Magic Circle Atelier (魔法陣アトリエ): draw a magic circle by hand and cast a spell of your own

Magic Circle Atelier modes

• Draw and cast (描いて放つ): draw a magic circle on the pedestal, pick a practice ground and cast it. Each practice ground keeps your best (no sign-in needed)
• Sample circles (見本の魔法陣): watch any of the 12 samples being drawn stroke by stroke, trace it, cast it as it is, or start your own circle from it (no sign-in needed)

Basic rules of Magic Circle Atelier

• First, draw a big circle on the pedestal in one stroke. When it closes, it becomes a magic circle. A big circle reaches wide and holds more mana, a small one is sharp at a single point, and the rounder you draw it, the stronger it is. A nearly perfect circle becomes a "perfect circle" (完全円), and its power jumps.
• At the middle (the heart of the circle), draw any shape you like: a star, a heart, a jagged line. The shape you draw flies as the shape of the spell. Pointed shapes pierce, and round shapes burst wide.
• Outside the middle, draw the signs of the elements. There are 7 elements (fire, water, wind, earth, thunder, light, dark), and a simple line turns into a sign (fire is a triangle in one stroke, water a wavy line, wind a swirl, earth a square, thunder a lightning bolt like a Z, light a cross, dark a crescent, seek a curved arrow). The bigger you draw a sign, the more it weighs in the mix, and two signs of about the same size make a named combination such as Firestorm (炎の嵐) or Shock (感電).
• A line from the middle out to the rim adds one shot. The way the line points is the way it is fired, and the way it bends (an arc, a wave, a zigzag, a spiral) is the way the shot flies.
• A small circle becomes the "next step" of the spell. Join the middle to a small circle, or one small circle to another, with a line, and the spell goes on in that order. A straight line goes on when the shot hits, a wavy line after a moment, and a line with a loop in it when the shot fades; several lines between the same two split the spell into that many. A sign of an element inside a small circle changes the element of that step, and the "seek" sign (追) makes that step chase its target.
• Straight lines from rim to rim make figures (from a triangle to an octagon, and from a five-pointed to an eight-pointed star), and each figure adds its own effect. Another circle inside the circle stores up power.
• Everything you draw uses mana. The size of the circle sets how much mana it can hold, and a circle over that limit cannot be cast (figures with more corners than a pentagon are "vessels" that raise the limit). Lines that cannot be read stay in the circle as ornaments. No words are written inside the circle: what the spell does is told on the page of the grimoire.

How to play on Asobi Lounge

• Draw a big circle on the pedestal in one stroke with your finger or mouse. Each time you add a shape, a sign or a line, the grimoire page on the right (below on a phone) shows the name of the spell, the mix of elements, a picture of its flow, its shots, range, speed and steadiness, its mana, and the damage to expect at the practice ground you picked.
• "Undo one stroke" (1画もどす), "Clear all" (全部消す) and "Redraw the circle" (円を描き直す) let you redraw at any time.
• Pick a target with "Practice ground" (練習場) and press "Cast" (放つ). The circle glows and turns, and in a small 3D ruin at night shots in the shape you drew fly along the paths you drew while the damage counts up.
• The result shows the damage, how it was made (base, mix, fit to the target, flow, skill, charge) and one line on what to try next. "Keep in the grimoire" (魔導書に残す) keeps the circle, to call up and cast again later.
• "Grimoire" (魔導書) at the top opens the sample circles and the circles you kept, and "Guide" (手引き) the ways to draw and the lists of signs, figures and elements. The sound button switches sound on and off.
• The first time you play, a short walkthrough, "Your first spell" (はじめての魔法), has you trace a sample circle and cast it at the straw dummy. You can skip it at any time.

The 6 practice grounds

Pick a practice ground before you cast. Each has its own targets and its own answers, so the same circle can do very different damage. Your best is kept for each practice ground.

• Straw dummy (わら人形): one target, to see the plain damage
• The swarm (群れ): ten small targets; spread wide, shoot many, split the flow
• Shield bearers (盾持ち): a shield stops shots from the front; go around it or pierce it
• Sky targets (空の的): four targets circling in the air; seek them, or be fast and wide
• Stone statue (石像): it shrugs off most of each blow; one heavy unsplit blow, or the power to crush
• Far target (遠的): far, far away; it takes reach

The sample circles

There are 12 samples, and each teaches one idea. Pick one and it is drawn on the pedestal stroke by stroke; then cast it as it is, trace it over its guide of light, or start your own circle from it. If a traced or adapted circle beats the sample's damage, the result says so.

• First fire arrow (はじめての火の矢): the outer circle and one sign of an element; that alone is a spell
• Spiral wind (渦の風): a spiral from the middle to the rim sends the shot flying in a spiral
• Star bolt (星の光弾): the star drawn at the middle is the shape of the shot; a five-pointed star adds power
• Thunder that splits in three (三つに裂ける雷): three lines to a small circle split the spell in three when it hits
• Seeking water swarm (追いかける水の群れ): the "seek" sign makes the shots chase their targets; strong against the sky targets
• Chain lightning (連鎖する稲妻): water and thunder step after step; the longer the reactions go on, the more it grows
• Meteor rain (流星の雨): many paths for many shots, and inner circles to store up power
• Fire around the shield (盾を回り込む炎): an arcing path goes around the side of a shield
• Steam blast (蒸気の爆発): fire and water at the same size mix into steam
• Perfect symmetry (対称の極み): a perfect circle, mirror symmetry and evenly spaced inner circles; power from a skilled hand
• The grand spell (大魔法): an eight-pointed star, inner circles and a flow that splits and reacts over three steps; everything together
• Heart bolt (想いの光弾): draw a heart and a heart flies; any shape will do

What the elements do

Each element adds its own trait to a spell, as much as its weight in the mix.

• Fire (火): it smoulders and burns once more after it lands
• Water (水): its splash reaches wide
• Wind (風): it flies fast and far
• Earth (土): it crushes hard defences
• Thunder (雷): it jumps to the next target
• Light (光): it passes through shields and armour
• Dark (闇): it is drawn towards its target

Records

Damage is counted in Japanese units of ten thousand (万), a hundred million (億) and a trillion (兆). The outer circle alone does a few hundred, and every sign, figure and step you add multiplies it.

Your best at each practice ground and the circles kept in the grimoire (up to 12) are saved in this browser, separately for each account when you are signed in. They do not move to other devices or browsers. There is no leaderboard.

Tips for drawing

• Draw the circle big, slowly and round: it raises both the power and the steadiness. If the circle came out badly, "Redraw the circle" redraws only the circle and keeps the lines inside.
• A sign of an element makes the spell more than ten times stronger. A second element drawn at about the same size mixes well and adds even more.
• Each practice ground has its own answer. Try a splitting flow on the swarm, an arcing path on the shield bearers and the "seek" sign on the sky targets.
• Start a line that joins small circles near one circle and draw it to the other. A line that is read lights up, and the two circles it will join glow softly.
• If you do not know where to start, trace a sample circle, cast it, and build on it.

Frequently asked questions

Can I play without signing in?

Yes. Drawing, casting, the sample circles and the grimoire all work right away without signing in. Your best at each practice ground and the circles you kept are saved in this browser.

Can I play if I am not good at drawing?

Yes. A circle and a few simple signs already make a spell, and you can trace the sample circles. Lines that cannot be read stay as ornaments; nothing counts as a mistake.

Can I cast a circle alone?

Yes. A circle alone casts a weak bolt of raw mana. A sign of an element makes it more than ten times stronger.

Can I move my records to another device?

No. Your bests and the circles you kept are saved only in the browser you played in. There is no leaderboard.

Can I play on a phone?

Yes. You draw with your finger, so it works on a phone and on a computer. On a device that cannot show 3D, the damage numbers still appear.

Is Magic Circle Atelier free to play?

Yes, it costs nothing. Drawing, casting and the sample circles work right away from this page without signing in. Your best at each practice ground and the circles kept in the grimoire stay in this browser (separately for each account when you are signed in). There is no leaderboard.

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