© 2023, Crowd games, llc. All rights reserved
Thaumaturgy is a complex strategy game about clearing the magical islands from the engulfing gloom. Each player is a chieftain of a clan. With assistance of their thaumaturges, the players will transform desolate wastelands into lush landscapes, inhabited by humans and amazing creatures.
You can play Thaumaturgy in competitive, co-op and solo mode
The game is a work in progress. Some components and game mechanics are still being developed and tested. We plan on launching Thaumaturgy on kickstarter in fall 2023 / winter 2024.
Subscribe to the newsletter below to stay in touch!
The game is set on a magical archipelago Pellaria in the center of the Ocean. Once, people and amazing creatures lived there under the watchful eye of their Keepers — thaumaturges. The Keepers created power places on a secret island. From there the thaumaturges kept the archipelago peaceful and quiet. For many centuries the Keepers chose their successors from the worthiest of the worthiest.
But gloom came to the islands and nightmarish thickets drove the inhabitants to tiny sanctuaries. Once fertile lands became barren wastes and even power places were tainted by gloom. Thaumaturges couldn’t fight this evil alone and fearless colonists from Far Lands became the islands’ last hope. They will restore peace and order using the last remaining traces of the Keepers’ power.
Thaumaturgy is a complex and multilayered game with an unusual way of choosing your actions and a variety of different win strategies.
The core gameplay is very simple but there are a lot of details that comprise a multifaceted complex mechanism. On your turn you move one of the six Keepers to one of the six power places. First you use the Keeper’s action, then the power place’s action. This is it for the core rules. Now you want to know more, do you?
At the start of the game you have access to one of the nine areas of your clan’s island and some tribespeople figures. Your island as well as neighboring and inner non-player islands are covered in gloom and thicket tokens. Before you can access these islands, you need to clear them first. Five out of six Keeper’s power places are also affected by gloom and have action-weakening tokens on them.
You will use your actions to clear the gloom and thickets from your island as well as non-player islands later, construct buildings, search and move amazing creature allies and tribespeople. You get bonuses (gems, charges for artifacts, tribespeople, and mana) by clearing territories. Those bonuses will get you extra advantages. For example, boost your actions or give you an ability to make an additional action. Also by completing specific conditions you can restore power places and upgrade their actions for all players.
The goal of competitive mode is to clear the islands and get the most Fame points so the thaumaturges name you among their successors. The game ends when all of the inner non-player islands are cleared or when one of the players clears their island and all of the neighboring non-player islands.
One player takes the role of the Great Machine (in the Solo & Cooperative Mode it is played by the game AI). That player commands a force of perfected Servants and mechanical Guards. The Great Machine’s goal is to complete the Master Plan aimed at enhancing Mankind. Meanwhile, it is necessary to deal with the growing disorder in the City.
The other players are called Revolutionaries. They work together against the Great Machine. Each Revolutionary controls a Hero. The goal of the Revolutionaries is to bring about a Revolution and overthrow the despotic regime of the Great Machine. Yet, what can a rag-tag bunch of Heroes accomplish against the whole of the City’s police force, the sinister Servants, and the seemingly invincible Guards?!
Against these odds, the Heroes seek support from the people and encourage discontent. At the same time, they work to prevent the Great Machine from completing its horrific Plan, that leads to enslaving of Mankind. The City is made up of several Districts. Each District sits on a colossal floating platform. The platforms are interconnected, so one can move between them.
One player takes the role of the Great Machine (in the Solo & Cooperative Mode it is played by the game AI). That player commands a force of perfected Servants and mechanical Guards. The Great Machine’s goal is to complete the Master Plan aimed at enhancing Mankind. Meanwhile, it is necessary to deal with the growing disorder in the City.
The objective of the Revolutionaries is to bring about a Revolution. To do this, they must lead three successful Riots against the Great Machine’s regime. The objective of the Great Machine is to complete its Master Plan. This happens after the Plan pointer reaches the end of its track. The victor is the side that achieves its objective first.
To see how the game is played, please watch one of the videos below or find a game example in the Reference guide (page 11).
© 2023, Crowd games, llc. All rights reserved