The board update is handled entirely by the computer. The update carries out activities which are not directly under any players control. During the update any or all of the following things might happen:
- The growths (fire, flood, orange jelly, gooey blob, and green ooze) are permitted to grow. Each cell containing a growth may or may not grow. If a cell is going to grow it will do so in only one direction in any particular turn. The direction of growth is chosen at random. Some of the growths grow faster than others, orange jelly is particularly voracious while floods tend to be sluggish. If a cell doesn't grow it might die instead. You may have some of your creatures buried, killed, or revealed in this growth process. Should your wizard be buried or killed you are considered dead and your game ends.
- Any tempests on the board will move. A creature in the path of the tempest will be thrown to a new random location. On very rare occasions a creature will be killed as a result of the throw.
- There is a chance that each magic castle and dark citadel on the board might collapse. If a wizard is inside the castle or citadel when the collapse occurs the wizard will be granted a new spell.
- Any magic wood occupied by a wizard might collapse, resulting in a new spell for the wizard.
- Each sleeping entity is examined and has a chance of dying or collapsing. The weaker things are more likely to be destroyed than the stronger things. The destruction will be complete and no trace of the entity will remain.