2015 · Fantasy
Potion Explosion
Players draft ingredient marbles from a dispenser, causing adjacent marbles to fall and potentially trigger chain-reaction “explosions” that grant additional ingredients. Collected ingredients are placed on individual potion cards to complete recipes and activate effects when brewed. Players score points by completing and drinking potions; timing, chain reactions, and choice of which potions to pursue shape each turn. The game supports 2–4 players and emphasizes tactical planning and combo setup over pure speed.
- Players
- 2–4 best 3
- Playing time
- 30–45 min
- Age
- 8+
- Complexity
- 1.8 / 5
About the game
- Publisher
Expansions
See them in Ludoya
Potion Explosion: The Fifth Ingredient2017
Potion Explosion: The 6th Student2019
Potion Explosion: Fulminating Serum2017
Potion Explosion: Franklin Stickler2019
Potion Explosion: Lotion of Invisibility – Expansion Pack2023
Potion Explosion: Tonic of Glacial Preservation – Expansion Pack2024
The Wild Nature (fan expansion for Potion Explosion)2018Photos from Ludoya tables
All photos in Ludoya
Where to buy it
Shop prices and second-hand copies, checked every day.
On Ludoya's tables
Full stats in Ludoya- 1,481
- Plays logged
- 939
- Players
- 39m
- Average play
- 317
- In collections
- 30
- On wishlists
- 2
- Pre-ordered
7.0/10
from 155 Ludoya reviews
By player count
Garfield7.0 #45 Kids like the marbles and its mechanism. And of course drinking potions. I would only play it with kids. [c] Theme: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Good --> Gameplay: ★★☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]Quite repetitive --> Interaction: ★☆☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]No --> Artwork: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Nice --> Luck: ★★☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]Random marble order --> Strategy: ★★☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]Little --> Components: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]Ok --> Play duration: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Very good --> Easy to teach: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Quite easy --> Rules quality: ★★★★★ <!-- size 7]Perfect --> Setup time: ★★★☆☆ <!-- size 7]Ok --> No downtime: ★★★★☆ <!-- size 7]Almost no downtime --> Replay value: ★★☆☆☆ <!-- size 7]Different potions --> [/c]
No plays logged
- Base -
Played it 108 times
Dragonshiq7.0 inclus in “Potion Explosion: Collector's Edition (2025 English Edition)”
Played it 5 times
Rules questions
Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.
Can I take any marble from the dispenser, or only from the ends?
You may freely choose any marble that is visible on the Dispenser except the 9th marble on each slide track, which is not selectable (page 5).
If I take a marble using a Little Help or by drinking a Potion, will that trigger Explosions?
No; taking an Ingredient via a Little Help token does not trigger Explosions, and using a Potion to take marbles also never triggers Explosions—only your regular pick can cause Explosions (pages 6–7).
If there are three or more same-coloured marbles and I take the one in the middle, will they still explode?
Yes: removing a marble can cause the others to roll and collide, so picking a marble from the middle of a connected group can still trigger an Explosion and you take all connected marbles of that color (page 5).
When I complete a Potion, what do I do with the marbles on it—do they go back into the Dispenser?
When a Potion is completed you return all the marbles from that tile to the Dispenser, then flip the tile to its Completed side and move it to your Potion area (pages 6–7).
How many Ingredients can I keep in my Pool, and can I move them after my turn ends?
Your Ingredient Pool holds up to 3 marbles; you may move marbles between your hand and Pool freely during your turn, but once your turn ends you cannot move Ingredients out of your Pool until your next turn (page 6; End of Turn, page 7).
How are Skill tokens awarded—do repeated sets give multiple tokens (e.g., 6 of the same kind)?
You earn a Skill token when you complete your 3rd Potion of a given kind (but not again for the 6th), and you earn one when you complete your 5th different kind (only once); tokens come from the countdown stack first and are worth 4 points each (page 8).
Official score sheet
Potion Explosion score sheet
Every scoring category, from the Ludoya kit. On your phone the totals add up by themselves.
Free, on web, Android and iOS
Play Potion Explosion with Ludoya
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Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.