Lizard Wizard (2021) Board Game

Lizard Wizard is a board game released in 2021, designed by Jacoby O’Connor and Annie Stegg, with artwork by Forbidden Games. The game falls into the category of animals, economic, and fantasy genres, offering a unique blend of auction/bidding, commodity speculation, hand management, push your luck, and set collection mechanics. With a runtime of 90-120 minutes and suitable for players aged 10 and above, Lizard Wizard can accommodate 2 to 6 players, making it a versatile and engaging choice for game nights.

Game Components of Lizard Wizard

109 poker-sized cards

156 larger 80mm x 120mm cards

Reagents and mana tokens

Gold tokens

Dungeon/treasure cards

Research action cards

Wizard and tower cards

Familiar cards

Spell cards

Public goal cards

Premium components (wooden and metal pieces) in the Premium edition.

How To Setup Lizard Wizard

Setting up Lizard Wizard involves preparing the game board, shuffling and placing the various decks of cards, distributing the reagents, mana, and gold tokens, and ensuring each player has a starting set of cards. The game requires a significant amount of space, with a recommended play area of 46″ x 36″.

Gameplay Mechanics and Game Objective

Mechanics:

Action Selection

Market

Auction

Set Collection

Engine-Building

Game Objective:

Players aim to gather the most victory points by recruiting wizards, building towers, researching spells, summoning familiars, and exploring dungeons.

Victory points are earned through building pairs of Wizards and Towers, casting spells that match Wizard-Tower pairs, collecting gold, achieving public goals, and obtaining treasure.

The game ends when one of the main decks of cards is depleted, triggering the final round of play.

Player Experience

Lizard Wizard offers a rich and immersive gaming experience with its beautiful, dreamy artwork and well-thought-out mechanics. Players must strategically manage resources, optimize their mana collection, and make nuanced decisions to outmaneuver their opponents. The game is praised for its fun and engaging gameplay, although it can be complex and time-consuming, especially for new players.

Pros

Beautiful Artwork: The game features stunning and dreamy art quality that enhances the gaming experience.

Deep Strategy: The game offers a nuanced strategy with multiple ways to build up player strength and sabotage others.

Dynamic Mechanics: Familiars and spells provide a variety of actions and combinations to explore.

High Replayability: With multiple schools of magic and unique spell combinations, each game can be different.

Cons

Complexity: The game has a lot of moving parts, making it challenging for new players to learn and manage.

Long Playtime: Games can last between 90 minutes to over 2 hours, which can be too long for some players.

Large Play Area: The game requires a significant amount of space, which can be problematic for solo players or smaller gaming areas.

Administrative Tasks: The game lacks cheat sheets and an end-game score pad, which can make tracking points cumbersome.

Personal Thoughts on Lizard Wizard

Lizard Wizard is ideal for fans of fantasy games, strategy enthusiasts, and those who enjoy games with deep mechanics and beautiful artwork. It is a great step-up from gateway games but may not be the best fit for players who prefer quick games or struggle with complex rules. With its engaging gameplay and rich strategy, Lizard Wizard is a valuable addition to any serious board game collection.

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