Toil & Troublez – A Magical Game for the Whole Family

The witching hour is upon us, and it’s time to scour the Enchanted Forest for powerful Talismans. Collecting these mystical items will fuel your rise to become the greatest magician. Along the way, you’ll encounter Master Magicians whose spells might help—or sabotage—your journey to greatness. Score magic marks by forming sets of four matching or five different Talismans. In the end, the magician with the most magic marks claims victory!

Toil & Troublez is a set collection, push-your-luck game designed by Petr Vojtěch, featuring stunning art by Apryl Stott, and published by Grandpa Beck’s Games. It accommodates 2-6 players, ages 7 and up, and plays in 20-30 minutes.

Setup

Shuffle the deck and place it face down on the table to create a draw pile. Leave enough space for three rows of cards to form the Enchanted Forest – and for each player to create their own Trove. Whoever most recently ate mushrooms starts the game.

Gameplay

In Toil & Troublez, there are two types of cards: Talismans and Master Magicians. Talismans are magical items like toads, flowers, crystals, mushrooms, and ravens, each with a corresponding number. Master Magicians are expert witches: these cards perform an action when removed from the Forest.

On a player’s turn, they draw a card and place it into the Enchanted Forest. There are a few placement rules to keep in mind:

• The Enchanted forest may have a maximum of three rows of cards.
• Players place cards on either end of any row.
• Each row can only have one of each Talisman or special card.
• Place Talismans in ascending order, with lower numbers on the left.
• Avoid placing cards with the same background color next to each other (except for Cloaks).
• Cloak cards can be placed anywhere, covering another card and changing placement rules.

Passing and Busting

Players may draw and place additional cards until either they choose to pass, or they bust.

When passing, they choose a row, perform any Magician actions, and add Talismans from that row to their Trove.

If a player draws a card and cannot place it following the placement rules, they bust, ending their turn and discarding the drawn card.

Whether the current player passed or bust, each other player takes a card from the outside of any row in the Enchanted Forest (if any are available).

Then it is the next player’s turn.

Completing Collections

As you collect Talismans and store them in your Trove, sort them by number, to work on completing collections.

A completed collection consists of either: one of each Talisman (numbers 1-5) or four of the same Talisman (same number).

You can complete collections at any time. For each completed collection, you take one card and place it face down near your Trove; this card, called a Collection Marker, is worth 10 Magic Marks. Then discard the remaining cards.

Master Magicians

Master Magician cards have special powers that activate when they are taken from the Forest. They may either help or hinder gameplay.

• Vanish – Name a Talisman type; opponents must discard one if they have it.
• Summon – Take a Talisman from another player’s Trove.
• Poison – Discard a Talisman from your Trove.
• Cloak – Covers a Talisman and ignores color placement rules. Two Cloak cards can be in the same row next to each other. No peeking underneath!

End game and Scoring

The game ends when players deplete the deck a set number of times, determined by player count. Once this happens, finish the current turn, then immediately proceed to scoring.

Players score 10 points for each completed collection and a point for each remaining Talisman. The player with the most points wins, becoming the greatest magician!

Impressions

Grandpa Beck’s Games always deliver engaging gameplay in a small box, bringing families together with simple, enjoyable games that are easy to learn. Toil & Troublez achieves this goal perfectly by being quick to teach, allowing players to jump into Talisman-hunting right away.

Toil & Troublez plays exceptionally well at higher player counts. Moreover, the games are quick, making it perfect for a lunch break, or as a palate cleanser between heavier games. While Toil & Troublez does take up some table space, if everyone keeps their Troves compact, it can easily be played at a restaurant or pub.

It’s equally good at just two players: the mechanics are consistent, and games can be played back-to-back in a short time.

When playing with younger children, note that the cards Summon and Vanish add a bit of “take that”—players can steal or discard cards. If your kids are uncomfortable with this, the game might not be a good fit. However, my kids loved using those abilities to steal from their mom and me whenever they could.

Engaging Players Through Mechanics

Toil & Troublez‘s whimsical gameplay boasts fast-paced turns, keeping everyone engaged as they anticipate each draw. Furthermore, the risk of busting adds tension, while placing cards in the Enchanted Forest offers different levels of strategy. You can focus on building a desirable row, but you must also consider what opportunities you leave for others. For example, strategically placing the Poison card can force an opponent into a difficult decision when taking a card from the forest.

Aside from the excitement of pushing your luck, I loved that players get a card on each player’s turn. This keeps us all engaged and minimizes downtime.

There is a perfect marriage of mechanics and gameplay in Toil & Troublez. It is a hit with my family and gaming group and will definitely stay in my library. It’s already become a go-to when I’m packing my game night bag. Replayability is high, and the barrier to entry is low, making it a perfect family-friendly game.

Ready to hunt for Talismans? Grab your basket and head pick up a copy of Toil & Troublez on Amazon, Grandpa Beck’s Games, or at your friendly local game store.

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The Family Gamers received a copy of Toil & Troublez for this review from Grandpa Beck’s Games.

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