The Maguss Wand: Making Magic Real

It is likely that you, and hordes of others, waited patiently on your 12^th birthday for an owl to swoop down and gently drop a letter of admissions to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Think of the disappointment you, and all the throngs of other hopeful young people felt the next day when no such letter arrived.

Ondrej Tokar, Founder of Maguss Wand, is about to shave off a bit of that disappointment, fueling the dreams from our childhood favorite series. The Maguss Wand allows users to duel with other wielders in their vicinity or anywhere in the world. There have been magic wands made before; replicas of the casts’ wands and ones that work as a remote control, but none mimic the sensation of a wizard duel. The Maguss Wand Kickstarter hopes to make that dream a reality.

“I was always a fan of fantasy and of role playing games and wizardry. I was wondering if I could make some of the magic ‘real,’” Tokar says of his idea to create the Maguss Wand.

If the Kickstarter campaign is successful, the wand, app and badge (the receiver) combo can be under Christmas trees in December. That all depends if the young company can raise the $67,000 they need by September 11. In the chance that it doesn’t raise the funds, Tokar still sees the project moving forward. If not, there is still a plan.

“First of all we would learn from our mistakes, we would search for investors or try to reach more people and build a bigger community. We will organize events and when we are more confident, we might re-launch the campaign. We would do the same thing even if we reach the goal, we would just be much faster and the results could be much better,” Tokar explained.

Maguss Wands hopes to bring several variations of the product to market, from the basic package starting at around $60 to more luxury packages. The basic package includes the free smartphone app download, a wand, and a badge; all that you need to begin dueling. Backers and potential buyers can also buy the premium package, which includes a handmade wooden wand and customizable preferences. Personalized and bulk packages are also options for the prospective buyer.

To begin, duelers will have about 20 spells to start out with, ranging from attacking, disabling, and defensive spells. The names of these spells won’t sound familiar to the Potter fanatic. There is no Crucio or Expelliarmus as the usage of these spells would cause licensing issues. Ranking up or joining a specific quest in the game can unlock more spells. While the mechanics of this wizardry is not actual magic, it is science. As explained on the Kickstarter page, when casting a spell the wand emits an infrared signal that is read by the receiver. The app on your smartphone will help determine what spell was cast and what damage, if any, was caused.

Some spells you can cast on the Maguss Wand.

“The functionality of the spells are completely different. Besides that, there is a gaming story, which is not related to the Harry Potter universe at all,” Tokar said.

Duelers cast these spells by holding down a button and moving their wand in the specific motion the spell calls for. If dueling against another person in the flesh, this movement is read by the opponent’s badge. There are several outcomes that can come from a successful spell, the opponent can receive damage or suffer another effect such as immobility. To counter, there are defensive spells, which reflect and deflect. Duelers can also summon their imaginary pet to increase damage or help defend.

As mentioned, there is more to Maguss Wand then just finding a friend to shoot spells at, the gaming story is another portion a user can play. There are levels to be completed and ranks to move up in.

Tokar added that pledging on Kickstarter is a simple process and to just keep in mind his company is located in Denmark.

“The prices are in Danish krones. Kickstarter doesn’t allow use of other currency than the one that is used in the country of origin. However, pledgers should not be afraid… it’s easy to calculate the conversion.”

More details about the Maguss Wand can be found on the Kickstarter page or the website and social media pages.

So, what are you waiting for? Let’s make this a thing!