About

Dodgeball! A game that brings back memories from school For some, those are fun memories. For others, a fear of that big, red ball lingers.

Wizards! Beings that wield power forces beyond space and time.

In Wizard Dodgeball YOU are a wizard! (Well, 5, actually) Relive the glory of old or reclaim your honor from that forsaken arena!

Here's what other people are saying about Wizard Dodgeball

For more details, see the "Reviews" section below. Check out the rulebook here and try it for yourself with the free print and play here.

The Relaunch

A quick list of what's changed since the last campaign:

New art! We're going to bring a full cast of characters to the stat cards and get more of an athletic trading card feel.

sample of new art and new card layouts

Revised rule book with a basic version, quick start guide, and a non-elimination variant.

with a basic version, quick start guide, and a non-elimination variant. Lower funding goal! There was some miscommunication with the printer last time about the minimum print run that determined the funding goal. That has been sorted out and we're now shooting for a 1000 unit printing for the first go.

Wizard Dodgeball is a turn-based, light tactics sports game for 2 players. If you're familiar with dodgeball and/or a roll-playing game like Dungeons and Dragons, you'll be well equipped going in to a game of Wizard Dodgeball.

Each player drafts a team of wizards and then chooses spells based on their team’s stats. There are no tables to look up or spell lists to consult as all the information is in front of you on the cards. This leaves you all the time to focus on your strategy of when to rush for the balls, cast spells, and throw at your opponent's team.

Wizard Dodgeball also uses a simplified stat system for throwing and dodging balls and spells. On each wizard's card are colored squares representing the 2 dice you will roll (typically) for the various actions. These correspond to the custom dice with the following ranges:

dice mockup

Wizards take turns in a fixed order throughout the game. When a particular wizard is active, they can move, cast a spell, and throw a ball (if they have one). Dice are rolled only when attacking and defending; passing to, or enchanting your team just requires spending an action to do so.

Throwing a ball at an opponent is range based, meaning you're going to roll 1, 2, or 3 dice depending on how far away your wizard is from their target. Casting spells at your opponent is not ranged based and some wizard can attack multiple targets with a single spell.

Defending gives your wizard a chance to turn the tables. Typically, you'll be rolling 2 dice to either dodge a ball or resist a spell. When you roll doubles is where it gets interesting. Rolling doubles while dodging means your wizard catches the ball, sending the thrower out and bringing an eliminated teammate back in the game. Rolling doubles on spell resistance and that spell rebounds at the attacker requiring them to resist against their own spell.

To show you how far this game has come, here are the art samples along the way.

The first up is the court which started as an open space for more of a wargaming approach. But, moving and range were too difficult so I read up on the standard court sizes from the NDL which lead to the present court. The initiative track was eventually dropped to keep the focus on the court and reduce the setup time as there was an extra initiative card for each wizard.

court evolution

The stat cards for the wizards used to have a lot more numbers on them, including range. To reduce time, new dice with different value sets were implemented so the cards needed to reflect that. Range went away because it was already accounted for in the other stats.

stat card evolution

The spell cards have seen a lot of graphic design love since the early beginnings. A cost value was added so you didn't need to remember that a card with one spell on it cost 1 magic point of your team.

spell card evolution

Ladies, gentlemen, and ungendered species! The Interplanar Wizard Dodgeball League and Mind the Gap Studios would like to welcome you to the annual all-star game of WIZARD DODGEBALL!

The IWDL is made up of teams from all physical and ethereal planes, twenty-four in all. The all-star game is the yearly gathering of the best wizard dodgeballers from each of the teams in the league.

The IWDL rules trace their roots to the human version of dodgeball; the players that don’t dodge the ball are eliminated, a caught ball eliminates the thrower, the winner is the last team left on the court.

But, that’s just the beginning! Wizard Dodgeball allows teams to also cast performance enhancing (or inhibiting) spells. Boost the strength of your wizards! Freeze your opponent's wizards! Shield your wizards from spells and balls! Teleport wizards and balls! And watch out for fireballs!

Game in progress (prototype components shown)

Game in progress (prototype components shown)

current print and play components shown

The dice, 8d6 and 5d12, are custom dice that will not require stickers.

The 24 wizard jersey markers will be silk screen, 1/8" thick, round wood discs and also not require stickers.

Additionally, the game will come with a rulebook and a box to keep it all in.d

Kickstarter Exclusive!

Backers will get an additional 10 cards of spells for more asymmetrical play. These cards will be an expansion after the first print run. See Update #11 for more details.

Check out the rulebook here and try it for yourself with the free print and play here.

basic version with points

(advanced elimination version)