Review: Trickerion – Legends of Illusion

Introduction & Overview

Decades ago, it used to be a bustling city, the Capital of Illusion, but now only a shadow of its former glory remains. The golden age ended the day Dahlgaard the Magnificent, the city’s selfless benefactor and the greatest illusionist in history, mysteriously disappeared at the end of his final performance decades ago. Nothing was ever heard of him again. Until now. One night, four talented illusionists, masters of different branches of magic, received a mysterious invitation. The great Dahlgaard himself, returning from the unknown, summoned them to reveal the secret he had kept all his life: the truth about the Trickerion Stone, his glowing amber relic. Despite what many believed, it was far more than a mere lucky charm. He revealed that the stone grants its bearer supernatural intellect, speed, and perception—the qualities of the perfect illusionist. Dahlgaard’s secret was only part of his grand plan: after his death, he wishes for Magoria to flourish once again as the City of Illusion under the guidance of a worthy successor, who will inherit the Stone and his entire legacy. This successor will be chosen among the four illusionists in a five-week contest of fame and fortune. With so much at stake, the four magicians will stop at nothing to win. Who will have what it takes to become the next Legend of Illusion?

This is how Trickerion: Legends of Illusion is introduced to us, a design by Richard Ámann and Viktor Péter, the creators behind games such as Anachrony or Cerebria: The Inside World. First published in 2015 by Mindclash Games in an English edition. The artwork is by Villő Farkas and László Fejes, who are also responsible for the visual style of Anachrony.

It is published in Spain in its Collector’s Edition by Maldito Games (the game is language-dependent on certain card types, in addition to the rulebook). It accommodates 1 to 4 players (with the Dahlgaard’s Academy expansion), with a suggested minimum age of 14, and an approximate playing time of 60 to 180 minutes. The MSRP for the Collector’s Edition is €230. For this review, a review copy of the Spanish Collector’s Edition by Maldito Games was used.

Important: if you already know the game and/or are only interested in my opinion about it, you can go directly to the Opinion section. The Content and Mechanics sections are especially intended for those who do not know the game and prefer to get a general idea of how it works.

Go to Personal Opinion

Components

Inside a two-piece cardboard box (lid and bottom) measuring 30×30×15 cm (a square Ticket to Ride-sized box, but twice as deep), we find the following components:

• Base Game:
  • Main Board (double-sided) (cardboard)
  • 4 Player Boards (double-sided) (cardboard)
  • 12 Specialist Board Extensions (4 of each type: Assistant, Engineer, and Manager) (cardboard)
  • 32 Worker Disks (8 in each color) (wood)
  • 8 Player Markers (2 in each color) (wood)
  • 6 Downtown Dice (resin)
  • 48 Trick Cards (12 per category)
  • 40 Permanent Assignment Cards (10 in each color)
  • 40 Special Assignment Cards (10 per location)
  • 28 Performance Cards
  • 8 Magician Cards (double-sided)
  • 8 Magician Poster Cards
  • 64 Trick Markers (16 in each color: 4 distinct symbols with 4 markers each) (cardboard)
  • 16 Symbol Markers (4 in each color) (cardboard)
  • 96 Component Tokens (cardboard):
    • 40 Basic (10 of each type: Wood, Metal, Glass, and Fabric)
    • 32 Advanced (8 of each type: Rope, Saw, Oil, and Animal)
    • 24 Superior (6 of each type: Lock, Costume, Mirror, and Gear)
  • 44 Coins (cardboard):
    • 28 Value 1
    • 16 Value 5
  • 27 Prophecy Tokens (cardboard)
  • 25 Trickerion Shards (resin)
  • Turn Trickerion Stone Marker (cardboard)
  • Turn Trickerion Stone Marker (resin)
  • 4 Magician Booklets
  • Rulebook
• Dahlgaard’s Gifts:
  • 98 Magician Power Cards (in 3 decks: yellow, orange, and red) (44×67 mm)
  • 12 Turn Setup Cards (cardboard) (59×91 mm)
  • 12 Performance Cards for Duel of Magicians (cardboard) (70×110 mm)
  • Rulebook
• Dahlgaard’s Academy:
  • Academy Board (double-sided) (cardboard)
  • 16 Classroom Tiles (cardboard)
  • 16 Practice Room Tiles (cardboard)
  • 20 Protégé Secret Tiles (cardboard)
  • 4 Closed Room Tiles (cardboard)
  • 4 Protégé Board Extensions (cardboard)
  • 8 Protégé Worker Disks (2 in each color) (wood)
  • 48 Banners (12 in each color) (wood)
  • 16 Academy Markers (4 in each color, 1 of each suit) (cardboard)
  • 16 Additional Trick Markers (4 in each color, 1 of each suit) (cardboard)
  • 2 Teach/Learn Markers for Professor Bernard (cardboard)
  • 2 Academy Markers for Professor Bernard (cardboard)
  • 2 Open Room Tokens (cardboard)
  • 10 Blocking Tiles (cardboard)
  • 8 Additional Component Tokens (cardboard)
  • 14 Additional Coins (cardboard)
  • 7 Prophecy Tokens (cardboard)
  • 4 Magician Cards (51×91 mm)
  • 38 Small Cards (44×67 mm):
    • 4 Permanent Academy Assignment Cards (1 per player)
    • 22 Special Assignment Cards
    • 12 Magician Poster Cards
  • 4 Academy Booklets
  • Rulebook
• Dawn of Technology:
  • 4 Contraption Boards (1 for each trick category) (cardboard)
  • 16 Contraption Tokens (4 for each trick category) (cardboard)
  • 12 Signature Trick Cards (1 for each magician) (59×91 mm)
  • 5 Special Assignment Cards (44×67 mm)
  • 25 Trickerion Shards (resin)
  • Rulebook

How to Play

Trickerion: Legends of Illusion is set in the mystical Victorian city of Magoria at the dawn of the 20th century, where players step into the shoes of celebrated illusionists competing over several weeks to amass the greatest fame and succeed the legendary Dahlgaard. Each round begins by rolling the Downtown dice to determine available city actions, establishing turn order, and allowing players to advertise their shows. Following this, players plan their actions in secret by assigning location cards to their workers. Once assignments are revealed, players take turns placing a worker onto the available spaces of the designated location to spend action points, which depend on worker hierarchy and space modifiers (and can be boosted by spending Trickerion Shards). In Downtown, new tricks are learned, specialists or apprentices are hired, and coins are withdrawn from the bank; at the Market Row, trick components are purchased, ordered, or bargained for; in the Workshop, tricks are prepared by assembling required materials to place trick markers on them; and at the Theater, markers are slotted into performance cards on specific weekdays, forming links that grant immediate bonuses. At the end of the round, Magicians placed on performance days stage shows where all tricks on the selected card are performed, rewarding both the lead magician and guest performers with fame, coins, and shards. The round concludes by paying staff wages and rotating shows. After completing the designated number of rounds, a final scoring takes place, adding bonus fame for leftover resources, hired team members, and superior trick bonuses, with the player having the most Fame points declared the winner.

Key Concepts

Let us start with the Main Board. It is a double-sided board (one standard side and one for playing with the Dark Alley) representing the city of Magoria. On it, the primary action locations are laid out: Downtown, Market Row, and the Theater, alongside the Dark Alley on its reverse. Each location features circular spaces for placing workers with printed action point modifiers. Along the left side lies the initiative track, and at the bottom, the Trickerion Stone round tracker. Bordering the Theater area is the Fame track, where players record the points earned throughout the game.

The Player Boards represent each illusionist’s headquarters and personal workshop. They are structured into several dedicated areas: a bottom row of slots to hold the magician card and team members along with their face-down assignment cards, a middle area for storing acquired components, and a top area with slots designated for learned tricks. Additionally, the board itself functions as an exclusive placement location (the Workshop), where only the owner may place workers to prepare tricks or organize their component reserve.

Specialist Board Extensions are mini-boards attached to the right side of the player board upon hiring corresponding specialists (Engineer, Manager, and Assistant). Each one expands headquarters capabilities: the Engineer extension provides an additional trick slot that grants an extra trick marker when prepared; the Manager extension includes two multi-component slots that artificially increase the value of component piles stored there by one unit; and the Assistant extension adds a slot for an extra Apprentice who is exempt from wage payments.

Worker Disks represent each player’s workforce, divided into three tiers based on baseline action point capacity: the Magician (3 points), Specialists (2 points), and Apprentices (1 point). These disks are dispatched to planned locations using assignment cards and, upon placement on available spaces, receive action points (modified by the space itself and other effects) to immediately resolve actions there.

Player Markers are wooden cylinders in each player’s color. Each player receives two: one is placed on the initiative track on the main board to determine turn order (which is reordered in reverse Fame order), while the second sits on the scoring track to log accumulated Fame points.

The Downtown Dice are six custom dice of different colors rolled at the start of each round and placed on their matching Downtown slots. Their faces dictate available options for that location during the turn: which trick categories may be learned at the Dahlgaard Residence, which specialists or apprentices can be hired at the Inn, and how many coins can be withdrawn from the Bank. After using a die’s option via an action, it is turned to its “X” face to indicate it is spent.

Trick Cards form the core of the game and are divided into four categories: Mechanical, Spiritual, Escape, and Optical. Each card displays its name, category, required component materials, action point cost, number of markers generated upon preparation, and the minimum Fame threshold required to learn it. Furthermore, they indicate yields (Fame, coins, or shards) granted when performed at the Theater, as well as end-game scoring bonuses in the case of superior threshold-36 tricks.

Permanent Assignment Cards make up each participant’s starting planning hand, identified by their shared card back and the icon of their destination location (Downtown, Market Row, Workshop, and Theater). During the assignment phase, players place these cards face-down beneath their workers to secretly program which locations on the board they will visit during the placement phase. Once the turn ends, these cards return to the player’s hand to be reused.

Special Assignment Cards are introduced with the Dark Alley module and obtained by visiting that location. Much like permanent cards, they depict a specific location for worker dispatch, but have two notable differences: they are single-use (discarded after play) and feature a powerful printed bonus or effect enhancing a specific action at the destination, or can alternatively be discarded upon placement to add +1 action point directly.

Performance Cards represent available theater bills and venues in the Theater (such as Riverside Theater, Grand Magorian, and The Magnus Pantheon). Each card features a grid of interconnected slots to hold trick markers, link circles connecting adjacent tricks, and a bottom space indicating a fixed resource or Fame bonus for the Magician performing the show. As rounds pass, cards shift and get discarded to make room for higher-fame theaters.

Magician Cards define the identity of each player’s chosen illusionist. On their basic side, they display character artwork and favorite magic category, allowing them to learn tricks from that branch regardless of Downtown dice results. On their reverse (used in the advanced variant), they feature a unique asymmetric special ability altering game rules in favor of their owner.

Magician Poster Cards represent each performer’s advertising. They are used during the advertisement phase to promote shows: by paying coins equal to the player’s current initiative rank, the poster is placed on that slot and grants 2 Fame points immediately. Posters remain placed until the end-of-turn phase, when they return to player hands.

Trick Markers are square cardboard tokens in player colors, divided into sets marked by playing card suits. When a trick is prepared in the workshop, as many markers of its suit are placed onto the card as indicated by the preparation slots. Subsequently, at the Theater, these markers are moved from the trick card to empty spaces on performance cards to program acts in the show. As a general rule, markers of the same suit and color cannot be placed in the same theater.

Symbol Markers are small tokens paired with each set of trick markers. When learning a new trick Downtown and placing it in the workshop, the player must assign one of their available symbols by placing its matching marker on the card’s designated space. This creates a clear visual link between that card and the specific set of trick markers used to prepare and perform it.

Components represent materials required to prepare tricks. They come in three tiers with increasing costs: Basic (wood, metal, glass, and fabric, costing 1 coin), Advanced (rope, oil, saw, and animal, costing 2 coins), and Superior (lock, mirror, costume, and gear, costing 3 coins). Acquired or ordered at Market Row, they are stored in the workshop; they are not consumed when preparing tricks, remaining on the board to fulfill requirements for multiple preparations or similar tricks.

Coins serve as currency, available in denominations of 1 (silver) and 5 (gold). They are earned primarily through theater performances or by withdrawing funds from the Bank in Downtown. Players spend them to buy components at Market Row, fund advertising campaigns, bridge Fame threshold differences when learning tricks, and pay mandatory wages to apprentices and specialists at the end of each round.

Prophecy Tokens belong to the Dark Alley module. They introduce prophecies modifying or adding temporary rules and exceptions during the game. Positioned within the crystal ball on the board, the prophecy on the active slot affects all players for that round, while the remaining three wait as pending prophecies that enter play in subsequent rounds.

Trickerion Shards are small amber crystals representing fragments of the mythical Trickerion Stone, functioning as a special resource. Obtained by performing certain tricks, completing specific link icons on performance cards, or through the Engineer’s presence at the Theater, they serve versatile roles. In the base game, they can be spent to boost a worker with +1 immediate action point when placed at any location except the Theater, and at game end, each leftover shard converts into 1 Fame point.

In Dahlgaard’s Gifts, the Magician Power Cards module is introduced, used alongside the Dark Alley variant. These cards are divided into three color-coded decks (yellow, orange, and red), each with a required Fame threshold (1, 16, and 36) printed on them. They feature permanent special effects or modified actions in their text, along with arrows on their right edge indicating which slots on the left edge of the player board they can occupy. To learn one of these cards at the start of the Assignment phase, a player must meet or pay for the Fame threshold with coins and assign it to an open, valid slot previously unlocked with Trickerion Shards; should any of those shards be spent later, the card returns to hand.

Several concepts are introduced in Dahlgaard’s Academy. The first is the Academy Board, also double-sided, placed to the left of the main board. It features a central avenue with four worker action spaces bearing action point modifiers and banner slots. On either side sit room slots: the left column houses Classrooms, while the right column holds Practice Rooms, each displaying coin costs tied to Fame thresholds and direct Fame payouts. At the top, two slots hold available secret tiles, and the bottom section features a scoring table based on banner majorities.

Classroom Tiles represent theoretical lecture halls built in the left column of the academy board. Their backs divide them across three Fame threshold tiers (1, 16, and 36). On their front, they feature two circular spaces for academy markers, an immediate bonus icon awarded if the assigned trick matches the classroom’s tier, and a text box detailing periodic rewards (Fame, coins, or shards) provided to owners during the Classroom phase. Meanwhile, Practice Room Tiles represent training facilities built in the academy’s right column. Like classrooms, they are structured across three Fame threshold tiers (1, 16, and 36). Each tile contains two slots for academy markers and details a passive modification for the linked trick, such as reduced component requirements, higher trick marker caps, or extra preparation bonuses. At game start, certain board locations are locked using Closed Room Tiles.

Protégé Board Extensions and Protégé Disks represent the new specialist joining each illusionist’s team right from game start. The extension attaches to the player board and provides three slots for learned secrets, displaying increasing base action points (1 to 3) and associated wages (0 to 2 coins). Wooden disks physically represent the protégé; each player receives two double-sided disks with printed action point values to swap or flip as the worker learns secrets and advances.

Protégé Secret Tiles are small rectangular tiles containing special knowledge left behind by Dahlgaard. Initially placed in the two upper slots of the academy board, taking one via the corresponding action allows a player to slot it into one of their protégé extension’s three spaces, permanently granting a specific special ability and increasing their base action points or wages.

Banners are small wooden markers in player colors. Whenever a player executes the renovate action at the academy, they place banners onto spaces adjacent to the restored room (an amount decreasing in later rounds). At game end, the total number of placed banners determines majorities for bonus Fame awards.

Academy Markers are square cardboard tokens in player colors, showing the four card suits. Used when practicing or teaching at the academy, players place the marker matching their chosen trick’s suit onto a free space of the selected practice room or classroom.

Expansion Prophecy Tokens are circular tokens added to the general Dark Alley prophecy pool. Featuring art and text that temporarily alter rules during their active round, their effects center on new academy mechanics, room usage, or worker placement at that location.

Academy Permanent and Special Assignment Cards are designated for the planning phase. The permanent assignment card is added to each player’s starting hand, showing the academy symbol to allow dispatching workers to this new board. Special assignment cards form their own deck placed in the Dark Alley (along with two extra copies for existing location decks) and provide single-use boosted effects or bonuses tied to expansion actions and the protégé.

From the Dawn of Technology expansion, we have the Contraption Boards and Contraption Tokens for the four magic schools: the Tesla coil for Mechanical, the smoke machine for Optical, the hypnotizer for Spiritual, and the training apparatus for Escape. The contraption board is an elongated extension attaching to the left edge of the player board, aligning its four contraption slots with the Trickerion Shard spaces. Each space shows a coin cost to build the mechanism (which must always proceed bottom-to-top), a workshop action symbol, and the benefit provided. Contraption tokens are double-sided tiles featuring art tailored to each school. Each token has an active side and an inactive side; when built, they enter active, and to trigger their slot’s benefit before placing a worker, the player flips the token to its inactive side, reactivating it at round end if adjacent slots hold enough Trickerion Shards.

Signature Trick Cards represent exclusive, enhanced versions of familiar magic tricks tailored to each magician. On their front, they display a magic category, trick name, component requirements, action point preparation cost, marker slots, and yield symbols, alongside a unique special rule printed at the bottom (or a flexible scoring criterion for tier-3 tricks). On their reverse, they list their standard counterpart’s name and Fame threshold (1, 16, or 36). Kept set aside during setup, they can be learned Downtown in place of the base trick, provided the player has built at least as many contraptions on their board as the trick’s tier level.

That is enough to get started.

Setup

• Unfold the main board in the center of the table showing the black cat symbol for The Dark Alley.
• In 2-player or 3-player games, block two or one worker spaces with a +1 action point modifier in Downtown, Market Row, and the Dark Alley using blocking tiles.
• Separate trick cards by their four categories into four face-up decks of twelve cards each, containing all tier-1, tier-16, and tier-36 tricks. Place these decks on matching spaces at Dahlgaard Residence in Downtown.
• Form a general supply of components, coins, and Trickerion Shards.
• Place one wood, one metal, one glass, and one fabric in the Market Row purchase area.
• Shuffle the four special assignment card decks separately by location and place them face-up on their designated Dark Alley spaces.
  Draw three random prophecy tokens and place them on the pending prophecy spaces in the Dark Alley crystal ball. Leave the remaining prophecies face-down beside the board.
• Build the performance deck by randomly placing two Magnus Pantheon cards at the bottom, two Grand Magorian cards in the middle, and two Riverside Theater cards on top, placing it face-down by the Theater.
• Fill the performance slots at the Theater from left to right with random Riverside Theater cards from the leftovers equal to player count minus one.
• Place the Trickerion Stone marker on space 1 of the turn track.
• Beginning with whoever most recently wore a top hat and proceeding clockwise, each player chooses a magician whose favorite magic category has not already been chosen.
• Each player takes their corresponding player board with the black cat side up and the magician card on its Dark Alley side.
• Each player also receives:
• Their magician’s poster card.
• All trick markers and symbol markers in their color.
• All worker disks in their color, placing their magician and one apprentice onto matching board spaces, leaving remaining workers nearby as a personal reserve.
• A starting hand of six permanent assignment cards: two Theater, one Workshop, one Market Row, one Downtown, and one Dark Alley.
• One or more components of their choice from the general supply totaling exactly two coins in value, placed in their storage.
• One tier-1 trick from their magician’s favorite category, placed in their workshop and marked with a symbol marker. If all component requirements are met by starting components, place matching trick markers onto it equal to the overlapping boxes shown.
• One specialist of choice with their matching board extension and starting benefit: Manager grants two coins’ worth of components in the extension; Engineer grants an additional tier-1 trick after all initial tricks are dealt, marked with a new symbol; Assistant places an extra apprentice from reserve into the extension.
• One Trickerion Shard.
• Take one cylindrical marker per player and place them randomly on the initiative spaces on the main board to set round 1 turn order. In 2-player games, use only positions 1 and 3.
  Each player receives coins based on initiative rank: first player receives 10 coins, second receives 12, third receives 14, and fourth receives 16.
• Finally, place each player’s second marker on space 5 of the Fame track.
• If playing with Magician Powers (not recommended alongside Contraptions), add these setup steps:
  • Shuffle the three Power card decks (yellow, orange, red) separately and place them face-down near the board.
  • Each player draws 4 random Power cards of each color (12 cards total), discards 4, and keeps 8 for the game.
  • Each player receives 3 Trickerion Shards (instead of the usual 1) and places them on the left edge of their player board over printed symbols, bottom-to-top.
• If playing with Contraptions (not recommended alongside Magician Powers), add these setup steps:
  • Each player takes the Contraption Board for their favorite magic category and places it to the left of their player board, aligning slots with shard symbols.
  • Take the 4 matching Contraption tokens and set them beside the player area.
  • Receive 1 additional starting Trickerion Shard (for a total of 2), placed on the bottom two shard symbols on the board edge.
  • Set aside each magician’s Signature Trick card.
  • Players choosing The Mechanic, Lumenia the Radiant, The Priestess of Mysticism, or Professor Bernard may pay 1 shard to place their tier-1 signature trick directly in their workshop as their starting trick instead of a standard one (this cannot replace the Engineer’s bonus trick).
• If playing with Dahlgaard’s Academy, add these setup steps:
  • Place the Academy board left of the main board, showing the 10-room side for 4 players or 8-room side for 2–3 players.
  • Place closed room tiles on designated spaces: at 4 players, cover A and B (leaving 6 open); at 3 players, cover A (leaving 6 open); at 2 players, cover A and B (leaving 4 open).
  • Place room opening tokens on the turn track: at 2 and 4 players, place tokens on rounds IV and VI; at 3 players, place one on round V.
  • Separate practice room and classroom tiles by type and Fame requirement (1, 16, 36) into six face-down piles near the Academy board.
  • Shuffle secret tiles into a face-down pile on the Academy board and reveal two face-up in the designated spaces.
  • Shuffle two new special assignment cards for each of the four original locations into Downtown, Market Row, Workshop, and Theater decks.
  • Shuffle the fourteen Academy special assignment cards and place them face-up in the Dark Alley space between prophecies and assignment decks.
  • Discard seven base prophecy tokens at random and add seven new ones to the pool before revealing any.
  • Each player takes the Protégé extension and two protégé disks, placing the 1-action-point disk on the worker slot.
  • Add the Academy permanent assignment card to hand.
  • Take four Academy markers, one of each suit.
  • Receive 2 additional coins above the initiative starting amount and place the Fame marker on space 3 of the track.

We are ready to begin!

Game Flow

A game of Trickerion: Legends of Illusion is played over seven rounds. Each round consists of six phases.

Phase I: Setup

The first player rolls the 6 Downtown dice and places them onto their matching colored spaces. The result dictates which tricks can be learned, which workers are available for hire, and how many coins may be withdrawn from the bank.

Phase II: Set Initiative Order

Initiative markers are rearranged in reverse order of accumulated Fame: the player with the lowest Fame takes first position, and the player with the most takes last. In case of ties, their relative order from the previous round is inverted. This phase is skipped during the first round.

Phase III: Advertise

Following the newly determined initiative order, each player may advertise their performance once per turn. To do so, place your poster card on your initiative slot and pay coins equal to your position on that track (1 to 4 coins). In return, immediately gain 2 Fame points.

Phase IV: Assignment

Simultaneously and in secret, players program their workers by placing an Assignment Card (Permanent or Special) face-down beneath each available disk on their board. Each card represents one of the five locations: Downtown, Market Row, Workshop, Theater, or Dark Alley. Workers without an assigned card remain idle for the round.

The phase ends once all players have finalized assignments for all their workers.

Additionally, during this phase, each player may learn up to one Magician Power card from their hand. To learn a Power card, place it face-up next to one of the Power slots on the left edge of your player board, meeting all three of the following conditions simultaneously:

• Valid Slot. The chosen slot must be permitted by the card (indicated by an arrow on its right edge).
• Open Slot. The slot must be fully open. A slot is considered open only if all of its printed Trickerion Shard symbols are covered by shards.
• Fame Threshold. The player’s current Fame must equal or exceed the threshold required by the card (1, 16, or 36). Alternatively, pay the exact difference between current Fame and the threshold in coins to learn it.

If learning a Power in an already occupied slot, return the previous card to hand before placing the new one.

Throughout the game, Trickerion Shards are not kept in a loose personal supply, but on the left edge of the player board over Power slot symbols:

• When gaining shards, they must be placed from bottom to top along the symbol column (starting with the lowest slot requiring 1 shard). Excess shards that cannot fit on board spaces are kept aside.
• When spending shards, remove them from top to bottom (spending unslotted excess shards first). If removing a shard closes a Power slot containing an active card, that card is immediately returned to your hand.
• With Contraptions, having shards on matching symbols is required to reactivate contraptions at round end.

If playing with Dahlgaard’s Academy, workers may also be assigned to the Academy using the new assignment card.

Phase V: Placement

All players reveal their assignment cards simultaneously. Beginning with the first player in initiative order and alternating clockwise, each player places one worker onto an open space at the location designated on their card.

Upon placement, the worker calculates available action points by summing base value (1 for Apprentice, 2 for Specialist, 3 for Magician), printed board space modifiers, and bonuses (such as spending 1 Trickerion Shard for +1 action point, except at the Theater, or triggering special assignment effects). These points must be spent immediately on that location’s actions.

If using Contraptions, these may be triggered before placing a worker, unless stated otherwise on the ability. Activating a contraption flips it to its inactive side.

Primary actions available by location include:

• Downtown. Acquire tricks, staff, and capital:
  • Learn Trick (3 Action Points). Take an available Trick card from Dahlgaard Residence matching the category die (or the Magician’s favorite category) and place it into an open Workshop slot with a symbol marker. The player must meet or exceed the trick’s Fame threshold (paying coin differences if lower). Then, turn the die to its “X” face. With Contraptions, a player may learn their Signature Trick (matching their specialty) if they have sufficient Fame and built the required contraptions. The base counterpart is removed from the trick deck (if another player has it, they keep it; if the owner has it, it replaces it).
  • Hire Worker (3 Action Points). Choose an Inn die and add the matching worker to your team (Apprentice or Specialist: Assistant, Engineer, Manager). The die turns to “X”, and the worker joins at round end along with their board extension if a specialist.
  • Take Money (3 Action Points). Receive coins from the bank matching the selected bank die value, then turn it to “X”.
  • Reroll Die (1 Action Point). Reroll any single Downtown die.
  • Set Die (2 Action Points). Change any single die face to a face of your choice.
• Market Row. Acquire trick components:
  • Buy (1 Action Point). Purchase up to 3 components of the same type in the buy area, paying their coin cost to the supply (1 for Basic, 2 for Advanced, 3 for Superior).
  • Bargain (1 Action Point). Used alongside a Buy action; reduces total purchase cost by 1 coin per point spent (cannot reduce total below 1).
  • Order (1 Action Point). Place an unstocked component from supply into the order area to arrive next round.
  • Quick Order (2 Action Points). Immediately place any component into the Quick Order slot, making it available for purchase that turn by all players at a +1 coin surcharge.
• Workshop. Personal space to assemble tricks:
  • Prepare Trick (1 to 3 Action Points depending on trick). If possessing all required components and the trick has no markers, place trick markers on it equal to its printed marker capacity (components remain in storage). In the Engineer’s slot, gain 1 additional marker.
  • Specialist Actions (1 Action Point each). Move tricks to the Engineer’s slot, shift components to Manager multi-storage spaces, or reassign apprentices to the Assistant slot.
  • Build Contraption (with Contraptions) (1 Action Point). Build the next contraption (bottom-to-top) by paying printed coins. Placed active-side up (can be built even without shards present in adjacent spaces).
• Dark Alley. Clandestine zone offering exclusive actions:
  • Draw First Special Card (1 Action Point). Draw the top card from any of the four Special Assignment decks and add it to hand.
  • Draw Additional Cards (2 Action Points each). Draw extra Special Assignment cards within the same turn.
  • Prophesize (1 Action Point). Rotate all pending prophecy tokens clockwise inside the crystal ball to manipulate upcoming events.
• Theater. Prepare and stage performances. Players must place workers on a single day (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday) not claimed by an opponent. Magicians may go backstage to set up shows or enter the lower performance slots to perform. Available actions:
  • Set Up Trick (1 Action Point). Move a trick marker from the workshop to an open slot on a Performance card, adhering to placement restrictions. If matching adjacent connected symbols, form a Link (active player gains immediate Fame or Coins based on linked trick tier, and all involved players gain 1 Trickerion Shard if the link shows a shard icon).
  • Rearrange (1 Action Point). Move one of your trick markers to another slot across performance cards without generating link bonuses.
  • Perform (Magician only). Programmed by placing the Magician on the performance slot for that day, forfeiting direct action points to execute the show during the next phase.
• The Academy (with Dahlgaard’s Academy). Resolves actions tied to academy facilities and the protégé:
  • Renovate (2 Action Points). Pay coins matching an empty room’s Fame threshold to place a Classroom or Practice Room tile, gaining Fame and placing Banners on adjacent spaces based on the current round number.
  • Practice (1 to 3 Action Points). Place a learned trick’s marker into a practice room for ongoing enhancements. Costs action points equal to the trick tier.
  • Teach (1 to 3 Action Points). Place a trick’s marker into a classroom. Costs action points equal to trick tier. The trick can no longer be prepared in the Workshop, but grants recurring passive yields.
  • Learn Secret (2 Action Points). Equip an available secret tile onto the protégé to grant permanent special abilities, increase base Action Points (up to 3), and raise wages (up to 2 coins).
  • Discover New Secrets (1 Action Point). If an empty secret slot exists, reveal a new secret tile and place it there.

Phase VI: Performance

Following weekday order (Thursday through Sunday), if a player assigned their Magician to perform, proceed as follows:

• Select a Performance card containing at least one personal trick marker and execute every trick on that card (including rivals’ tricks, who act as guest performers).
• Each player with tricks on the card receives printed yields (Fame, Coins, Shards). Day modifiers apply: Thursday incurs -1 Fame and -1 Coin penalty per trick; Sunday awards a +1 Fame and +1 Coin bonus per trick.
• Performer Bonuses. The performing Magician exclusively gains +1 extra Fame per completed Link on the card, the printed venue bonus at the base, and bonuses from backstage specialists present that day (2 Fame for Assistant, 3 Coins for Manager, 1 Shard for Engineer).
• Once concluded, all performed trick markers return to their owners’ supplies.

Phase VII: Classroom (with Dahlgaard’s Academy)

Resolve the following:

• Remove markers. If a trick in a Classroom still has markers in the Theater or Workshop, return them to player supply.
• Collect yields. In initiative order, players receive passive payouts (Fame, Coins, Shards) generated by tricks assigned to Classrooms.

Phase VIII: End of Round

Perform end-of-round maintenance:

• Pay Wages. Pay 1 coin per active Apprentice (except the free Assistant extension slot) and 2 coins per Specialist. For each unpaid coin, lose 2 Fame points.
• Discard Used Special Cards. Discard played Special Assignment cards face-down, then cycle top cards of each alley deck to the bottom. Unused cards under unplaced workers return to hand.
• Cycle Prophecies. Discard the active Prophecy, advance the first Pending Prophecy to active status, slide others forward, and reveal a new tile.
• Retrieve Workers. All workers return to personal boards. Newly hired specialists attach their extensions.
• Deliver Orders. Ordered components move to buy slots, replacing prior items, and Quick Order components are removed.
• Shift Performance Cards. Performance cards shift clockwise; starting round 3, the oldest card and any unperformed tricks on it are discarded, drawing a replacement on the far left.
• Retrieve Posters. Advertising posters return to hands.
• Advance Round. Advance the Trickerion Stone marker on the round tracker.
• With Dahlgaard’s Academy, if the round marker lands on an opening token, remove two Closed Room tiles marked “A” or “B”.
• Unclaimed Academy secrets cycle to the bottom of the pile, and two new ones are drawn.
• With Contraptions, players reactivate contraptions that have all shard spaces occupied. Some contraptions yield bonus Fame upon reactivation, scored immediately.

A new round then begins.

Game End

The game ends following the maintenance phase of the seventh round. Final scoring follows in initiative order, awarding bonus Fame:

• 1 Fame point per unspent shard (unless playing with Magician Powers where they score no points without card effects, or with Contraptions where 2 shards yield 1 point).
• 1 Fame point per 3 leftover coins.
• 2 Fame points per unplayed Special Assignment card kept in hand.
• Each tier-36 trick awards Fame based on printed conditions, provided its component requirements are met.
• With Dahlgaard’s Academy, bonus Fame is awarded for banner majorities placed during renovations. Additionally, Fame scored from leftover shards, coins, special cards, and each tier-3 trick is capped at 20 Fame per category.

The player with the most Fame is declared the winner. In case of a tie, the player farthest ahead in initiative order breaks the tie.

Variants

Without the Dark Alley. The main board is flipped to its standard side without the Dark Alley, leaving special assignment cards and prophecy tokens in the box. The game lasts five rounds, and final scoring awards 1 Fame point per unspent shard, 1 Fame point per 3 coins, 2 Fame points per hired Apprentice, and 3 Fame points per hired Specialist.

Duel of Magicians. During setup, form a face-up deck of 7 Turn Setup cards (or 5 without the Dark Alley) and replace standard Performance cards with those featuring preprinted gray trick markers. In play, after rolling Downtown dice each round, reveal the top Turn Setup card to block two worker slots in Downtown, Market Row, and Dark Alley, plus two Theater performance days using blocking tiles; the upcoming round’s card remains visible to aid advance planning. Additionally, when staging tricks at the Theater, players can form extra links with preprinted gray markers. All other rules apply normally.

Solo Mode. The player faces an automated bot called “The Heir”. At the start of each round, setup dice are rolled to block action spaces, and following the player’s planning, a plan card is revealed dictating where the bot assigns workers. The card adopts a stance (“Ready” or “Exhausted”) depending on the automaton’s tricks, driving its priorities. During placement, the bot prioritizes contested locations. On its turn, it ignores shards and wages, executing automated actions from set priority tables: learning tricks or hiring specialists Downtown, reserving and discarding components at the Market, renovating rooms, learning secrets, or teaching tricks at the Academy, and staging performances at the Theater to maximize links. Its tricks stay prepared and produce passive classroom revenue. At game end, both score Fame, tier-3 trick bonuses, and Academy renovation majorities.

Personal Opinion

Whenever I am asked about my favorite board game mechanisms, I hesitate, because two have always held a special place in my heart: worker placement and action programming. Both share a very clear foundation: the demand for anticipation, reading the board, and that constant tightrope-walking sensation where every single decision carries a massive opportunity cost.

On the one hand, worker placement represents the pinnacle of indirect interaction and scarcity management. Its greatest virtue lies in turning the board into a finite resource where turn order is often vital. Each occupied action space slams a door in your opponents’ faces, forcing plans to be rethought on the fly. This dynamic produces a delightful tension where it is not just about what action you need, but when to grab it before someone else steals your spot. It is an ongoing tug-of-war of blockades, tempo, and optimization where every worker placed carries weight.

Action programming, on the other hand, pushes the cognitive demand a step further by stripping away immediacy. It forces you to project several moves ahead through blind or simultaneous planning, calculating your own logistical needs while predicting your rivals’ intent. The resulting dynamic delivers pure strategic adrenaline: the unmatched thrill of watching an intricate plan unfold seamlessly against the agony of seeing an opponent disrupt the supply chain you meticulously prepared.

I find it difficult to pick a favorite because these mechanisms are so dominant that they rarely coexist in a single design. There are, however, notable exceptions, and today we examine one of them. Let us see how Trickerion: Legends of Illusion behaves on the table.

Before going further, I must mention a specific quirk regarding this tocho-review. Because so much time elapsed between the original release and having the opportunity to write this review, modern editions generally bundle all expansions (including Dahlgaard’s Academy, Dahlgaard’s Gifts, Dawn of Technology, and the later additions). My analysis is based on the Collector’s Edition, which includes Dahlgaard’s Academy, Dahlgaard’s Gifts, and Dawn of Technology. Therefore, as you may have noted in the sections above, I am also including impressions of Dahlgaard’s Academy alongside the mini-expansions Dahlgaard’s Gifts and Dawn of Technology.

In Trickerion: Legends of Illusion, we journey back to the late 19th century into the cobbled streets of Magoria, a Victorian, steampunk-tinged metropolis that was once the undisputed world capital of illusion. That golden era faded following the sudden onstage disappearance of Dahlgaard the Magnificent, the city’s benefactor and greatest illusionist of all time.

Decades later, an enigmatic invitation breaks the silence: Dahlgaard himself returns from the shadows to reveal the secret of the Trickerion Stone. A relic capable of bestowing extraordinary abilities upon its bearer. He will only bestow it upon the most deserving successor. To find one, he summons four virtuoso masters of escape, mechanics, spiritualism, and optics to compete across five intense weeks. Amid workshop gizmos, bustling markets, and footlights of the grand theater, each magician must demonstrate unmatched skill and accumulate enough renown to claim the legacy.

Every round in Trickerion: Legends of Illusion represents a full week of preparations and performances in bustling Magoria. Everything begins early, as downtown opportunities are rolled out and morning newspapers gauge the pulse of fame: lagging magicians seize initiative to pull ahead on the streets, while billboard advertisements let players purchase an immediate flash of public notoriety.

With the day ahead, work starts behind closed doors inside each troupe’s headquarters. In strict privacy, using simultaneous action programming, each illusionist plots their logistical scheme by secretly assigning an assignment card to every member of the team: apprentices eager for grunt work, specialists like managers, engineers, or assistants honing resources, and the headlining magician leading the bill. Tension fills the air when orders are revealed simultaneously: intentions are laid bare, and the scramble begins to claim prime city spots before rivals crowd the venues.

Traversing Magoria is a choreography of logistics and wit where worker placement takes center stage. Players alternate sending workers to pre-programmed destinations, claiming action spaces with modifiers that add to or subtract from the worker’s base value.

Locations include Downtown, where players visit Dahlgaard’s private residence to uncover new tricks, head to the tavern to recruit staff, or visit the bank for liquidity. Down Market Row, crews negotiate raw materials—from basic fabrics and wood to elaborate locks, mirrors, or costumes—often ordering specialty supplies rounds in advance if stock is missing from market stalls.

All these materials converge back at the workshop, where stagehands assemble contraptions and perfect illusions, preparing trick markers destined to dazzle audiences. Over in the Dark Alley, one can acquire single-use special assignment cards that enrich future planning phases.

The weekly rush peaks under the grand Theater’s footlights, the true climax of the round. Backstage, stagehands and illusionists slot their routines onto performance playbills, aiming to synchronize and link matching magic categories to wow the audience.

From Thursday through Sunday, illusionists who reserved stage time put on full performances for packed auditoriums. This is the climactic payoff: box-office receipts swell coin reserves, critics shower praise in the form of Fame points, and memorable evenings yield prized Trickerion Shards. Magic carries an involuntary collaborative twist, however: any rival tricks featured on that same bill are performed as well, letting opponents reap rewards as guest artists off your stage time, though connecting links award bonus points to the headliner.

When Sunday’s curtain falls, the aftermath demands settling the books. Staff wages must be paid to avoid scandal and lost Fame, warehouse shipments arrive, and stage gear is cleared before the round marker advances toward the finale. Only the player who balances stage virtuosity, backstage rigor, and audience favor will see their name etched as the new legend of illusion.

With that, you have ample context to appreciate the dynamics generated by Trickerion: Legends of Illusion. A session feels like walking an unrelenting tightrope where every choice threatens to push you over a logistical cliff.

At the round’s onset, as new Downtown dice rolls and the active Dark Alley prophecy are revealed, players immediately confront their first dilemma depending on turn order. The catch-up system allows the player trailing in Fame to advertise early at a discounted cost while going first during worker placement. Typically, that trailing player will gladly spend a coin to gain two Fame points. The situation differs for leading players, whose promotional costs escalate the higher they sit on the initiative track. Protecting a lead gets expensive and requires careful math, lest you run short of coins to fund crucial actions later.

The assignment phase is where the real brain burn happens. Holding assignment cards, you face blind programming where the margin for error is razor-thin. Surveying the board and opponent workers sparks agonizing internal debate. You must continuously calculate how many action points you will get when sending a worker to a given location. Deducing rival plans is paramount to beat them to key spaces. For instance, a player low on funds is unlikely to visit Market Row, where they cannot buy anything. If someone lacks prepared tricks, at least one worker will almost certainly head to their workshop. Still, Downtown remains the most nerve-wracking hub, as opportunities there are strictly constrained by dice rolls.

Once cards are revealed, worker placement begins. Armed with the knowledge of where every opposing worker is headed, you must decide the deployment order for your pawns. Sending a worker to Market Row to secure high action points risks letting an opponent snatch Sunday at the Theater, depriving you of valuable bonuses. Yet prioritizing the stage may mean that by the time you reach Downtown, the dice showing your coveted tricks have already been flipped to their spent side. Add Trickerion Shard management to the equation: is it worth burning a magical crystal for that extra action point to secure a massive turn, or should you hoard it for end-game scoring?

Room Detail[/cite]

The true linchpin of every round resides in the Theater, where all efforts culminate. Dispatching a worker to the theater (provided it is not the Magician claiming performance rights) lets players slot prepared tricks onto performance cards. Staging your acts on an empty bill ensures you pocket all the glory, but linking tricks onto a rival’s card might coax them into running the show for you.

While linking provides extra rewards for the headlining magician, guest performers still enjoy substantial payouts without burning their own magician’s action. It all feeds the race for Fame, which is predominantly scored during this final stage.

As you can see, Trickerion: Legends of Illusion is an intricate, layered design that stands as a flagship title in modern heavy eurogaming—trading mechanical minimalism and short playtime for an immersive, sprawling thematic experience.

Planning Detail[/cite]

Its thematic setting is precisely what captivates its supporters. Few heavy games evoke such an evocative atmosphere: diving headfirst into the cutthroat rivalry of late 19th-century stage magic evokes films like Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige. Every element, from staff recruitment to promotional billboards, feels naturally integrated into the world.

Mechanically, the synthesis of action programming and worker placement remains its standout achievement. Blind planning injects risk management that keeps downtime reasonable during assignment selection (unless prone to severe overthinking), which then gives way to knife-fight competition over prime board spaces. The Theater grid system shines brightly: placing markers to build links offers a satisfying spatial puzzle while weaving in sharp indirect interaction where you can piggyback on opponent performances or force them to showcase your tricks.

Long-term strategic depth via character progression is equally impressive. As the game unfolds, higher-tier tricks emerge alongside Dark Alley powers and prophecies, providing a rich decision space that rewards system mastery. Constructing an intricate engine and watching it peak on a grand performance night delivers immense satisfaction for fans of complex puzzles.

Components Detail[/cite]

Yet this heavy thematic detail and conceptual density inevitably inflate game length. At four players, sessions easily stretch beyond three hours and approach four. High combinatorial complexity and the fear of a botched move invite severe analysis paralysis, both during card programming and when calculating action point spend, turning the session into an exhausting mental marathon.

That heaviness can also foster a feeling of dry micro-management that clashes with the fantasy of being a master illusionist. For some, the experience boils down to administrative bureaucracy: cross-referencing trick catalogs like trade manuals, waiting rounds for a spool of rope to hit market stalls, or wrestling with tight workshop storage. Rather than channeling stage virtuosity, you may feel like a clerk managing warehouse inventory.

The design is also unforgiving, offering minimal safety nets if someone blocks your required space or downtown dice rolls go against you. A single bungled turn can leave workers stranded and dig an inescapable hole against frontrunners, fueling a runaway leader problem.

Market Detail[/cite]

Flaws aside, I thoroughly appreciate this design; alongside Anachrony (read its tocho-review here), it stands as Mindclash Games’ finest work. It is baroque, lengthy, and packed with easily overlooked rules during early plays. Provided the game flows without major AP stalls, the payoff is remarkably rewarding.

Regarding player count, Trickerion truly shines at three or four players. At three, board spaces are scaled back, maintaining tension and unpredictability within a crisper timeframe. Four players offers the premier experience, provided everyone accepts the longer runtime and potential analysis paralysis. At two players, the game relies on an automated module that, in my opinion, fails to capture the true spark of the system.

Replayability presents a bit of a hurdle. At its core, it remains a heavy eurogame. Requiring a three-hour block to avoid feeling rushed is a tall order, making regular table appearances difficult for busy groups. It belongs in that “event game” category where players must share a genuine passion for the system to justify keeping it in the collection—much like Anachrony, Hegemony, or other three-hour titans.

Secrets Detail[/cite]

Let us discuss the expansions. The most substantial is Dahlgaard’s Academy, whose standout addition is the protégé worker paired with secret tiles. This new worker acts as a blank slate tailored across the game, unlocking asymmetric abilities that introduce welcome tactical nuance. Having an extra worker from round one alleviates the base game’s worker bottleneck, allowing broader strategic agency and higher scores.

The Academy board introduces an engaging parallel management track. Practice Rooms enhance trick values upon performance, while Classrooms generate recurring passive yields each round without spending the Magician’s turn onstage, albeit for modest gains. Constructing and staffing rooms opens a long-term economic path rewarding steady coin investment with end-game bonuses, multiplying developmental dilemmas.

At the same time, the room mechanism can dilute the base game’s dramatic arc. In the base game, all tension funnels into the Theater and weekend performances; Dahlgaard’s Academy introduces point-salad systems that pull focus away from that stage climax. For some, setting up classrooms feels like an abstract distraction from what made Trickerion brilliant: stage rivalries and playbill competition. It also slows the game’s pacing, noticeably stretching runtime. Adding an extra board and more action choices to an already heavy game elevates downtime unless everyone is well-versed in the rules.

Fame Detail[/cite]

Looking at Dahlgaard’s Gifts, its primary feature is enabling 2-player matches via the Duel of Magicians module. By dynamically blocking placement spaces each round and utilizing performance cards with preprinted neutral markers, it mimics the tightness of a four-player board and prevents games from feeling sparse, though it still does not fully win me over.

I find the Magician Powers module far more engaging, injecting rich asymmetry and thematic flair. Giving each performer personal abilities and tricks makes troupes feel distinct. Unlocking them by storing Trickerion Shards in board slots gives those crystals a compelling secondary purpose, unlocking rules-bending combinations and dramatic momentum swings.

Certain power cards, however, prove significantly stronger than others, enabling aggressive plays like taking turns out of order that can disrupt competitive balance. This balance issue is worsened by initial setup: discarding four cards from an opening hand without a draft introduces setup luck that can skew games unfairly. Furthermore, tracking opponent powers on top of assignment cards and Dark Alley options adds cognitive strain, exacerbating downtime.

Tricks Detail[/cite]

Lastly, Dawn of Technology succeeds by streamlining and refining the asymmetry attempted by Magician Powers. Contraptions distill special abilities into intuitive bonus actions that are far easier to manage at the table.

They represent a sensible investment in coins and shards, granting immediate utility to smooth daily actions without inflating downtime or administrative bloat. Including personalized signature tricks reinforces each school’s thematic flavor. Starting with a signature trick aligned with your magician sets a clear strategic direction, focusing market shopping and show preparations without muddling core board tension.

Moving on to production values, the Collector’s Edition boasts superb quality in most areas, with a few missteps. Cardboard chits feature excellent thickness and density. In contrast, player boards and extensions are made of thin cardstock prone to warping. Wooden tokens feature classic shapes with clean screen printing. Cards boast high-grade linen finish and snappy resilience. Shards are standard translucent plastic gems. Rulebooks are well-organized and thorough. Best of all, custom plastic inserts keep this vast inventory organized for quick table setup and teardown.

Theater Detail[/cite]

Visually, the game excels with a Victorian steampunk aesthetic capturing the golden age of 19th-century stage illusion. The box resembles a vintage grimoire with gold filigree on burgundy. Inside, components display detailed art: promotional posters emulate period advertisements, while trick cards feature theatrical narrative illustrations. The sprawling main board delivers an architectural view of Magoria, marrying strong thematic immersion with clear board legibility. It is a rich visual feast loaded with aged textures and warm palettes that heighten the entire experience.

And let’s wrap this up. Trickerion: Legends of Illusion is a mammoth eurogame intertwining simultaneous action programming with worker placement. Planning moves blindly before fighting tooth and nail over action points builds exceptional tension, peaking at a Theater where linking routines sparks brilliant indirect interaction. It delivers an absorbing 19th-century setting that few heavy games match, offering a deeply satisfying arc for those craving an intricate strategic challenge. That baroque complexity extracts a toll: heavy combinatorial options can trigger punishing analysis paralysis, while logistical upkeep occasionally feels like dry inventory management where early blunders leave little room to recover. Still, for groups seeking a rich, rewarding heavyweight experience where every detail matters, the design delivers a truly spectacular show. For all these reasons, I give it a…