Game rules

Mage Knight: Ultimate Edition rules – how to play and how to score

Reviewed on 21 October 2026 against the publisher’s rulebook. How we check

Mage Knight plays 1 to 5 players depending on the scenario, in two to four hours: an adventure and deck-building game where your hero explores, fights and conquers. Here are the essential rules, Fame scoring and setup, based on the official Ultimate Edition rulebook.

Players: 1 to 5, by scenario
Play time: 1 to 4 hours
Winner: Most Fame, usually

Mage Knight: Ultimate Edition quick rules

The goal: You play a Mage Knight exploring an unknown kingdom, fighting, recruiting units and learning spells. The chosen scenario sets the goal and the number of rounds, day then night. Everything you do earns Fame; scoring adds more, and the most Fame usually wins.
Your deck: Your hero starts with 16 basic action cards, 5 in hand. A card is played for its basic effect, or with one mana of its color for its strong effect. Any card except a wound can be played sideways for 1 Move, Influence, Attack or Block. You don’t reshuffle your discard pile during the round.
Mana: Four basic colors: red, blue, white, green. Each turn, you may take one die from the Source, and you keep up to three crystals of each color. By day, gold counts as any basic color; at night, black powers some spells.
A round: Each round is a day or a night. Everyone picks a tactic card, from least Fame to most; its number sets the turn order. When your deck is empty at the start of your turn, you may announce the end of the round: the others take one last turn.
Your turn: You move first, then take a single action: fight, interact with the locals or explore an adventure site. You may rest instead, discarding one card and wounds. You play or discard at least one card per turn.
Moving and exploring: Each space costs according to its terrain, and the cost changes between day and night. Revealing a new tile costs 2 Move points. Entering an unconquered fortified site ends your movement and starts an assault.
The locals: In a village, a monastery or a conquered site, you spend Influence, plus or minus your Reputation, to recruit units, heal, learn a spell or an advanced action. Each assault lowers your Reputation.
Combat: Four phases: ranged and siege attacks (only siege hits a fortified enemy), blocking enemy attacks one at a time, damage from unblocked enemies, then attacking with everything else. An attack succeeds if it equals or exceeds the Armor of the targeted enemies.
Wounds: Your hero takes one wound card for every amount of damage equal to their Armor; it clogs your hand and cannot be played. A wounded unit is unusable until healed. You never heal during combat.
Fame and levels: Each defeated enemy earns the Fame on its token. Crossing a line on the track levels your hero up at the end of the turn: Armor, hand and a unit slot, or a skill and an advanced action.
Beginner traps: You don’t move after your action. A die taken from the Source must be used. A wound can’t be discarded at the end of your turn. And watch the others’ pace: the round may end before you play your best cards.

How to score Mage Knight: Ultimate Edition

Fame: Your Fame on the track at the end of the scenario.
The Greatest Knowledge: 2 points per spell, 1 per advanced action in your deck.
The Greatest Loot: 2 points per artifact, in your deck or on your units, and 1 point for every two crystals.
The Greatest Leader: The total level of your units; a wounded unit counts half, rounded down.
The Greatest Conqueror and Adventurer: 2 points per shield on a keep, mage tower or monastery; 2 per shield on an adventure site.
The Greatest Beating: −2 points per wound in your deck.
Titles: The best in each achievement earns 3 points, 1 each on a tie; the biggest beating loses 3 points, 1 on a tie. No titles in solo or cooperative games.
Cities (conquest scenarios): 7 points per city you lead, 4 per other city with your shield, and 5 more for the Greatest City Conqueror, 2 on a tie.

Worked example

At the end of Full Conquest, Emma has 52 Fame. She adds 3 spells (6), 4 advanced actions (4), 1 artifact (2), 5 crystals (2), units of levels 2, 2 and 3, the last one wounded (2 + 2 + 1 = 5), 3 shields on conquered sites (6), 2 on adventure sites (4), 2 wounds (−4), the Greatest Knowledge title (3), one city she leads (7) and one other city with her shield (4): 91 Fame.

Common mistakes

Counting the wounds on your units for the beating: only those in your deck count.
Counting a wounded unit at full level: it is worth half, rounded down.
Giving 3 title points to each player on a tie: it’s 1 point each.
Awarding titles in solo or cooperative games: there are none.

How to set up Mage Knight: Ultimate Edition

Setup follows the chosen scenario: map shape, number of tiles and city levels. For a first game, the rulebook recommends The First Reconnaissance, with no variants.

Scenario and heroes

Choose a scenario and any variants.To learn: The First Reconnaissance, three rounds.
In a set order, each player picks a hero and takes its components.Round order tokens go in a column, the first to choose at the top.

The table

Each player puts a shield token on the 0 of the Fame track and one on the central 0 of the Reputation track.
Sort the enemy and ruin tokens by their backs into seven face-down piles.
Shuffle the artifacts face down and stack the wounds face up.
Shuffle the spells and reveal three; do the same with the advanced actions.
Shuffle the silver and gold units separately, and reveal as many silver units as players plus two.
Day/Night board day side up; roll as many dice into the Source as players plus two.At least half the dice must show a basic color, or reroll the black and gold ones.
Display the day tactics; set the night tactics aside.

The map

Build the scenario’s tile deck: countryside tiles on top of core tiles.Core tiles drawn at random, city and non-city, shuffled.
Place the starting tile, side A or B, and reveal two tiles with side A, three with side B.Read the site description card of each revealed site.

Each player

Place your hero card and stack your level tokens, 1-2 on top.The blank token, shield side up, is your first command token.
Shuffle your 16 basic action cards and draw 5.
Shuffle your skills face down, without the unused interactive skill.In competitive games, remove the cooperative one; in cooperative games, the competitive one.
In solo or cooperative games, add a dummy player: an unused hero, with its 16 basic cards.It gets three crystals, in the colors of the dots on its hero card.

Frequently asked questions

How do you score Mage Knight?

Your Fame, plus achievements: 2 per spell, 1 per advanced action, 2 per artifact, 1 for every two crystals, your unit levels, 2 per shield, −2 per wound, and the titles.

How many mana dice can you take per turn in Mage Knight?

One die from the Source per turn, and it must be used. Your crystals can be spent whenever you want.

Which Mage Knight scenario should you start with?

The First Reconnaissance, three rounds, no variants: the rulebook recommends it for any first game.

Ludingo’s Mage Knight: Ultimate Edition sheet was last reviewed on 21 October 2026, based on: wizkids.com, BoardGameGeek.