SPELLBLOOM | Review

About Spellbloom, from BoardGameGeek:

Every one hundred years, when this solar system's planets align a certain way, starlight and sunlight concentrate their magic onto one small island in the great ocean. When this happens, a mystical flower appears. However, it will not appear to just anyone - only to the most knowledgeable mage on the island at that time. Will you be that mage? Spellbloom is a tableau-building, open-drafting game during which players roll dice that are used to determine both which spells they can learn and the resources to pay for those spells. In more detail, each player has six colored dice that at the start of play they roll and place on their spell book. Six random spell cards are placed on the six colored locations on the island board. On a turn, you choose a die that matches the location from which you want to learn a spell, then pay for that spell with other dice that sum to the value of the first die. If you use two dice to claim a spell, you gain two mana, which you can use on future turns to adjust a die's value or claim an unowned die on the island board; if you use three dice, you gain 3 knowledge points. Each spell has a unique ability that helps players learn new spells or score additional knowledge points. You gain other bonuses by placing spells in matching locations in your spell book or by placing spells adjacent to one another to complete sigils. You start the game with two task cards that can grant endgame points if you meet their conditions, and you gain two more tasks when you complete a row of your spell book. When someone completes their tenth spell, you finish the round, then tally points.