WizKids

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WizKids Inc.
Type Private
Founded July 2000
Founder Jordan Weisman
Headquarters Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Area served Worldwide
Key people Lax Chandra (President)
Joe Hauck (EVP)
Industry Collectible miniatures games developer and publisher
Products Mage Knight, HeroClix, MechWarrior, Pirates Constructible Strategy Game, Halo ActionClix
Parent Topps
Website www.wizkidsgames.com

WizKids, Inc. is an American Seattle-based company that first made its mark in the non-electronic game industry producing collectible miniatures wargames. The company was founded in 2000 by Jordan Weisman, a veteran of the game company FASA.[1] It was purchased by sports-card manufacturer Topps, Inc. in 2003.[2] (Topps was, in turn, acquired by Michael Eisner's Tornante Company and Madison Dearborn Partners in 2007.)

Contents

[edit] History

WizKids is best known for its collectible miniatures games (or CMGs) Mage Knight, HeroClix, MechWarrior, and HorrorClix, all of which make use of the company's patent pending "Clix" system, in which the changing combat statistics and abilities of each figure are indicated by a turnable dial inside the base underneath the figure. Their latest CMG is Halo ActionClix (based on the console game Halo), released in August 2007.

Though they proved less successful, WizKids also produced the short-lived CMGs Crimson Skies, Shadowrun Duels, and Creepy Freaks, as well as a baseball-themed CMG called MLB SportsClix. A CMG called ToonClix was announced in March 2006, but cancelled before it was released.

Example of a Clix figure
Example of a Clix figure

In July 2004, WizKids created a new product category with the release of their first constructible strategy game (or CSG), Pirates of the Spanish Main. Their next CSG was a science fiction game called Rocketmen, released in the summer of 2005, followed by a NASCAR CSG called RaceDay later that year, though these last two games are no longer being supported with new releases. By 2007, WizKids was also calling some of their releases involving CSG elements "Pocketmodel" games, beginning with the Star Wars PocketModel game.

In 2005, WizKids released their first collectible card game, High Stakes Drifter. This game has since been discontinued. In May 2006, they released their second Collectable Card Game(CCG), a licensed Battlestar Galactica game based on the reimagined TV series.

WizKids has entered the board game market with a board game called Tsuro in 2005, followed in 2006 by Oshi and "Pirates: Quest for Davy Jones' Gold", a board game based on the Pirates Constructible Strategy Game.

The company also owns the rights to the role-playing games Shadowrun and Classic Battletech, which they license to FanPro in 2001. Later in 2007, the franchise was licensed to InMediaRes, the games' publisher.[3]. A game created by the company called Zypods (with a physical structure similar to Matryoshka dolls) had a limited release, but was never distributed nationwide.

[edit] Games and products

Product lines marked with a star (*) are no longer actively supported or expanded by WizKids.

[edit] Board Games

  • Oshi
  • Tsuro
  • Pirates: Quest for Davy Jones' Gold

[edit] Collectable Card Games

[edit] Collectable Miniatures Games

[edit] Constructible Strategy Games

[edit] Pocketmodel Games

[edit] Other Games

  • Zypods*

[edit] References

  1. ^ Company Information. WizKids Inc. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  2. ^ The Topps Company, Inc. Completes Acquisition of Wizkids, LLC. Topps (2003-07-09). Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  3. ^ FanPro FAQ. FanPro (2006-12-01). Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  4. ^ WizKids Games

[edit] External links