
- BGG rank
- BGG #18,816
- BGG rating
- 5.9
TREOS
- 2–4 players
- 40–80 min
- Complexity 1.8/5
- 2024

2023
Rules assistance for Magical Friends and How to Summon Them
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Magical Friends and How to Summon Them is a board game released in 2023 for 2–5 players, 60–90 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Klemens Luger and its main mechanics are Race, Track Movement, and Variable Set-up.
In Magical Friends and How to Summon Them, you'll be one of 5 powerful wizards who will try to win the Midsummer contest by bringing the most friends to the tavern after 8 rounds. Since your colleagues, the other wizards, are your biggest competitors, you'll have to cheat your way through the competition by using magical powers to sneak in some extra friends, which the others will do. In each round, you'll choose one of the available summon cards and summon a magical creature that will pretend to be your friend. When you choose a summon card, you can place the corresponding creature standee on the board. It also tells you how many and how far your creatures can move this turn. Each of the 50 unique creatures has its own ability and interacts differently with the other creatures. Very quickly, the board will be filled with creatures and it will be difficult to guide your friends through the different paths to the tavern. These paths are double-sided and can be combined in many different ways. But be aware, more dangerous than the paths are the creatures of your opponents. Don't worry, if one of your friends gets slain or poisoned in all the chaos, nothing will happen to you. For every friend you lose, you'll get pity power to speed up one of your other buddies. So stay in the lead or win the game from behind, both are possible. —description from the designer
Magical Friends and How to Summon Them supports 2–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Magical Friends and How to Summon Them is 60–90 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Magical Friends and How to Summon Them for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Magical Friends and How to Summon Them has a complexity rating of 2.3 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Magical Friends and How to Summon Them belongs to these categories: Fantasy. Its main mechanics are Race, Track Movement, and Variable Set-up. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Magical Friends and How to Summon Them are: Klemens Luger. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Magical Friends and How to Summon Them as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.