Impractical Spells

Impractical Spells is a couch multiplayer game for four friends. You pick a wizard, battle other players and choose spells and abilities at the end of each round, growing stronger as the game progresses. Its systems are designed to let you combine effects and push matches into increasingly chaotic territory.

Spells and abilities

You can choose from over 39 spells, 18 abilities and 133 gameplay-altering traits, for a total of 542 cards. Spells include rocks, explosive cows, a hippopotamus launcher and dragon fire. Abilities range from shockwaves and summons to brief invulnerability; others let you fill the screen with minions, set the map ablaze or command a stone golem. You can also summon heat-seeking explosive hens.

Traits can change core mechanics, alter game rules or grant special abilities. Some reverse knockback, so taking damage moves you toward your attacker instead of away. These cards let you build different combinations and change how a match plays.

Stats and combat

The game has 22 major stats. Health makes your wizard grow physically larger, and on some maps a large enough character can crush buildings or squash other players. Damage increases the size of your projectiles, while projectile speed can make them faster, more damaging and able to pass through walls, as well as changing their appearance. Ability power strengthens your left-click ability, which can lead to effects such as chains of explosive chickens.

Other options include Ward, which lets you absorb projectiles with mana and fling them back at other players, and builds focused on armor and toughness. The game lists 23 major stat systems among its features.

Elemental effects

Spells and effects use fire, frost, water and lightning. Water can be left as a trail by a trait that also makes a wizard faster, while lightning spells can travel along the water to shock other players. Fire can spread across the map.