The Magic Shop Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Goal
• Setup
• Tricks
• Magic Effects
• Thirst Tokens
• Round End
• Rules Summary

Components

• 45 Magic Cards: Eye ×9, Invisible ×9, Door ×9, Wine ×9, Machine ×9
• 5 VP Cards
• 5 Reference Cards
• 1 Trump Marker
• 15 Thirst Tokens
• 1 Power Token (Open / Close sides)
• 1 Stage Disc
• 5 Clips
• 1 Rulebook

* You can listen to BGM by playing the Stage Disc in a CD player. * The text on the magic cards is taken from the original novel and does not affect gameplay.

Goal

This is a trick-taking game where each round, players bid on the number of tricks they expect to win. Matching your bid earns you the most VPs, winning fewer grants partial VPs, but exceeding your bid scores nothing. Each time you win a trick, you must use a different Magic Effect depending on the suits revealed, and mastering these effects is the key to fulfilling your bid.

Setup

1. Place the Stage Disc in the center of the table, and arrange the Reference Cards that match the five colors around its edge. Put the Trump Marker on the space of the disc that shows the Wine suit. Place the Power Token, Open side up, in the center of the disc.

2. Gather all Thirst Tokens near the Eye suit space of the Stage Disc.

3. Give each player 1 VP Card and 1 Clip. Attach the Clip to the "0" space on the card to indicate the current VPs.

4. The player who most recently performed or witnessed a magic trick becomes the first Lead Player. According to the number of players, prepare and shuffle the Magic Cards, then deal 10 cards to each player (9 cards each in a 5-player game). Players keep their hands secret. The remaining cards will not be used in this round.

   3-Player Game	4 or 5-Player Game
   Remove the "0" and "8" from every suit. (35 cards total)	Use all cards. (45 cards total)

5. Each player simultaneously chooses 1 card from their hand and slips it under their VP Card so that the numbered end is visible. This is the Bid Card, representing the maximum number of tricks the player expects to win this round. If placed face up, the number on the card (0 - 8) is your bid. If placed face down, you must choose either "0" or "3" as your bid.

6. The game is played over 3 rounds. In each round, players play 9 tricks (8 tricks in a 5-player game). Now, let the show begin!

(Setup illustration — Bid Cards: "Bid 0 tricks", "Bid 5 tricks". Stage Disc with Trump Marker, Power Token, Thirst Tokens and the Reference Cards: "Replace the Bid Card", "Flip the Power Token", "Accumulate this Trick", "Choose 1 card, pass clockwise", "Move the Trump Marker 1 space".)

Tricks

1. The Lead Player plays 1 Magic Card from their hand face up. The suit of this card (Eye / Invisible / Door / Wine / Machine) becomes the lead suit.

2. In clockwise order, each following player also plays 1 card from their hand face up.

   1. If they have any cards of the lead suit, they must play one. Only if they have no cards of the lead suit may they play a card of another suit.
   2. The first player to play a trump suit* in this trick immediately takes 1 Thirst Token and places it on their VP Card (see "Thirst Tokens").

   ※ The suit marked by the Trump Marker is called the trump suit. At the beginning of the game, the trump suit is set to Wine.

3. After all players have played 1 Magic Card, determine the winner of the trick. The player who played the strongest card* of the lead suit wins. However, if any trump suit was played in this trick, the player who played the strongest card of the trump suit wins instead.

   ※ If the Power Token is on its Open side, higher numbers are stronger. Conversely, if it is on its Closed side, lower numbers are stronger.

4. The winner of a trick must choose one of the suits played in that trick and use its Magic Effect (see "Magic Effects").

   1. The effect of a suit played by the winner can be used without any cost.
   2. However, to use the effect of a suit played by another player, the winner immediately takes 1 Thirst Token and places it on their VP Card.

   Example (Trump Suit: Wine; Power Token: Open): The Lead player plays Machine 3 (lead suit: Machine). The 2nd player has no lead suit and plays Wine 1. The 3rd player has no lead suit and plays Door 8. The 4th player has the lead suit and must play one: Machine 8. The 2nd player, who played a trump suit, wins the trick. Since they were the first to play a trump in this trick, they take 1 Thirst Token. Then, they must use one of the Magic Effect among Wine, Machine, or Door. To use the effect of Machine or Door, they must take 1 additional Thirst Token.

Magic Effects

The winner of a trick must choose one of the suits revealed in that trick, including cards played by other players, and use its Magic Effect.

Suit	Effect	Description
Eye	Flip the Power Token	Flip the Power Token to its opposite side.
Invisible	Accumulate this Trick	The winner of the next trick collects all cards played in this one.*
Door	Choose 1 card, pass clockwise	Each player passes 1 card from their hand clockwise.*
Wine	Move the Trump Marker 1 space	Move the Trump Marker to an adjacent suit space.
Machine	Replace the Bid Card	Replace your Bid Card with 1 card from your hand, face up.*

※ If the Invisible effect is chosen consecutively, tricks that no one has gathered may continue to accumulate. In this case, the winner of the next trick will gather two or more tricks at once. If this effect is chosen on the last trick of the round, the accumulated tricks are not gathered by anyone.

※ If the Door effect is chosen, each player chooses 1 card from their hand and simultaneously passes it to the player on their left.

※ If the Machine effect is chosen, the new Bid Card must be placed face up.

※ In the final trick of the round, only the Invisible has a meaningful effect. Therefore, in this last trick, even if other suits are chosen, their effects are not applied, and the round ends. The moment when all magic fades away — that is the time for the hidden Invisible Man to emerge.

Thirst Tokens

Great power comes at a cost. Thirst Tokens are harmless in themselves but act as penalties that may benefit your opponents during scoring. During the game, you take a Thirst Token whenever you do the following:

1. (Including the Lead Player) when you are the first to play the trump suit in a trick.
2. When you win a trick and use the effect of a suit played by another player.

Round End

1. The round ends when all cards in players' hands have been played through the last trick.

2. Each player compares the number of tricks they won this round with their bid and scores VPs as follows:

   1. Fewer than the bid: Not bad! Score VPs equal to the number of tricks you won.
   2. Matches the bid: Your magical power resonates with the Magic Shop! In addition to the VPs equal to your winning tricks, score additional VPs equal to the total number of Thirst Tokens held by all other players.
   3. More than the bid: Consumed by magic! Score no VPs.

   Example for a 4-Player Game:

   Player	Davidson	Martian	Springmarch	Griffin
   Thirst Tokens	1	5	2	-
   Bid	3	4

Rules Summary

Setup

1. Put the Trump Marker on the space of the disc that shows the Wine suit. Place the Power Token, Open side up, in the center of the disc.
2. Deal 10 cards to each player (9 cards each in a 5-player game / remove the "0" and "8" cards from each suit in a 3-player game). Each player chooses 1 card from their hand and slips it under their VP Card. This is the Bid Card, representing the maximum number of tricks they expect to win this round.

Tricks

1. Starting with the Lead Player, each player plays 1 card in turn. If they have a card of the lead suit, they must play one of them. Only if they have no cards of the lead suit may they play a card of another suit.
2. The player who played the strongest card of the trump suit wins the trick. If no trump suit was played, the player who played the strongest card of the lead suit wins.
3. The winner of a trick must choose one of the suits played in that trick and use its Magic Effect.

※ Thirst: If you are the first to play a trump suit in a trick, or if you win a trick and use the effect of a suit played by another player, immediately take 1 Thirst Token.

Round End

1. Each player compares the number of tricks they won this round with their bid and scores VPs as follows: Fewer than the bid: Score VPs equal to the number of tricks you won. Matches the bid: In addition to the VPs equal to your winning tricks, score additional VPs equal to the total number of Thirst Tokens held by all other players. More than the bid: Score no VPs.
2. After 3 rounds, the player with the highest total VP wins the game.