LIZARD WIZARD (2021)

PLAYERS	TIME	DESIGNER	PUBLISHER
2-6	90-120 mins	Glenn Drover	Forbidden Games

This 2-6 player game has you competing to recruit Wizards, build magical towers, research spells, and more.

Fans of RACCOON TYCOON will be familiar with the gameplay. It’s pretty much a reskin with some added extras.

The game moves fast with each available action being quick. The market mechanic is one of my favourite parts of the game with an action being used to increase prices of goods and a separate action required to sell your goods at the current price.

This gives a great push your luck element as you keep an eye on other players resources and judge when to pull the trigger on selling before it becomes worthless on a later turn.

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What LIZARD WIZARD adds over its predecessor are Dungeons and Spells. Dungeons can be a lot of fun. More push your luck as you delve and hope to not lose everything you’ve discovered by going too far. The spells on the other hand are a fail for me. A lot of them are negative effects on other players.

While I don’t mind this in certain games, I prefer when it’s what the game is about. But here is a beautiful, somewhat relaxing game, where occasionally someone can screw another player over. I always got nervous when someone purchased a Spell card, especially in 2-player when you know you are the target.

Talking of beautiful games, this one is fantastic. The art on the cards could be blown up as posters to adorn your walls. And if you can get the KS Deluxe version, you’ll have some of the nicest components around.

However, with RACCOON TYCOON in our collection, we don’t feel the need to own this one too, and while it’s far more pleasing to the eye, the mechanical additions, oversized cards, and extra meanness means the game feels a little unnecessary.

LIZARD WIZARD has amazing table presence and is a beautiful work of art. But its predecessor makes it superfluous and a more bloated experience.