Shazamm! is a two-player game of wizardly battle by Francois Bruel and Philippe des Pallieres, distributed in the United States by Z-Man Games.
Players: 2
Playing Time: 15-30 minutes
The Components
Shazamm! comes in a small square box containing components whose graphical design are to the high standards you expect from French games.
Board: A small two-panel board who's main purpose is to show the 19-space bridge over which the wizards will be fighting. There's also a 50-point mana track. The board is illustrated with attractive art by Francois Bruel and is produced with a high-gloss finish which is also typical of French games.
There are also a set of 16 cardboard collapsed flagstone tiles which are placed on the bridge as it slowly falls apart.
Figures: Three sturdy cardboard figures represent the two wizards and the wall of fire that lies between them. Each also comes with a good quality plastic stand to keep them standing up.
Mana Tokens: Small wooden pawns in the two player colors--red and green--which are used on the mana track.
Mana Dials: Very sturdy cardstock dials which are pinned together with solid metal pins. Each one lets you secretly select a number from 0-59.
Cards: A set of 30 cards, 15 for each player. Each one depicts a specific spell, with a unique illustration and a text explanation of what the spell does. On the downside there is no use of icons which would make the cards easier to use in the long-term. On the upside, the explanatory text is some of the best I've read, leaving no question about what each card does. The cards are sturdy weight with a gloss finish.
Overall, the components in Shazamm! are all great quality and all feature very attractive artwork. My quibbles over limited attention being spent on utility have little effect on the game, and thus I've let it eke in a full "5" out of "5" for Style: this is a very pretty game.
The Gameplay
Shazamm! is a blind-bidding games which is themed as a fight between wizards where you're trying to force your opponent off the crumbling end of a bridge.
Setup: Each player selects a color--green or red--and takes the cards and pieces in that color. The board is set out with a fire wall in the middle of the bridge and each wizard three spaces back from it, on opposite sides. Each player puts his mana marker at 50 and draws five cards.
Starting a Round: A round of Shazamm! consists of several turns, each of which centers on a bid. During a round the fire wall will be pushed back and forth between the two players until someone is hit by the wall or else both players run out of mana, at which point the round ends.
The Bid: Each turn each player secretly bids a number of mana from 1 to their current total. The higher mana total will win out that turn, forcing the fire wall one space toward the other player.
However, it's not that simple, as each player also has cards to spend. These are played secretly at the same time as the mana bid, and create most of the strategy of the game.When the cards are revealed, any duplicates are discarded, then the rest are applied in order from 1 to 14. The cards are:
- Silence. Cancels spells for the round.
- Clone. Duplicates a card cast by your opponent last turn.
- Larceny. Allows you to use all spells cast by your opponent this turn.
- Enough! Ends the round immediately.
- Reset. Moves the fire wall to where it was at the start of the round.
- Recycle. Allows you to change your mana bid by 5, up or down.
- Power Up. Increases your mana bid by 7 for free.
- Double Dose. Doubles your mana bid for free.
- Winner Loses. Moves the fire wall toward the winner.
- Inferno. Moves the fire wall two spaces.
- Resistance. Keeps the fire wall from moving toward you.
- Miser. Cancels your bid if you lose.
- Reserve Boost. Increases your mana bank by 13.
- Suction. Increases your mana bank by what your opponent bid.
After all of that is figured out, then the fire wall moves 1 (or 2) spaces in the correct direction.
Ending the Round: A round ends when the fire wall hits a wizard or when both wizards are out of mana. At that point everything resets. The wizards are moved so that they're each 3 spaces from the (new) location of the wall. They each restore their mana to 50 and draw 3 new cards.
In addition, the bridge starts to fall down. The outermost space on each side collapses; if any wizard was standing there (or was forced over the edge already by the movement), the game ends with that player losing.
Relationships to Other Games
Shazamm! is a blind bidding game with a chaotic element introduced by the cards. It reminds me somewhat of another recent game I reviewed, Chang Cheng, which also featured a pseudo-auction element (there, simple majority control) and hidden cards which shook things up.
Amusingly, this isn't the only wizards-fighting-on-a-bridge game, the other being Lord of the Rings: The Duel, which features the epic confrontation between Gandalf and the Balrog.
The Game Design
At its core level, Shazamm! is a pretty pure blind-bidding game, meaning that you spend much of your time trying to second-guess your opponent, trying to bid weak when he bids strong and to just barely overcome his strength when you make your own push for victory.
The thing that changes this is, of course, the cards. Their most important function in the game is to introduce real strategy, as you can look over the cards you have available, then make a plan for the round of play (e.g., "I'm going to let my opponent push the wall at me, expending his strength, then I'm going to reset it and make a push in his direction"). It's the cards that really make the game a game, and they're colorful, evocative, and fun.
Nonetheless, Shazamm! still a pretty simple game, with a lot of chaos and a good amount of luck in it. It also plays very fast, which is apt for its level of complexity.
I rate it slightly above average, meaning a high "3" out of "5" for Substance.
Conclusion
Shazamm! is a beautifully produced blind-bidding game with colorful fantasy artwork and well-produced components. The gameplay itself is pretty simple, but players' individual decks of cards keep things interesting and allow for some strategic variety.
Review Summary