Spellbook: Winning Strategies for Magical Mastery

Spellbook is a captivating game of strategy and magical prowess, and it has quickly become one of my favorite light filler games. Whether you’re a newcomer still mastering the basics or an experienced player looking to refine your tactics, this article will provide you with key strategies to outmaneuver your opponents, procure the most effective spells, and secure victory in this enchanting game.

Remember the ultimate goal of the game

There is no set number of rounds (days) in Spellbook, so the length of the game can vary quite a bit based on how each player plays. It can be tempting to try to score as many points as possible, or to just stay ahead of your opponent throughout the game. However, the goal of the game isn’t to rack up a ton of points. The ultimate goal is to end the game with more points than your opponent.

There are two ways to end the game: filling all of the spaces on your Familiar, or learning all 7 of your spells. If you have more points than your opponent and you can rush to trigger one of these conditions then you should absolutely do so. Don’t be tempted to accumulate more points if it means you give your opponent time to catch up – end the game while you’re ahead!

Focus on one or two spells at a time

With only 9 spaces available in your materia pool, you can’t afford to keep a large variety of colors. In order to learn a spell you’ll need at least 3 of a single color (more if you want to learn a higher level of that spell). Because of the restrictions on your materia pool, you’ll want to focus on accumulating just one or two colors.

This really comes down to having one or two clear short-term goals toward which to work. Choose one or two spells you want to focus on (often guided by the materia currently in your pool) and devote all of your attention to learning them. Of course, you’ll probably need to supplement your primary color materia with wild materia to learn higher level spells, but you should generally avoid having a materia pool that looks like a rainbow.

Use your Familiar to clear unwanted materia

This is one of the most fundamental and important strategies in Spellbook. The more materia you store on your Familiar, the more points you score. However, the points are only part of the benefit. Storing materia lets you clear your materia pool of unwanted colors and/or rune shapes. In general, if you have one or more materia that aren’t directly contributing to your short-term spell-learning goals, you should store a materia on your Familiar to clear up space and score you some easy points.

CHECK IT OUT: I enjoy playing Spellbook on BGA, but it’s even better over the board! You can check the price here on Amazon.

Another consideration for your stored materia is the type of rune. When a spell like Communion is present, the type of rune you store can become very important. Level 4 Communion score one point for each stored rune that matches the rune shape on the learned spell. So, theoretically, if you stored 14 of the same rune shape on your Familiar then that one spell could be worth 14 points! That is pretty unrealistic, but the point here is that, when given the choice, you should try to store as many of one rune type as possible if Communion is present.

Prioritize a high-level morning action spell

Spellbook is all about efficiently accumulating and managing your materia. The first part of that equation (accumulation) is probably the most important aspect of the game. Spells with morning actions (red and purple) give you the ability to take or draw more runes than normal, and are therefore some of the most critical spells in the game.

If at all possible, try to learn a Level 4 or 5 morning action spell very early in the game. This gives you more opportunities to take or draw more materia than usual, often snowballing you to a win. Sometimes you just won’t get the right color materia for this, but try to learn one as soon as is practical.

Stay flexible and look for tactical wins

There is a lot of luck in Spellbook because you’re usually at the mercy of the materia you can draw or take from the altar. This limits the long-term planning you can do because your actions are usually guided by the materia available to you. Therefore, most games of Spellbook are won by the player who can spot and capitalize on short-term tactics.

In general, you should try to score as many points as possible over a one- or two-day timeframe. Anything beyond that is likely going to cost too much time to accomplish or is impossible to plan for because your accessible materia is too random. Do what you can with the materia and spells available to you at the time and don’t worry too much about long-term planning.

Know and exploit the most powerful spells

Every spell in Spellbook has its uses, but they aren’t all created equal. Some spells are just inherently more powerful than others, while the usefulness of some other spells can change drastically depending on which other spells are present (more on that later).

In general, I find that it’s usually best to learn at least level 4 (and usually level 5) of your first 2 or 3 spells. It’s usually well worth it to get that extra bit of power from your first spells when there is more time for them to pay off. There are too many spells (and levels of spells) to go over one by one in this article, but some of my favorites include:

Time Travel (level 4 or 5) – Discard a designated rune to increase another spell by 1 level. You can learn level 3 spells and then increase their level later in the game to score more points and increase their power. Very efficient, with lots of playmaking ability.
Transmutation (level 4 or 5) – Learn 1 spell using a designated rune as a wild materia. This is one of the game’s most powerful economic spells because of its enormous flexibility, especially when learned early.
Swiftness (level 5) – Take 1 additional morning action each day. An extremely powerful spell, especially when combined with a high-level morning-action spell. You’ll never be wanting for materia with this spell.
Eruption (level 4 or 5) – Draw until you have 6 materia in your pool. The ability to draw up to 6 materia is incredible, although it is best combined with a spell like Cure to clean up the random colors you’ll inevitably be left with.
Knowledge (level 5) – 2 points per other spell. Earning up to 12 points with a single spell is incredible value. Try to rush lots of low-level spells and finish level 5 Knowledge to score a lot of points quickly and end the game.
Feast (level 5) – 1 point per different stored color. This is a great spell to get more value out of your Familiar, earning up to 7 points.
Divination (level 5) – Add 2 to the Altar, then take 2. I like this spell because it gives you more materia to choose from and then a lot of control over which specific materia you take. This is great for later in the game when specific colors become more imortant.

Look for possible combos when the game starts

One of the best features of Spellbook is the seemingly limitless combinations of spells. This is especially true if you play with random spells instead of choosing a specific set. The spells can interact with each other in surprising and powerful ways, so when the game starts be sure to take a minute to read the board and look for powerful combinations.

Understanding what works and what doesn’t can really only come with time and experience in the game. I would recommend playing some solo games with different combinations of cards to find fun ways the spells can play off of one another.

DID YOU KNOW? If you like magic-themed games with colorful tokens then you will definitely enjoy Splendor and Splendor Duel, both of which I have also written strategy guides for. Check them out here:

Count the Materia as they’re played

This is one strategy that I haven’t yet mastered myself, but advanced Spellbook players undoubtedly employ themselves. Instead of counting cards, you can count materia to gain a significant advantage – especially late in the game.

There are 15 materia of each color, and 5 of each rune type per color. If you can learn to keep track of how many materia have been used (and/or how many of each rune type) you can make more informed decisions about which spells to target and which run types are more likely to be available later in the game.

This can be extremely challenging with 7 colors to keep track of, but one way to simplify things is to look at what spells each player has already learned. This can give you a good approximation of how many of each color has been used and discarded. If you can keep track of how many wilds have been used to learn each of those spells then the approximation will be even more accurate!

Deprive your opponents of Materia they need

Spellbook doesn’t feature a lot of direct player interaction, but that doesn’t mean you can’t mess with your opponents. You can always see what spells your opponents have learned, which means you know which materia are worth less to them (if a player has learned a red spell then red materia is much less useful to them).

Similarly, you can always see what color materia they are collecting in their pool. You can interfere with their plans by taking the colors they need (or runes matching the runes they’d use to make a wild). This is especially important late in the game when a player might be trying to end the game by learning their 6th and 7th spells.

Only end the game if you know you’ll win

Speaking of ending the game, don’t do it unless you know (or are reasonably sure) that you’ll win. There is no point in triggering a game-ending condition unless you’re ahead in points and you don’t think your opponents will be able to catch you on that turn.

If you’re behind in points, put the onus on your opponent(s) to end the game and claim the victory. Try to score as many points as possible on your turn and set yourself to make a comeback – even if it seems improbable. Don’t do your opponents any favors by ending the game while they’re ahead – make them earn it!

Thanks for reading! Did I miss something, or do you have your own strategies to add? Drop a comment below, I’d love to hear from you.