Designer:  Glenn Drover (Age of Empires III: The Age of Discovery, Empires: The Age of Discovery, Raccoon Tycoon, Railways of the World)

Artists: Jacoby O’Conner (Age of Empires III: The Age of Discovery, Evolution, Evolution: Climate, Raccoon Tycoon, Say Anything, Wits & Wagers), Annie Stegg (Raccoon Tycoon)

Publisher:  Forbidden Games (Extraordinary Adventures: Pirates, Raccoon Tycoon, Railroad Rivals)

Genre/Mechanisms: auction/bidding, commodity speculation, economic, hand management, push your luck, set collection

Funding Status: At the time of this posting, Lizard Wizard is already fully-funded. In fact, pledges currently total almost 10x the initial funding goal with 4 days left to go on the campaign!

Player Count: 2-5

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

What It’s About: “Compete to recruit wizards from seven unique schools of magic, build mystical towers, research powerful spells, summon helpful familiars, and search dark dungeons for gold and items of power.”

How It Works: “Astoria is a land pulsing with magic and intrigue. A handful of Arch-Mages are vying for the loyalty of wizards across the land so that they can wield ultimate power. While competing to recruit wizards from seven unique schools of magic, you will also have to create mystical towers, research powerful spells, summon helpful familiars, and search dark dungeons for gold and items of power.”

“Lizard Wizard is an action selection game. On your turn, you will perform one of six actions: 1) Gather Magical Ingredients (Reagents); 2) Convert these Reagents into Mana, the energy necessary to cast spells; 3) Compete with the other Arch-Mages to recruit Wizards from seven schools of magic; 4) Create magical towers that will amplify the power of their wizards; 5) Summon Familiars to help them with many tasks, including exploring the dungeons of Astoria; and 6) Research and cast powerful spells. At the end of the game, you will receive points for having the best wizard and tower combinations, gold, and scoring spells.”

Comparisons: Lizard Wizard has many similarities with Glenn Drover’s previous game, Racoon Tycoon, including art by Jacoby O’Conner and Annie Stegg. Several other games that combine commodity speculation with set collection include Finca, Container, The Gallerist, and Glen More II: Chronicles, but Finca is the only game among them of a similar complexity, with the others rated as markedly heavier.

What Should I Pledge?:
$49 Lizard Wizard: the Premium Edition of the game with all unlocked stretch goals.
$89 The Arch-Mage: includes everything in the Lizard Wizard pledge, plus metal coins, wooden reagents, and player mats.

Add-Ons:
$25 Metal Coin Set (110 Premium Metal Coins)
$25 Printed Wooden Reagent Tokens (210 Deluxe Printed Wood Tokens)
$25 Neoprene Player Mats (6 mats)
$30 Extraordinary Adventures: Pirates!
$60 Extraordinary Adventures: Pirates! Upgrade Kit (includes Coins, Miniatures, and Neoprene Game Board/Map)
$30 Railroad Rivals
$50 Railroad Rivals Premium Wood Edition
$30 Railroad Rivals: Robber Baron Expansion
$50 Railroad Rivals: Robber Baron Expansion Premium Wood Tile Edition
$30 Raccoon Tycoon
$30 Raccoon Tycoon Giant Coin Set
$50 Raccoon Tycoon Fat Cat Expansion
$80 Raccoon Tycoon Fat Cat Expansion Deluxe (includes the Premium Edition of the base game)

KS Exclusives
All three items in the Arch-Mage pledge and also available separately as add-ons (the Metal Coin Set, Printed Wooden Reagent Tokens, and Neoprene Player Mats) are Kickstarter exclusives.

All-In Total: Assuming you’re not interested in the additional games, then in the continental U.S. you’re looking at $89 for The Arch-Mage pledge and $10 in shipping for a total of $99.

Lizard Wizard completes its Kickstarter on Wednesday, August 26th and tentatively ships in February 2021.