Lizard Wizard - Should You Back It?

Lizard Wizard is the newest game from Forbidden Games, the spiritual successor to Raccoon Tycoon, introducing more nuance and complexity to escalate the level of gameplay you're experiencing. It's a great game, I've played it a few times already, and it's built on the back of another game that is already well liked....but should you back it?

TimeStamps:
0:00:00 - Introduction
0:01:10 - Gameplay Overview
0:02:52 - Pledge Level & Add Ons
0:07:38 - Differences Between Premium & Retail Editions
0:12:47 - Arch Mage Breakdown
0:15:20 - Am I Backing It?
0:16:23 - Reward for Prior Pledge Levels
0:17:27 - Optional Other Game Add Ons

[grimfodr]

Not sure if this will be a great back but... you helped convinced me. That and the 'higher end' materials for the components looks like it will fit the character wonderfully. The art and flavor of the game is what finally pulled me in.

[Richard-syej]

Keen to see your review! While I probably won't back this, I think it'll be on my radar to find at my local store at some point in the future.

[Romey]

Just love the artwork on this one... had to back it for the upgrades... thanks for sharing your input.

[theunamiable]

Love the art, but postage to Australia is ridiculous, so I'm thinking of waiting till retail. In a BGG comment, they pointed out that the retail version of Raccoon Tycoon didn't include 'Mission Cards'. Not exactly sure what they were, but they sounded to me like the Achievement Tiles here, which does give me pause.

[MaVarcon]

Fwiw, they specifically replied to the question of what's kickstarter-exclusive that e.g. player screens and scoring pad will NOT be in the retail edition. Whether that ends up being true, who knows, but there it is.

Regarding the game - on the fence. But god, that artwork is GORGEOUS!!

[successfulgeek]

I am passing and might get it at retail later, it does seem like a great gamer gateway game to get people who play stuff like Cards Against Humanity etc to dive a little deeper into games.

[andrewclifton]

I'm waiting for retail or second hand. It's not very clear on what's kickstarter exclusive or not. Even if all the stretch goals end up being exclusive, the only components that I'll miss are the achievement tiles and bonus spells. The achievements would be easy to home brew if the text is released or posted.

[ScytheNoire]

I am currently backing the deluxe version of Lizard Wizard. I have wanted Raccoon Tycoon, and since I didn't back Dead Reckoning, I don't feel bad about spending money on a company who seems to care about what their clients think and feel.

[nipzie]

I am unaware of anything about the actual gameplay for this one, I'll wait for your review. But man that's a ton of premium value upgrades.

[Sabury]

Will wait for your review before watching a playthrough.

👍

[willyum]

I'm not feeling it. The Fat Cat expansion is almost a year late. Besides, Forbidden Games sells their deluxe games for the same price as the KS. Go look on their site. You can even get the older deluxe games as part of this KS. Might as well wait to see if the game is good instead of paying to playtest. This is a bad back. ;)
...as far as I know, only the Fat Cat Backers got the credit. Maybe the Robber Barrons as well. The 1st player marker and the credit were to help smooth things over for the delay and the fact that as big as the Fat Cat box is, it doesn't hold sleeved cards or the add on coins. But really, if you've followed the campaign, you can see this has done little to make people content.

[BoardGames]

Oceans did the same thing as raccoon tycoon first run was KS version in all stores but then following reprints would be the retail version.

[jamestetzlaf]

I have not backed it at this point. As I listened to the first Quack podcast last this was timely and I am going to keep this one on my radar. Raccoon Tycoon was a pleasant surprise for many at the 2020 GenCon as by the end of the con it has a lot of buzz going on as the surprise sleeper game of the con. I did not get to play it. I'm looking forward to your review. As always thanks for your time.

[logiclust]

what if your friend is a massive fan of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard?

[daer]

I found out about the game through an update for Marvel United. It really caught my eye for the art, it looks really beautiful. Not sure if the auction engine is really my cup of tea, but from what you said, everything seems very balanced gameplay wise. Too bad they don't ship to South America, I'd probably give it a shot. So, in the end, it's a no brainer, at least for me lol.

[wouldplayagain]

Looking at what this is, I don't think it makes a ton of sense to own both Raccoon Tycoon and this. Seems like there are some meaningful gameplay differences, but they're similar enough that I feel like you're going to have your preferred one... and when you feel like playing either of the games, that's the one you're going to play. That being said, I think Lizard Wizard looks a little better, in terms of gameplay... but I really like the lighter theme of Raccoon Tycoon (fancy business bears acting as rail moguls). And I feel like the core gameplay lends itself well to the lighter game.

If I didn't own Raccoon Tycoon, I would 100% back this. I think it'll be fun. The art is fantastic. The blinged up version seems fancy and nice. And this company makes nice things.

[stevejones]

Oh... Your review is going to be awesome. Even if it's negative. Can't wait.

[robinrising]

the addons look retailer to even wholesaler priced. That's a lot of coins, meeples and mats for $99. The cheapest retail I've seen player game mats is $5 for wingspan. coins tend to be $30 for 80 ($41 for 110). meeples get really really expensive after market, so it's hard to value those, but 210 screen printed meeples is a lot. It seems like if you want this and liked racoon tycoon a lot, you'd want to back the (edit:premium) kickstarter.

[JodouTR]

Was waiting for this. Already had my mind made up as soon as I finished watching Rahdo play that this was a game for me. Love games that offer light play but DEEP strategy. Whenever you can fluster Rahdo with choices, that's the mark of a good game because it's the kind of variability that I love to see in RNG; player choice.

The art appeals to me and the deluxe components were a no-brainer. And for $99 shipped, I mean by KS standards for what you get that's CHEAP. 10/10 would rather pay twice the price of an average game for a good or even great one.

[ren-x]

I too was confused as to what was Retail vs Deluxe / KS exclusive. What is their motive for keeping these details so vague? The only thing I can think of is that there is not a hell of a lot exclusive to this KS campaign and by being forthright and clearly showing that they would lose backers who would otherwise happily just wait for Retail. I mean if you are giving away a lot for free, then you generally draw a lot of attention to it!!