War of Wizards explained

War of Wizards
Subtitle:The Game Of Fantastic Magical Combat
Genre:Fantasy board wargame
Designer:M. A. R. Barker

War of Wizards is a board game published by TSR in 1975. It was TSR's first publication for M. A. R. Barker's world of Tékumel.

Development

David M. Ewalt, in his book Of Dice and Men, described how University of Minnesota professor M. A. R. Barker "made his game-design debut at TSR. A scholar of ancient languages, Barker had spent decades crafting a fantasy world called Tékumel, writing thousands of pages of histories, describing its culture, and even constructing its languages. He served as adviser to the university's wargaming club, and after Michael Mornard showed him Dungeons & Dragons, Barker wrote two games based in Tékumel; a tabletop role-playing game, Empire of the Petal Throne; and a combat-oriented board game, War of Wizards."[1]

History

Originally published by TSR in 1975, it was reprinted by Tita's House of Games in 1999.[2] War of Wizards predates TSR releasing Empire of the Petal Throne by a few months, making it their first Tékumel publication.[3]

Gameplay

War of Wizards could be used to enhance the combat rules in fantasy role-playing games.[4]

Reception

Colin Wheeler reviewed War of Wizards for White Dwarf #8, and stated that "All in all, War of Wizards is an enjoyable game and can be played in a good evening session."[5]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Ewalt, David M. . David M. Ewalt . 2013 . Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It . Scribner . 99-100 . 978-1-4516-4052-6 .
  2. Web site: War of Wizards . BoardGameGeek . BoardGameGeek LLC . 8 February 2021.
  3. Book: Appelcline . Shannon . Designers & Dragons. '70-'79 : A history of the roleplaying game industry . 2014 . Evil Hat Productions . Silver Springs, MD, USA . 978-1-61317-075-5. 2nd.
  4. Book: Arnaudo, Marco . Storytelling in the Modern Board Game: Narrative Trends from the Late 1960s to Today . McFarland . 2018 . 102. 9781476669519.
  5. Wheeler . Colin . Open Box . . 8 . 17 . . August–September 1978 .