makes Spell so gripping is its ever-shifting arena: every round, tiles move, flip or change value, forcing you to rethink your plan on the fly. Summon elementals to block the way, teleport across the board or shove your opponent right off their square to break their combo. Every game runs on anticipation: you need to read the board a step ahead, guess the other mage's intentions and turn the smallest opening into a devastating spell.

Spell is for you if you crave short, intense battles of wits, if you enjoy tile games where every move has to be calculated, and if you want a board game that works just as well solo as it does head to head. Its short playtime makes it a great pick for a quick match between two seasoned players, without ever sacrificing tactical depth.

Spell first launched in Spain back in 2020 before getting this French-language reissue from Nuts! Publishing; the idea of matching rune shapes on a constantly shifting arena has also earned it a solid spot among the top-rated abstract games on BoardGameGeek. The game also offers an asymmetric mode, where each player picks an amulet with different powers, plus a genuine solo mode to sharpen your instincts against the arena alone.

Spell was designed by Chuz, who also handled the illustrations alongside Henri Kermarrec; his bold pink-and-black visual style fits the game's magical showdown perfectly. 

BOX CONTENTS
4 mages (2 black, 2 purple)
6 elementals (3 black, 3 purple)
4 action cards
52 rune cards (26 basic, 26 advanced)
4 amulet cards
2 score markers
1 turn tracker token
1 score track
17 arena tiles (including 1 neutral and 2 special)
1 Vrinolur gem tile

Number of players: 1 to 2
Duration: 20 minutes
Age: 8+