Wizwar

Wiz-War

Designer(s)	Tom Jolly
Publisher(s)	Jolly Games, Fantasy Flight Games (2012)
Publication date	1985
Players	2-5
Playing time	15-60 minutes

Wiz-War is a board game created by Tom Jolly and first published in 1985 through Jolly’s company, Jolly Games. It is described as a "beer and pretzels game".

The board in Wiz-War is made up of individual segments that form a labyrinth that the players must navigate. The layout of is different each time the game is played and can also be modified by players during gameplay. Wiz-War uses cards to represent (among other things) spells cast by players. Some concepts, like magical combat and hit points, should be familiar to players of Dungeons & Dragons and other role-playing games.

After spending nearly 15 years out of print, Wiz-War was released in a new 8th Edition by Fantasy Flight Games in February 2012.

The first edition of the game had an extremely low production value and consisted of photocopied typewritten rules, simply designed two-by-three-inch cards, silkscreened cardboard boards, and photocopied chits, all contained in a clear plastic Ziploc bag. Jolly silkscreened the game boards by hand.

Later editions featured slightly more sophisticated game materials (such as a box), but the essential simplicity of the game has been preserved. Several expansion sets have also been published, including additional cards and board segments, allowing for more players.

After the release of Wiz-War 7th edition in 1997, Wiz-War went out of print for many years, and lengthy delays around the release of the Eighth Edition led many to consider it vaporware. An Eighth Edition had been mentioned at Tom Jolly's website for some time, and had also been announced on the Chessex web site since at least 2002. In November 2009, Tom Jolly announced in a post on wizwar.com that he had canceled the contract with Chessex and had reached agreement to republish the game with a new publisher.

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Wikipedia