Files

T

Eric WagonerandClaude Fable 5 574c707798 Add 6th edition research: rules, cards, and board layouts

Assembled from the Wayback Machine (Tom Jolly's wizwar.com), BGG, and
fan archives: 5E rules transcription (6E is a light revision), Jolly's
2002 FAQ, ~208-card Chessex-era card pool with mechanics, all six
sector board layouts reconstructed from photos + fan redraws, and
setup diagrams. Gaps flagged for verification against Eric's copy.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

2026-08-15 18:25:50 -04:00

9.5 KiB

Raw Permalink Blame History

Wiz-War Board Research — Annotated Sources

Compiled 2026-08-15. Local copies of the key images are in research/images/. Reliability: ★★★ primary (photos/scans of actual components or official pages), ★★ near-primary (faithful fan reproduction, period fan site), ★ secondary (reviews, wikis).

Primary: photographs of the actual 6th-edition boards (BGG image gallery)

BGG gallery for Wiz-War (game id 589): https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/589/wiz-war/images Uploaded by BGG user louping0, captioned "6th edition board tile (n of 6)". ★★★, 6th ed. Direct large-image CDN links (1024 px):

Local file	BGG image page	Direct image
6e-photo-tile1.jpg (= Layout B)	https://boardgamegeek.com/image/184445	https://cf.geekdo-images.com/VMDIooYhfbvkS57ALIzxsQ__large/img/l78YiL6JIME8erbD4rRmvvTxWgc=/fit-in/1024x1024/filters:no_upscale():strip_icc()/pic184445.jpg
6e-photo-tile2.jpg (= Layout D)	https://boardgamegeek.com/image/184446	https://cf.geekdo-images.com/RPqgn8DF_VSaiNoE-WuavA__large/img/dLZ49Wq2D1bM2OC-RcRxhV4eE0E=/fit-in/1024x1024/filters:no_upscale():strip_icc()/pic184446.jpg
6e-photo-tile3.jpg (= Layout C)	https://boardgamegeek.com/image/184447	https://cf.geekdo-images.com/3tVJ9oZRdhDZtc2n-gKlkA__large/img/GqU785i_DvzsITdVAACSPMf6k6U=/fit-in/1024x1024/filters:no_upscale():strip_icc()/pic184447.jpg
6e-photo-tile4.jpg (= Layout F)	https://boardgamegeek.com/image/184665	https://cf.geekdo-images.com/KAYnAefaanADZxMOsV7PqA__large/img/4MqM9OsPSGZXdnDoL-LWT5dIKjA=/fit-in/1024x1024/filters:no_upscale():strip_icc()/pic184665.jpg
6e-photo-tile5.jpg (= Layout A)	https://boardgamegeek.com/image/184680	https://cf.geekdo-images.com/9stqhvHtVYQ7DCYwbyDYKg__large/img/uUxbTXaRz0wHXWuTyCP2rL97f1Q=/fit-in/1024x1024/filters:no_upscale():strip_icc()/pic184680.jpg
6e-photo-tile6.jpg (= Layout E)	https://boardgamegeek.com/image/184683	https://cf.geekdo-images.com/2VZDdWQ8_oe6iQ873XuQ1w__large/img/SWXrwVQ1evrFJM-OiXdw_mJJqQk=/fit-in/1024x1024/filters:no_upscale():strip_icc()/pic184683.jpg

Setup diagrams (★★★):

Back page of the 6e rulebook, "Set-Up Diagram" (2/3/4/5/6-player + Relocate Sector example): https://boardgamegeek.com/image/184444 — local 6e-rules-setup-diagram.jpg Direct: https://cf.geekdo-images.com/Y1z0ob0hGj-zToQILSLIDQ__large/img/Yh3f4BEFxXULK4U7Bg48dyywuEg=/fit-in/1024x1024/filters:no_upscale():strip_icc()/pic184444.jpg
7e rulebook pp. 8-9, "2 player to 8 player board configurations" (+ LOS examples): https://boardgamegeek.com/image/740566 — local 7e-rules-setup-2-8-players.jpg Direct: https://cf.geekdo-images.com/xwVHbvC9pOT5CxjAGlTyDQ__large/img/u_BpeqSrpNMF_VtpzbRZAJ8_pF0=/fit-in/1024x1024/filters:no_upscale():strip_icc()/pic740566.jpg

Other useful gallery photos: 3-player 5e table setup https://boardgamegeek.com/image/319140 · 5e + Expansion #1 "The Six Sector tiles" https://boardgamegeek.com/image/396371 · 6e box front/back https://boardgamegeek.com/image/184442 / /image/184443 · 6e token/card close-ups /image/261893-261897 · 6e number cards /image/184459.

Near-primary: Jeff Barrett's (jeloba.com) board reproductions — ★★

Defunct fan site, recovered via the Wayback Machine. His page states: "The first six are the standard boards from the 5th edition & expansions. The last two are original layouts." Machine-verified (all-symmetry edge comparison) to match the six photographed 6e tiles exactly — see boards-6e.md §3. Clean 1500x1500 images, ideal for reading exact layouts.

Archived page: http://web.archive.org/web/20050311212238/http://www.jeloba.com/wizwar/
Board images (append if_ after the timestamp for the raw file), local copies jeloba-board-1..8.jpg:
Same content packaged on BGG: "Improved board.zip" https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/24521/improved-boardzip (BGG file downloads require a free login.)

Edition/component references — ★★★

Wiz-War (Chessex sixth edition) version page: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameversion/27352/chessex-sixth-edition — 1993; contents: 1 rulebook, 4 boards, 2 token sheets, 125 spell cards, 1 die. (BGG blocks anonymous scripted fetches; view in a browser.)
Wiz-War (Chessex classic edition 1997 = 7th ed.) version page: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameversion/28612/chessex-classic-edition-1997 — 1 rulebook, 4 boards, 2 sheets die-cut counters, 4 stands, 130 spell cards, 1 die.
Wiz-War: Expansion Set #1: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/28071/wiz-war-expansion-set-1 — 75 spell cards, 2 new boards, 2 token sheets; Chessex reprint version: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameversion/35412/english-third-edition
Wiz-War: Expansion Set #2: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/38450/wiz-war-expansion-set-2 — cards/tokens only.
Main game page: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/589/wiz-war
Noble Knight archival listings (photos of box contents sometimes included): https://www.nobleknight.com/P/2147384243/Wiz-War-6th-Edition · https://www.nobleknight.com/P/2148330144/Wiz-War-Collection-2---Base-Game-6th-Edition-w-Expansion-1

Rules texts — ★★/★

BGG file "Doc1.doc — English rules" (era rules transcription; login required): https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/4689/doc1doc
BGG file "Wiz War FAQ.doc" (comprehensive era FAQ): https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/2537/wiz-war-faqdoc
8th ed. official rulebook PDF (FFG; different board system but same home/treasure concepts): https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/wiz-war/WizWar_Rulebook%20v1-12%20low.pdf
UltraBoardGames rules summary (8e): https://www.ultraboardgames.com/wiz-war/game-rules.php

Fan board recreations / print-and-play (all recreate the Chessex-era game) — ★★

"Magic Stone" redesign by Ilya Baranovsky (Ilya 77) — full modern redesign of the classic game; Basic Set contains 8 map sectors + all tokens: https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/54028/wizwar-magic-stone-basic-set (cards: /filepage/48093; Expansion 1: /filepage/54029; Expansion 2: /filepage/60781; Community Expansion+: /filepage/98753). Note: 8 sectors means it is not a 1:1 layout reproduction of the six official boards — treat as inspired-by, not authoritative.
Kwanchai Moriya redesign (new artwork for the classic edition): https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/35997/kwanchais-wiz-war-redesign
Wiz-war in 3D (fully redone boards, 3D rendered, base + Expansion 1): https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/70946/wiz-war-in-3d-minus-the-cards
Jeloba spell-card label PDFs (Wayback): SpellCards-OriginalDecks.pdf, SpellCards-Additional.pdf, Number Card Labels.pdf under http://web.archive.org/web//http://www.jeloba.com/wizwar/

Digital modules

Tabletop Simulator — "Wiz-War" (classic Tom Jolly edition, Kwanchai art), by treetrnk: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=408527762 — ★★, digitizes the Chessex-era game via fan redesign assets.
Tabletop Simulator — "Wiz-War Magic Stone Edition + Expansions": https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=667198893 — ★★, Ilya 77 redesign of the classic game.
Tabletop Simulator — Wiz-War 8th edition (FFG redesign, scanned components): https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1913683974 and https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2063767485 — ★★★ for 8e boards only.
VASSAL: no Wiz-War module exists in the VASSAL module library (searched vassalengine.org library and web; nothing found as of 2026-08).
wiki.wizwar.net — small fan wiki about the 8e TTS mod; little board content: https://wiki.wizwar.net/doku.php?id=tabletop_simulator

Background / history — ★

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiz-War (edition history; no layout specifics)
"A Brief History of Wiz-War", League of Gamemakers: https://www.leagueofgamemakers.com/a-brief-history-of-wiz-war/
RPGnet review of the 7e Classic Edition (confirms 4 board sections in box): https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/classic/rev_815.phtml
8e expansions: Malefic Curses (adds 1 sector board + portals, 5th player) https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/147473/wiz-war-malefic-curses · Bestial Forces (no board) https://therewillbe.games/articles-boardgame-reviews/4787-wiz-war-bestial-forces-expansion-review

Access notes

BGG HTML pages return 403 to scripted fetches; the JSON APIs work: images https://api.geekdo.com/api/images?objectid=589&objecttype=thing&galleries[]=game&..., files https://api.geekdo.com/api/files?objectid=589&objecttype=thing&.... The old XML API now requires authentication.
Wayback Machine: add if_ after the timestamp in URLs to fetch raw files; the CDX API (http://web.archive.org/cdx/search/cdx?url=jeloba.com/wizwar*) lists all captures.

9.5 KiB Raw Permalink Blame History