Terrible Lizards
Terrible Lizards is a game where you build and fight dinosaurs. It is designed for 2 to 4 people, and has shared deck so everyone you play with can get in on the action. You will never need to buy new cards!
This is a game of lizard combat, so the goal of the game is to be the last reptile standing. Most games give you an army of tiny creatures to command and keep track of. Terrible Lizards gives you dominion over a single creature, a dinosaur that evolves throughout the game. You will use parts of over a dozen different dinosaurs to create the ultimate dinosaur and use a series of effects and adaptations to become stronger or spoil your opponent's plans
This is a game of lizard combat, so the goal of the game is to be the last reptile standing. Most games give you an army of tiny creatures to command and keep track of. Terrible Lizards gives you dominion over a single creature, a dinosaur that evolves throughout the game. You will use parts of over a dozen different dinosaurs to create the ultimate dinosaur and use a series of effects and adaptations to become stronger or spoil your opponent's plans
What 's New?
The original Terrible Lizards launched 7 years ago and the Second Edition came from a desire to make the game even more fun. It looks better, it plays better, and I've heard it even tastes better too.
The biggest thing I worked on was making it so that cards were more usable and that parts could be used in new ways. Turns where you were stuck discarding are a thing of the past! On top of that, some cards that were less fun to play were either removed or changed, and the rules were rewritten so that the game would be easier to learn. The second edition is the definitive way to play the game.
If you are interested in the nitty gritty changes, I have a rundown for you below.
Art and design
The first change is on the visual side of things, the entire game has been completely redone and upgraded. Several artists lent their talent to bring Terrible Lizards to life and the cards look better than ever. The design of the cards has been improved to match. The new layouts let the new art fill the entire card and the difference between Effect and Adaptation is more pronounced so that you can tell the difference at a glance. The cardbacks have been redone as well to be more expressive.
Terrible Lizards was beautifully illustrated by a team of 4 artists, each using their talent and flair to bring my designs and the game itself to life.
Brian Murphy, Manuel Benigno, Uzamba Modesta, and Senya Grigoreva
The cardbacks and card elements were designed and created by Keelan Falk
Rules and Gameplay
The gameplay has stayed largely the same, this is still Terrible Lizards after all! An important goal of Terrible Lizards was to make it as easy to learn and play for players of all ages and most of the changes to the rules should help new players find their footing, while not slowing down more advanced cardsharks.
The rules are largely the same, although they have been reorganized into Phases to make the game a little more structured and easy to learn. New keywords were added as well to make the game easier to understand and the new reference cards should help as well.
You can also check out the Rulebook tab to see the rules in their entirety.
The Deck
Effects
Only one Standard effect was removed completely, Starving.
Carnivore and Snack Time were combined to create a new card, Omnivore. It lets you choose between stealing life or just gaining it.
Hand Off inspired 2 new cards, Finger Food and Primordial Soup. One lets you turn unwanted parts into health, the other lets you attach unwanted parts for a one-turn boost!
Night Dig and Piltdown Hand were combined to create Piltdown Plan, a card that lets you look at the top cards of the deck and use one, while putting one back for your opponent as a trap.
Trip was replaced by Claw-ber. It still deals damage but now comes in the form of a direct attack instead of being based on weight.
There are also 2 new Effects.
Amber lets you store a card that can be played later for free.
Rotator Cuff is a card you attach to a part, which allows you rotate the part, then swap the Attack and Weight of a part.
Adaptations
Almost every Persistent Effect was changed at least slightly. Most of the changes let you use parts in new ways.
There are still 16 Adaptations.
Bipedal, Body Slam, Egg Roll, Gluttony, King of the Beasts, Offspring, Scrambled Egg, and Unstable Mutation are returning.
Almost all of them got minor changes but veteran players should recognize these returning favorites.
Chameleon Claws got renamed Bite Force but is very similar to what it used to be.
Wings became an Adaptation and now there is only one Wings.
It just wouldn't be Terrible Lizards without Wings.
There are 5 new Adaptations.
Migratory gives you a new hand every turn.
Olfactor lets you sniff out new cards.
Scavenger lets you use unwanted cards as stat boosts.
Psycho-Tops lets you use the top card of the deck at will.
Thagomizer lets you deal even more damage.
Ambush Hunter, Dino Rider, Fangs Claws Spikes, Relentless, Scale Armor, and Venomous were removed.
Brian Murphy, Manuel Benigno, Uzamba Modesta, and Senya Grigoreva
The cardbacks and card elements were designed and created by Keelan Falk
Rules and Gameplay
The gameplay has stayed largely the same, this is still Terrible Lizards after all! An important goal of Terrible Lizards was to make it as easy to learn and play for players of all ages and most of the changes to the rules should help new players find their footing, while not slowing down more advanced cardsharks.
The rules are largely the same, although they have been reorganized into Phases to make the game a little more structured and easy to learn. New keywords were added as well to make the game easier to understand and the new reference cards should help as well.
You can also check out the Rulebook tab to see the rules in their entirety.
The Deck
- The original deck of Terrible Lizards was 138 cards and the second edition has been slimmed down to an efficient 132.
- The original game had 15 dinosaurs, while the new one has 14. The Iguanodon was removed but 2 Wild Parts were added to fill the space.
- Standard and Quick Effects were changed to be called "Effects" and Persistent Effects became "Adaptations"
Effects
Only one Standard effect was removed completely, Starving.
Carnivore and Snack Time were combined to create a new card, Omnivore. It lets you choose between stealing life or just gaining it.
Hand Off inspired 2 new cards, Finger Food and Primordial Soup. One lets you turn unwanted parts into health, the other lets you attach unwanted parts for a one-turn boost!
Night Dig and Piltdown Hand were combined to create Piltdown Plan, a card that lets you look at the top cards of the deck and use one, while putting one back for your opponent as a trap.
Trip was replaced by Claw-ber. It still deals damage but now comes in the form of a direct attack instead of being based on weight.
There are also 2 new Effects.
Amber lets you store a card that can be played later for free.
Rotator Cuff is a card you attach to a part, which allows you rotate the part, then swap the Attack and Weight of a part.
Adaptations
Almost every Persistent Effect was changed at least slightly. Most of the changes let you use parts in new ways.
There are still 16 Adaptations.
Bipedal, Body Slam, Egg Roll, Gluttony, King of the Beasts, Offspring, Scrambled Egg, and Unstable Mutation are returning.
Almost all of them got minor changes but veteran players should recognize these returning favorites.
Chameleon Claws got renamed Bite Force but is very similar to what it used to be.
Wings became an Adaptation and now there is only one Wings.
It just wouldn't be Terrible Lizards without Wings.
There are 5 new Adaptations.
Migratory gives you a new hand every turn.
Olfactor lets you sniff out new cards.
Scavenger lets you use unwanted cards as stat boosts.
Psycho-Tops lets you use the top card of the deck at will.
Thagomizer lets you deal even more damage.
Ambush Hunter, Dino Rider, Fangs Claws Spikes, Relentless, Scale Armor, and Venomous were removed.