Ed. Note: Wiz Kids debuted their new collectable miniatures game, Marvel HeroClix: Infinity Challenge nationwide May 1, 2002. The game, based on the heroes and villains of the Marvel Comics Universe, has sold about 500,000 copies, which translates into 3 million figures, in the first weeks of release. To explain the phenomenon of this great new RPG-style game, the owner of Gamer's Domain, 1856 Archer Street, has written a small article in an attempt to sum it all up. We recommend just playing the game to feel the super powered excitement, but take a look.

     Hulk vs. Wolverine? Captain America vs. Spider-Man? Are these some of the fantasy matches you wish you saw? Well, thanks to Wiz Kids, we now have a game where those matches and others are real. Marvel's Hero Clix is the newest game by the Wiz Kids, the makers of Mage Knight. It's not a card game, it's not a board game; it's a miniature game where you play on a 3'x 3' board and you control a team of heroes, or villains and battle it out on the streets, or the mall, or anywhere your imagination lets you.

     Choose from 150 different characters to build your dream team-or use teams like the X-Men, Avengers, Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, or the Sinister Syndicate. Marvel HeroClix: Infinity Challenge uses beautiful, fully assembled, pre-painted miniatures with rules that can be learned quickly, but offer limitless strategy. Each hand-painted figure comes with a base that has stats and superpowers listed. Basically, each player makes a team of heroes and villains based on a pre-determined number of points (usually, it's 300 points). Each figure has a point value and a base color. Those with the same color are considered archenemies and cannot be on the same team. Also, if during the game you knock out an archenemy you receive double the points.

     Each base has a movement, attack number, defense, damage and range (if any). The movement is the number of spaces you can move on the board in one turn. If you want to attack and you range a range attack (for example, Pyro's fire attack or Hobgoblin's Pumpkin Bombs) and you are within range of an opposing figure, you roll 2 six-sided dice and add the total roll to your attack. Then look at the opponent's defense number and if you rolled that number or greater, you hit. Then that figure takes the number of damage by clicking the base of the figure clockwise. Every time a figure takes damage, his/her stats decrease until the word KO appears on the base. Once they're knocked out, the figure is removed from the game and you get his point values. At the end of the game, each player counts how many points they have and the highest wins the game. That's it.

     There are no complicated charts, tables, or record keeping; all the information is on the dial, which allows for players to just get together and have a lot of fun. Hero Clix does have a lot of strategy and you build a team based on a particular theme. You can have a team with only shooters and attack from far, you can put a lot of bricks like Hulk and Juggernaut (who do not have range attacks) and go after those shooters. Or you can build a whole team of X-Men and use their Team Ability. Pick from the Hulk, Spider-Man, Magneto, Captain America, Wolverine, Hobgoblin, Elektra, Sabretooth, and more of your favorites. The strategies are endless.

     The game plays quick and the rulebook is well written. There will be expansions coming out soon (The Sentinel, Outdoor/Indoor Kit and DC Heroes) so this game is well supported. This game has a long life ahead of it. A two-player starter set costs under $20 and each pack thereafter comes in at under $7. I highly recommend this to anyone who's looking for a new game to play. (Ed. Note: For more information on Hero Clix, go to the company website, go to Gamer's Domain, 1856 Archer Street or go to Gamers-Domain.com).

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