Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
Prepare Your Place of Power! In a high tower, an Alchemist prepares potions, using vials filled with otherworldly fluids.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Open Drafting
Select cards or items from a shared face-up display.
Income
Receive recurring resources according to your position, assets, or development.
Hand Management
Time and sequence a limited hand of cards to preserve future options.
Race
Compete to reach a destination, threshold, or objective before opponents.
Score-and-Reset Game
Score repeated rounds or hands, then reset the play state and continue.
Read the full game description
Prepare Your Place of Power! In a high tower, an Alchemist prepares potions, using vials filled with otherworldly fluids. In a sacred grove, a Druid grinds herbs for a mystical ritual. In the catacombs, a Necromancer summons a bone dragon... Welcome to the world of Res Arcana! In it, Life, Death, Elan, Calm, and Gold are the essences that fuel the art of magic. Choose your mage, gather essences, craft unique artifacts, and use them to summon dragons, conquer places of power, and achieve victory! A game typically lasts 4-6 rounds. In each round, players do these steps: Collect essences: performs any Collect abilities, and may take essences from components. Do actions, 1 per turn, clockwise from the First Player: place an artifact, claim a monument or Place of Power, discard a card for 1 Gold or any 2 other essences, use a power on a straightened component, or pass: exchange magic items and draw 1 card. Play continues until all players have passed. Pass procedure: If you are first to pass, take the First Player token, swap your magic item for a different magic item, draw 1 card. Check victory points (10+ VPs). If no one has won: straighten all turned components, and begin the next round.