Overview

Grimoire is a game for 2-5 players where wizards compete by selecting spells from their personal Grimoires (spell books). Each round, players simultaneously choose a spell to either help themselves or hinder their opponents, then gain Companions or Treasure to help them toward victory. The player with the most Victory Points (VP) at game end wins.

Components

• 5 Grimoires (spell books)
• 5 Bookmarks
• 1 Game Board (with Quest Card Zone, Spell Level Chart, VP Token Area, Item/Quest Deck areas)
• 74 Quest Cards (Treasures and Companions)
• 21 Item Cards
• 30 VP Tokens (values of 1, 2, and 5)
• 1 Spell Level Marker
• 5 Turn Order Markers (numbered 1-5)
• 15 Common Spell cards

Setup

1. Place the Game Board in the center of the table.
2. Place all VP Tokens in the VP Token Area on the board.
3. Shuffle the Item Card and Quest Card decks and place them in their designated areas on the board.
4. Put the Spell Level Marker under the “6” on the Spell Level Chart.
5. Put the Turn Order markers off to the side.
6. Give each player a Grimoire and the corresponding Bookmark.
7. Each player’s space in front of them is their “Territory” where they keep Quest Cards, Item Cards, and VP Tokens.

Turn Structure

Each round consists of three phases:

1. Setup Phase

Advance the Spell Level Marker: Move the Spell Level Marker to the next numbered area on the chart (skipped in the first round; do not advance past 15).

Place Quest Cards: Draw cards from the Quest Deck equal to the number of players plus 1. Place one card face down (two in a 5-player game) and the rest face up in the Quest Card Zone. If the Quest Deck is empty, shuffle the Discard Area to form a new deck. If both Quest Deck and Discard Area are empty, the game ends immediately.

2. Book Phase (simultaneous)

Choose Spells: Each player secretly selects a Spell from their Grimoire by placing their Bookmark on that page and closing the book. The chosen Spell’s level cannot exceed the current Spell Level shown on the chart.

Reveal Spells: All players simultaneously open their books to reveal their chosen Spells.

Determine Player Order:

• Group A: Players who selected a Spell no other player selected.
• Group B: Players who selected the same Spell as one or more other players.
• Group A players receive Turn Order Tokens first, ordered by Spell Level (lowest level = #1).
• Group B players receive remaining tokens, ordered by Spell Level and previous round’s turn order (player who went later last round gets the lower number).
• Time Spells (Acceleration or Time Stop) take effect at this point.

3. Quest Phase (in turn order)

Each player, in turn order, performs these actions:

Use the Book Effect: Apply the effect of their chosen Spell.

Take a Quest Card: Choose one Quest Card from the Quest Card Zone. Companions are placed face up in the player’s Territory; Treasures are placed face down. When taking a face-down card, the player looks at it secretly first.

After all players complete their actions, remaining Quest Cards in the Quest Card Zone go to the Discard Area.

Actions

Spell List

• Luck (Level 1): May discard the face-down Quest Card from the Zone; if so, draw blindly from the Quest Deck to replace it.
• Silence (Level 2): Between now and end of round, other players’ Forbidden Spell effects are negated.
• Cure (Level 4): Shuffle discards face down and randomly draw one.
• Acceleration (Level 5): Time Spell – effect used during Book Phase, not Quest Phase.
• Resistance (Level 6): Defensive Spell – protects against targeting spells (Charm, Polymorph, Domination).
• Creation (Level 7): Draw an Item Card; keep it secret and place face down in your Territory. Exception: “Blessed Shoes” may be used immediately upon drawing.
• Charm (Level 9): Target the player with the most Companions (caster chooses if tied). Players who used Defensive Spells this round are ignored when determining the target.
• Summon Elemental (Level 10): Can be used even if tied for the lowest total.
• Time Stop (Level 11): Time Spell – reverses Turn Order Tokens during the Book Phase; defensive effect continues through the Quest Phase.
• Polymorph (Level 12): Affects other players’ VP Tokens only (not Quest or Item Cards). Targets the player with the highest total VP (caster chooses if tied). Defensive Spell users are ignored.
• Domination (Level 14): Targets the player with the most Companions (caster chooses if tied). Defensive Spell users are ignored.
• Wish (Level 15): Shuffle all discards face down and randomly draw three cards. If Quest Deck and Discard Pile are depleted during this effect, keep any cards obtained and the game ends.

Item Cards

• Drawn only through the Creation Spell or related effects.
• Placed face down in Territory.
• If the Item Deck runs out, no more Item Cards can be drawn.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Game End Triggers:

• A player has 10 Companion Quest Cards OR 10 Treasure Quest Cards in their Territory at any time during a turn – finish the current round, then the game ends.
• If both the Quest Deck and Discard Area run out of cards when a Quest Card needs to be drawn, the game ends immediately.

Final Scoring:

• Some Quest Cards (Rogue, Prince, Queen, King) and Junk Item Cards modify VP at game end.
• Determine the value of those cards, then add VP from all Quest Cards, Item Cards, and VP Tokens.
• The player with the highest total VP wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Spell Level restriction: You cannot choose a spell with a level higher than the current Spell Level Marker position.
• Forbidden Spell effects: Some spells are classified as Forbidden Spells; their effects can be negated by Silence.
• Defensive Spells: Resistance and Time Stop protect against targeted spells (Charm, Polymorph, Domination). Players using Defensive Spells are ignored when determining targets.
• Duplicate spell selection: Players who choose the same spell as another player are penalized in turn order – they always go after players who chose unique spells, regardless of spell level.
• Face-down cards: Treasures and Item Cards are kept face down in a player’s Territory (hidden information).
• Quest Card Zone scaling: In 2-4 player games, 1 card is face down; in 5-player games, 2 cards are face down. Additional Quest Card Zone spaces open with more players.

Player Reference

Round sequence: Setup Phase > Book Phase > Quest Phase

Spell Levels: 1 (Luck), 2 (Silence), 4 (Cure), 5 (Acceleration), 6 (Resistance), 7 (Creation), 9 (Charm), 10 (Summon Elemental), 11 (Time Stop), 12 (Polymorph), 14 (Domination), 15 (Wish)

Game end: 10 Companions OR 10 Treasures in one player’s Territory, or Quest Deck + Discard both empty

Turn order priority: Unique spell (Group A, by level) > Duplicate spell (Group B, by level then previous order)

Defensive Spells: Resistance, Time Stop – protect from Charm, Polymorph, Domination