The following is a promotional preview for Cauldron, a board game available for backing on Kickstarter right this minute, unless you’re watching this after May 28, 2015, which means it’s campaign has completed successfully, with the help of supporters like you. Unless you didn’t support it. But even then, you may be able to score a copy of it direct from altemagames.com, unless you waited too long and now they’re all sold out, by which then you can maybe find a copy on ebay because all sorts of stuff is on ebay like this THING I got for just $7.99 from a guy in Nebraska. Cauldron.

Hi, I’m Chaz Marler, and as part of my community service, I’m here to tell you about Cauldron, the game of competitive alchemy, by first time board game designer and friend of the show, Artem Safarov. Welcome to the show, Artem! Have you tried the hour derves? (SHOT OF EMPTY CHAIR.) Oh, that’s right, Artem won’t be joining us today because I forgot to invite him. But Cauldron is here, so why don’t you watch an overview of how the game works, while I try to figure out what to do with eight pounds of mini quiches.

But before I do, please note that the components shown in this video are from a prototype of Cauldron. The components in the final version of the game may differ from those shown here.

Cauldron is a game for two to five players, in which each player assumes the role of an alchemist competing for the title of Grand Infusionist, a title which only one player can achieve, because that’s the way board games work.

Each player’s alchemist has a unique ability that will help them throughout the course of the game, such as the spooky witch who lives in a bucket, the noble glow-in-the-dark Shaman, or the folksy Druid, seen here harvesting a variety of woodland creatures.

Throughout the game, you and your compatriots will brew potions, cast spells and perform tasks that will earn you Magik points, each one of which gets you one step closer to the coveted title of Grand Infusionist. Your potions and spells will be powered by the ingredients that you harvest from the field tiles in the center of the board. Each field produces a different type of ingredient, such as delectable mushrooms, scrumptious frog legs, or delicious fire gems. And each spell and potion uses a different combination of ingredients.

Each round is split into two seasons. During the first half of the round, the Harvest Season, players will, on their turn, choose to either harvest an ingredient to use in a potion or spell, brew a potion with the ingredients they have collected, or steal an ingredient from a player who usually turns out to be me. Turns continue in this way until the last available ingredient has been harvested from a field tile. When this happens, the Harvest Season portion of the round ends and any unused ingredients not stored in a cellar are discarded.

Then, the second half of the round begins, which is called the Market Season. During the Market Season, players may spend their hard-earned magik points to either place an additional resource field on the board, obtain a new spell or potion, or invest in a cellar, which can be used to retain one surplus ingredient after the Harvest season ends.

The first player to reach 35 magik wins. But it won’t be as easy as it sounds, because the points you accumulate are also the currency you spend to obtain new fields, potions and spells in the game. And you may not quite know surprises await you as you work your way toward the goal, because, while the player abilities and potions are played face up on the table, each player’s hand of spells is kept secret, until they spring them on you.

So, in order to do well, you will have to discover a balance between accumulating Magik points and spending them to obtain even more. You’ll have to sacrifice some points in order to have a chance at winning, but knowing when, and how many to spend, is the key to victoriously being the first to claim earn title of Grand Infusionist.

And that’s an overview of how Cauldron works. If this is a game that you would be interested in, click on the link in this video’s description for more information. Thanks for checking out this video, and be sure to stay tuned to Pair Of Dice Paradise for even more videos of board game news, reviews and commentary. Right, Artem? (SHOT OF EMPTY CHAIR AGAIN.) Oh, that’s right. Don’t worry Cauldron, you’ll keep me company. (WOLF HOWLS IN DISTANCE.)