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Die magischen Schlüssel (Magic Keys)
A dice-rolling movement game where you search the keys scattered along a forest path for the one real key that opens the treasure chest. Designed by Markus Slawitscheck and Arno Steinwender, and winner of the 2024 Kinderspiel des Jahres.
Rules
Roll three dice to move the shared pawn through the forest, then draw the key from the space where you stop and test it directly in the treasure chest — only then do you learn whether it's real or fake. Every key hides a magnet, so looks never give it away.
Components
| Component | Count | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Board | 1 | Printed forest path. Sits on top of the box so a rounded notch stays open as the Magic Well |
| Cardboard castle · towers | 1 castle · 6 towers | Push the towers into the castle and stand it at the top of the board |
| Bushes | 3 | Decorative markers that fit into small slots on the board |
| Treasure chest | 1 | Contains a magnet mechanism — a real key clicks it open; a fake key does not |
| Dice | 3 | A mix of number faces (1–3) and a «Moon» symbol face |
| Keys | 21 | 1 gold plus purple, blue, green and yellow (5 each: 3 real + 2 fake per color) |
| Crystals | 42 | Shared scoring resource placed inside the chest beforehand |
| Shared pawn | 1 | All players move the same single pawn |
Unconfirmed — exact face layout
The official rulebook never states how many of a die's six faces show numbers versus the Moon symbol. This guide does not guess the distribution and only covers the rule itself: a number moves you that many spaces, and a Moon sets that die aside.
Setup
- 1Place the board on top of the box so the box's rounded recess stays open at the board's bottom-right corner — that recess is the Magic Well.
- 2Push the 6 towers into the cardboard castle and stand it in the slots along the top edge of the board. Push the 3 bushes into the board's small slots.
- 3Open the chest with the gold key, put all 42 crystals inside, and close it.
- 4Insert every key (gold included) into its matching hole on the board. Only the gold key goes into the dedicated space right in front of the castle gate.
- 5Place the single shared pawn on the start space and set out the 3 dice.
A turn — three steps
- 1① Roll the dice and move — see «Choosing a die and moving» below.
- 2② Try to open the chest — if your space still holds a key, you may draw it and try (optional, except when all three dice end up set aside).
- 3③ End the turn — if you tried the chest, return the pawn to the start space; if you stopped because of the dice, it stays where it is.
The pawn is shared
There is no personal pawn for each player — everyone moves the same single pawn. Where your turn begins depends entirely on how the previous player ended theirs.
Choosing a die and moving — stop or keep going
- 1Roll all 3 dice. Set aside any die showing the Moon symbol — it cannot be used again this turn.
- 2Choose one of the dice you haven't set aside and move the pawn forward that many spaces. Even with two eligible dice left, totals are never added — you use exactly one.
- 3After moving, choose: (A) reroll every die not yet set aside (including the one you just used), or (B) stop and try the chest.
- 4You may repeat (A) as many times as you like. But once all 3 dice are set aside, there's nothing left to choose, and you're forced to stop right where you are.
You can't stop on an empty space
If you land on a space whose key is already gone, option (B) isn't available — you must keep rolling. Only spaces that still hold a key let you stop.
Opening the chest — real or fake
Draw the key from the space you stopped on and test it directly in the chest. Every key hides a magnet, so looks alone never tell you whether it's real — only testing it does.
- 1If it's real, the chest clicks open. Take crystals matching the key's color (see the table below), hang the key on a castle tower for everyone to see, and close the chest again.
- 2If it's fake, the chest stays shut. Leave the chest as it is and keep the fake key in front of you — you can use it later to get dice back.
- 3The gold key is drawn only when you reach the space right in front of the gate exactly; movement ends there. It is always real, worth 5 crystals. It is not hung on a tower — return it to its own dedicated space.
A real key can never be kept
Once confirmed real, it must be hung on a tower immediately for everyone to see — you can never hold on to it for later. Only keys confirmed fake can be kept, and everyone uses the hung keys to track how many real ones of a color remain.
Getting dice back — two ways
A die set aside for showing the Moon is normally gone for the rest of the turn — but there are two exceptions.
- 1① All three dice show Moon on the very first roll — If your turn's opening roll shows Moon on all three dice, move the pawn straight to the red magic space and get all three dice back (no key is drawn). Landing on the red magic space exactly through normal movement grants the same reward.
- 2② Throw a fake key into the Magic Well — At any point during your turn, throw one fake key you're holding into the Magic Well to get back every die set aside so far — even if all three currently show Moon.
Both rules are exceptions to the basic rule that three Moons end your turn outright. Without one of these two conditions (an opening roll, or a fake key in hand), running out of dice simply ends the turn where you stand.
Crystal target and winning
| Players | Crystals needed |
|---|---|
| 2 | 15 |
| 3 | 13 |
| 4 | 11 |
The instant any player reaches the number of crystals shown above, the game ends immediately and that player wins — there's no need to finish the turn order.
Handle the chest gently
The rulebook warns that forcing the chest open can damage both the keys and the chest. Hold it only by the bottom when testing a key.
Tips for playing together
- Track which colors other players have tested and how it turned out (keys hung on towers, fake keys others are holding) to deduce which colors still have real keys left.
- If all 3 real keys of a color are already hung up, every remaining key of that color must be fake — check the towers often.
- Don't panic over a long run of Moons; saving up fake keys lets you throw one into the Magic Well for a comeback.
- Deciding whether to stop or keep rolling means weighing both whether your current space still has a key and how many dice remain.
Editions
This guide covers only the base 2–4 player game. It was reportedly first published worldwide under its English name by the original Korean publisher, Happy Baobab, around 2022, and later licensed to regional publishers including Game Factory (German-language, 2023), Gém Klub (Hungarian, 2023) and Blackrock Games (French-language). This research cross-checked the Game Factory German edition; whether an official Korean retail release exists, and under what title, could not be confirmed.
Unconfirmed — Korean edition
Although the original publisher is a Korean company, this research found no confirmed Korean retail release or official Korean rulebook. Update rulebooks.ko once one is confirmed.
Frequently confused rules
Q. Does rolling three Moons always end the turn?
Not if it's the opening roll of the turn — the pawn moves to the red magic space and you get all three dice back. If the three Moons happen after you've already moved, the turn ends on the spot unless you're holding a fake key to use instead.
Q. If two or more dice remain, do I use both to move?
No. You choose exactly one die and move that many spaces. The rest wait for the next reroll or stay unused this turn.
Q. What if my space's key is already gone?
You cannot try the chest there. Option (B) isn't available, and you must keep rolling until you land on a space that still has a key.
Q. Can I hold on to a real key without opening the chest?
No. Once confirmed real, it must be hung on a tower immediately. Only a key confirmed fake may be kept.
Q. Can I throw a fake key into the Magic Well at any time?
Yes, anytime during your own turn — even when all three dice currently show Moon, throwing one returns them all.
Q. After trying the chest, where does the next turn start?
Trying the chest — whether it opens or not — always sends the pawn back to the start space. Stopping only because of the dice leaves the pawn in place for the next player to continue from there.
Q. Does the gold key get hung on a tower too?
No. The gold key is always real, and it returns to its own dedicated space in front of the gate rather than a tower.
History and awards
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Designers | Arno Steinwender and Markus Slawitscheck (Austria) |
| Illustrator | Camillia Peyroux |
| Original publisher | Happy Baobab Co., Ltd. (Seoul, South Korea), copyright dated 2021 |
| Edition checked | Game Factory (Switzerland) 2023 German-language license, distributed by Carletto Deutschland/Schweiz |
| Award | Winner, Kinderspiel des Jahres 2024 (German Children's Game of the Year) |
The official Spiel des Jahres site lists this game as a winner — not merely a nominee — in the 2024 Kinderspiel (children's game) category. English Wikipedia's bibliography for designer Arno Steinwender dates the game to 2022 and notes further nominations and awards at other children's-game prizes, but this research could not re-verify the specific rankings or scores of those additional awards, so no numbers are claimed here.
Sources
Official Game Factory German rulebook (Die magischen Schlüssel, PDF pages 1–4 checked in full)Official Game Factory product page — Die magischen SchlüsselSpiel des Jahres official site — 2024 winners (Kinderspiel des Jahres)Wiki cross-check — German Wikipedia: Die magischen SchlüsselWiki cross-check — English Wikipedia: Arno Steinwender (designer bibliography and awards)Rule summaries are reference content written by us, not quotations from the official rulebook. Always check the official rulebook for exact rules. Diagrams are original schematics, not rulebook illustrations.
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Last updated 2026-10-10
💡 Master tip
Keep track of the keys hung on the towers and the fake keys other players are holding: once all 3 real keys of a color have appeared, every remaining key of that color must be fake. Watching how other players' key tests turn out can also give you a useful hint.
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