Episode 180: Trismegistus

Trismegistus is a 1 to 4 player action selection game designed by Federico Pierlorenzi and Daniele Tascini, with art by Paweł Niziołek and Paulina Wach, and published in 2019 by Board& Dice. In Trismegistus, players take on the roles of historical alchemists competing to collect and transportation ingredients, collect inventions, and complete increasingly complex formulas for points.

The core mechanic in Trismegistus is its action selection process. At the start of the round, a pool of dice will be rolled. Each die is one of three colors – red, white, and black – and has one of six alchemical symbols, including a wild. When rolled, dice of the same face are collected in various pools on the game board. If any pool of dice has more than five of the same face, the entire pool is rerolled and distributed again until every pool has five or fewer.

Then, the first player will select a die from one of the pools. The number of dice in that pool will determine the “potency” of the die; essentially, how many actions, or the strength of those actions, can eventually be taken. This is indicated by placing the die on the appropriately numbered location on the player’s board.

Both the face of the die and the color of the die will determine exactly which actions can be taken. For example, a common action of the game is transforming a raw material into a refined material. To do this, a token needs to be moved across a colored path on the player’s. A material can only be refined if a player uses a die matching the color of the required path. Dice can also be used to collect new materials, essences which are used in the refining of materials, and collect new formulas – all of which are contingent on the face or color of the die used.

Completing formulas by cashing in materials are a significant source of points. Players also get points by moving along various elemental tracks – the position on these tracks also serving as prerequisites to completing formulas – which is done in a number of ways, but most commonly by using appropriate essences when refining materials. Players will also work on completing their Philosopher’s Stone, represented by wooden tiles that will be claimed by players as they complete formulas and placed in a grid on their player board. Advancing their philosopher’s stone will unlock discounts for completing future formulas as well as granting several one time bonuses as tiles are cashed in and rows and columns are completed.

A round lasts until all players have selected and resolved three dice. Some small amounts of points may be gained over the course of the game through a handful of different sources, but most of the scoring is at endgame, which takes place at the end of the third round. Here, completed formula cards are scored, elemental tracks are scored, and the philosopher’s stone is scored, along with a handful of other goals and small resource-based points. Scores are tallied, and the player with the highest score is declared the most powerful alchemist!

01:31:03 – Review

02:01:35 – Ratings

ReRoll

02:12:10 – Rurik: Dawn of Kiev * [Buy] – PieceKeeper Games; Designer: Stan Kordonskiy; Art: Finn McAvinchey ; Yaroslav Radetskyi ; Yoma Kali Fitzgerald ; Alayna Lemmer-Danner;

Check out our original review for Rurik: Dawn of Kiev during Episode 155.

Gameplay Photos

* Disclosure: These titles were received free of charge by the publishers or distributors. If you are interested in submitting a title for review, please read our Review Policy.

Show Notes

Banter

Plays

News

Trismegistus: The Ultimate Formula

ReRoll

Gameplay Photos

Episode 303: Tag Team

Episode 302: Shackleton Base

Major Announcement