Summary
Any board game, card game, or TTRPG fans will be familiar withWizards of the Coast. A hugely influential company, Wizards have been a part of the design and publishing of countless classics that have redefined the genre of tabletop gaming. While their massive catalog of published games speaks for itself, many games have since changed ownership or haven’t had a re-release despite the huge footprints in the gaming landscape they have left.
Despite lots of names changing hands, Wizards of the Coast are still a major publisher in the gaming scene, and have published a number of classic games under their own banner. This list ranks the best TTRPGs, card games, and board games inWizardspublishing history.
8Diplomacy
A Cutthroat Game Of Betrayal And Backstabbing
Diplomacyhas been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1999 and remains one of the most tactical and competitive board games of all time. InDiplomacy,players are not expected to simulate the intricacies of battle. Instead, the focus is on the diplomatic promises and alliances that are made and broken in warfare.
Each turn is taken simultaneously, with players writing their orders and enacting all movements at the same time and then breaking for a negotiation phase, where they can speak to the group at large or privately converse with enemies or neighbors to bring about peace, or grab for more land and power. The brutality of the confrontations inDiplomacyhas made it timeless,with every possible strategy being tried and tested; the constant knowledge that everyone has to backstab if they want to get ahead instills a thrilling paranoia in every player.
7RoboRally
Crazy Programming With Chaotic Results
One of the first big hits that Wizards of the Coast published,RoboRallysees players take control of a robot in a hectic race. Cards are played into a track of instructions that robots will follow in sequence to traverse a track and pass checkpoints the fastest. Weapons on the robots, conveyor belts, and hidden commands quickly complicate things and lead to shoving other onto conveyors that whir away at high speed, or a robot moving and the player realizing that the entire rest of the sequence of commands is useless or even deadly for the racing droid.
Still in production as a classic of vibrant and vicious board gaming history,RoboRallyis an achievement for Wizards of the Coast that is well worth a try for new players, and another rematch for any who have played it previously.
6Axis & Allies
Team Strategy With Huge Scope
For a grand-scale strategy game that can run with 5 players,Axis & Alliesfeels surprisingly modern.Initially released in the early 80s,the game puts players in control of warring nations across a map of the world. The gameplay can be slow, with large numbers of different troop types shifting around the map to claim territory and wipe out resource production points for opponents.
There is just enough random chance to make this a casual game that involves nasty strategy and clever teamwork to outmaneuver the opposing side. The range of different troops that can wage war on land, sea, or sky means that the formula that seems familiar for fans ofRiskis kept fresh and varied; the technology cards also go a long way to adding random replayability to this great war game.
5Marvel Super Heroes: RPG
Fantasy Fighting With Iron Man
The Marvel Universe is a perfect playground for experimentation and exploration, andMarvel Super Heroes: RPGdoes not disappoint. The d100-based roleplaying system lets players take on the roles of existing superheroes to experience their powers and personalities. A detailed character creation section also lets players invent their own superheroes with a variety of abilities and traits to choose from; psionics, super-strength, mechanical armor. and gravity manipulation are just a few of the quirks on offer.
The system is cartoonish, with levelling up determined by a character’s karma, and with larger-than-life superpowers at their fingertips. At times, it seems to stray into fantasy, with players being appropriately overpowered against thugs, but fighting supervillains can prove challenging and tense with the right Game Master.
4Android: Netrunner
Cyberpunk Angst In An Asymmetrical Deckbuilder
A glimpse into Mike Pondsmith’sCyberpunksetting from a different perspective, theNetrunnercollectable card game has left a legacy that has translated in style and mechanics into plenty of other games. PlayingNetrunnertoday, the asymmetrical gameplay jumps off the table and creates a story from the first turn. One player takes on the role of a Megacorp, a company determined to put schemes in place to make more money or have more control and sway over the setting. The other plays as a Netrunner, hacking the corporation’s servers to find out their plans and score points for sabotaging them.
The hacking programs, and defensive ICE that fights against them, add more and more flavor to the game. Gorgeous art and new mechanics with every card add more intricacies to make players on either side feel powerful, while also always feeling overpowered by the opposition. Despite being out of print, the game was so beloved that fans can stillplay it onlineor order reprints of the cards through groups of enthusiasts who keep the game alive.
The Original Trading Card Game
Magic: The Gathering
When discussing deep, tactical card games, with gorgeous art that evokes sprawling stories, it is impossible not to mentionMagic: The Gathering. The game was first released in 1993, but it continues to be overwhelmingly successful even today. Players are Summoners who use mana gained from lands to weave spells and create monsters that can attack the opponent in a last-man standing battle. Decks can be built with endless themes or with a variety of strategies, and the competitiveMagicscene is still going strong.
The addition of online play throughMagic: The Gathering Arenamakes it incredibly accessible for new players. WotC also regularly team up with other companies to includeguest sets in theMagiclineup;The Walking Dead,Dungeons & Dragons,Doctor WhoandAssassin’s Creedhave all appeared with stunning art and rules that bring their worlds into the rules and dynamics ofMagic: The Gathering. The game is a mammoth of the card gaming landscape.
Betrayal at House on the Hill: Third Edition
A group of normal people - a little girl, a priest, a track runner, and a librarian - enter an ominous abandoned house. After they survive wandering ghosts and visions of gore, something will happen to these characters. This basic set-up forBetrayal At House On The Hillappears simple, and perhaps even a little lazy on first inspection. But the vague premise is cast aside when the horrors of the house take full effect, and roleplaying as these normal folks trapped in a slasher story becomes entrancing.
Around halfway through a game ofBetrayal, players will be checking the book to see which of their number is the traitor and what the objective is to avoid dying to any of the threats that may be coming. The real excitement comes from the countless possibilities that lend replayability to the game. Will the enemy be an army of zombies, an evil witch, or a possessed pumpkin? There are dragons and aliens and evil traps that seem to reference theSawmovie series. Every game is a blend of tight tension and hilarityas the cooperative start gives wayto a cutthroat, goal-oriented conclusion that spins out of control with laughable inevitability.
Dungeons and Dragons
AlthoughDungeons & Dragonshas developed over several iterations and editions,D&D’s 5th Edition is an exceptional achievement for Wizards of the Coast. Undoubtedly one of the best roleplaying game systems of all time, 5E is simple to learn, which makes it accessible to newbies to the genre. This accessibility, along with the exceptional written tools thathave helped to develop incredible Dungeon Masters,has drawn in more fans than ever before, making 5E by far the most popular TTRPG ever.
The straightforward character sheet makes the game easy to get to the table, with enough breathing room to ensure more experienced players can find depth to create interesting adventurers who are fun to play. Wizards continues to release regular adventure modules with pre-written stories for DMs to run with their parties. The explosive reaction toD&D 5Eproves that this streamlined and dynamic RPG system is something anyone can enjoy.
