
- BGG rank
- BGG #558
- BGG rating
- 7.4
Evolution: Climate
2–6 players60 min2016

Rules assistance for Potion-Making: University Course
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with saved question history.

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Potion-Making: University Course is an expansion for Potion-Making: Practice released in 2006 for 2–8 players and 60 minutes per game. It was designed by Sergey Machin and its main mechanics are Hand Management and Set Collection.
Potion-Making: University Course, the first expansion for Potion-Making: Practice, provides an advanced program of magic and sorcery for students who already know how to mix simple elixirs and make magic powders, students who are not afraid of mysterious spells and creatures. Potion-Making: University Course consists of a deck of 63 cards, with new ingredients, spells, creatures and recipes. This deck is not mixed with the deck of the base game, Potion-Making: Practice, but rather placed next to it. Each of your turns will now consist of three phases in which you can take cards from either deck and play them. For example, you can draw two cards and make a potion, or you can place a card on the table as an element and use this element for a new potion immediately. Thanks to the new rules, it's possible to make different sophisticated combinations. Four "Lesser Talismans" give players certain bonuses; for example, the Lesser Talisman of Usefulness gives you 1 point for any card you play as an element, even if the desk already holds that element. The special artifact "Scruple of Conscience" can be passed to any player who has more points than you; he must add the card to his hand and lose 5 points – but be careful as this card can boomerang back to you. The new "Haste" spell let you play two cards in a row, while "Magic Vortex" places all ingredient cards of all completed formulas on the desk of elements. Now you'll have a huge choice of elements! The expansion Potion-Making: Guild of Alchemists can also be combined with University Course, which means three separate decks would be in play.
Potion-Making: University Course supports 2–8 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 Potion-Making: University Course is 60 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.
Potion-Making: University Course 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.
Potion-Making: University Course belongs to these categories: Card Game, Fantasy, and Expansion for Base-game. Its main mechanics are Hand Management and Set Collection. 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 Potion-Making: University Course are: Sergey Machin. 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 Potion-Making: University Course as an expansion for Potion-Making: Practice. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Potion-Making: Practice to use it. Check that your edition of Potion-Making: Practice is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.