Disclosure: Meeple Mountain received a free copy of this product in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. This review is not intended to be an endorsement.
From the rulebook:
“For generations, the Blancgriffon school has trained apprentice sorcerers to master the arcane mysteries of earth, water, air, and fire. Every three years, the school’s most talented students enter the Tournament of Sorcerers to defend their class’s honor. In magical memory, the Dragombre school has always won this competition. But this year could very well be different… Who will win?”
Released in 2023, Clash of Magic Schools is a retheme of one of Uwe Rosenberg’s previous titles, Babel. You can check out my review of Babel. In Clash, players are wizarding students leading their class in a contest against other classes in an effort to come out on top and win the competition.
The artwork for this game is lovely. Rather than just rehash a general “blue student/red student/etc.” for each of the different schools of magic, artist Xavier Gueniffey Durin (Tokaido, Namiji, Seasons) has taken the time to provide a unique illustration for each student involved. This uniqueness not only serves to breathe life into the magical school concept, but also lends the game a measure of inclusivity that a lot of games still struggle with these days.
Rather than rehash the How to Play, take a look at my review of Babel. Aside from the theme and the setting, the two games are functionally exactly the same. Although, to make things confusing, the colors and the powers that are associated with them have been shuffled around. For instance, in Babel, the yellow color would allow you to steal a temple level from your opponent. In Clash, that ability has been changed to purple (it steals Trial cards, to be precise). So, if you’re well acquainted with one of the two titles and attempt to play the other, you’re going to be required to rewire your brain a little bit to adapt.
Sadly, that’s all the adaptation you’re going to need. When I saw that Babel was getting a facelift, I was excited. It’s a great game and truly one of Uwe Rosenberg’s underappreciated gems. But, I was hoping it would somehow be different. I was hoping there’d be some tweaking or something new added… something to make it worth it for a Rosenberg aficionado. Instead, I got exactly the same thing, but with a different skin.
I lamented about this last year in my review of Stack’N Stuff, which was a retheme of Patchwork Express. My general feelings were that I wasn’t certain that Stack’N Stuff was a game that actually needed to be made, and I feel much the same way about Clash of Magic Schools. It just seems unnecessary.
Then again, I’m an avid Uwe Rosenberg collector. As of this writing, I own 65 distinct Rosenberg titles. I’m not the target audience. As a collector, do I need Clash of Magic Schools? Most definitely. But, what about the average gamer that isn’t?
In an effort to answer that question, I created a quick poll in the Uwe Rosenberg – Board Game Group on Facebook and let it fester for a week. In the poll I asked if people would rather play a game about ancient tribes squaring off against one another in a struggle to erect the most temples OR play a game about wizarding school students competing to complete trials. Of the over 4,600 members of the group, 18 took the time to reply and the split was 34% for Babel’s premise and 66% for Clash of Magic Schools’s.
That was pretty much how I’d expected it to go. I can’t say I disagree. Wizarding schools are hot right now, and the theme is far more inviting than a bunch of stuffy old ancient civilizations pounding the snot out of one another.
Theme aside, let’s get this straight: this is a very good game. In my review of Babel, I stated: “I’m not a great big fan of player conflict, but this game is a rare exception. Babel really gets my blood pumping and it keeps me on the edge of my seat at every turn.”
That sentiment holds true in Clash of Magic Schools just as much as it does in its predecessor. Regardless of which version of this game you decide to play, one thing’s guaranteed: you’re going to have a good time.
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