This is an excellent and clear variation of the Advanced Fighting Fantasy system. In 29 pages, including cover and a nice clear character sheet, it presents a complete and elegant system for Old School Fantasy Roleplaying games.

There are many rules-lite systems available these days but Spellzard is based on the tried and trusted mechanics first developed in the solo Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks.

The author has judiciously added elements from more modern games, such as a slot based inventory system, but has woven them seamlessly into the basic fabric of his game.

With only 3 main Stats; Skill, Stamina and Luck, character creation is quick and gameplay likewise so you can get on with the adventure.

All the usual things are covered; weapons, armour, initiative, movement, fumbles and criticals, spells, monsters; but all clearly and in only a few pages.

The rules retain a high level of compatibility with adventures designed for the Fighting Fantasy family of games, so adventures for Troika, AFF, Dungeoneer, AFF2 or even the oroginal solo gamebooks would be a piece of cake.

This is an great choice for the GM who wants a quick playing game without the need to be forever looking in rulebooks and for players who want their characters to develop through play rather than through a lengthy character creation process.

Based on the original Fighting Fantasy Introductory Role Playing Game. Spellzard doesnt go as far nor as complicated nor as structured as the original advanced iteration nor the newer Advanced Fighting Fantasy, of course. Nor does it go far afield as do the excellent Troika! and Warlock. It keeps it nearly just as simple as the very first game, but its slight expansions allow it to grant a good bit of imaginative breathing room. The numbers regarding Skill and such may seem too little at first, though this is necessary for the game and characters to grow (much as old school D&D).

This is a solid and strong re-presentation of those first rules, whilst gifting gamers (especially those who enjoy rules-lite games or those who may have used and enjoyed the original rules in years past), just enough to grab on to, to use as is or expand upon quite easily.

A tight and well-tuned swerve of the Advanced Fighting Fantasy style of game, with charming art. Recommended!

Spellzard by Robertson Sondoh jr, is a new rules light fantasy rpg clone from small game publisher, Experimental Playground. It is a retro-clone of the rules behind the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks of the 1980s. Fans of those books may  remember 'Fighting Fantasy: The Introductory Roleplaying Game' by Steve Jackson. This was an attempt to make the gamebook rules into a 'proper' rpg. Later came 'Dungeoneer! Advanced Fighting Fantasy' and later still, the 2e of AFF. Spellzard fits in between the first two of these books mechanically... plus some new twists borrowed from games like The Black Hack.
Spellzard is just 27 pages long as a pdf and is designed to carry the feel of classic British rpgs and yet be easy to add in your own flavour, setting and so on.
Character building is simple and quick with Stamina and Luck stats exactly as in Fighting Fantasy (I'm not sure how close to the wind the author is sailing here copyright-wise). The difference comes with the Skill ability and system (just as it does in Troika at the same point). In Spellzard, players choose their own Skill score from a short list of Skill Score vs No. of Special Skills or Spells you want your character to have. There are 35 spells and 11 special skills to choose from. No starting character will have more than three special skills or two spells max and it is possible to have both. The spell system contains a very Troika-like fumble effects table. Although spell casters may individually not have many different spells to choose from, like Tunnels & Trolls or The Fantasy Trip, if you have enough Stamina, you can keep on blasting goblins till the cows come home.
Skill resolution is either Skill plus throw (2d6 of course) +modifiers =14 or more for success
or
roll 2d6 to be equal or lower than current modified skill score.
Players can always opt to use Luck instead if they don't have a suitable special skill.
Combat looks a little different to the classic FF. In the original game, weapons all did the same (rather meagre) set damage. Here, weapons are more like in BX DnD and have variable damage. Armour worn reduces damage suffered when hit by varying amounts depending on your armour type.
There are rules for equipment use and encumbrance which borrow from games like Troika and The Black Hack with Inventory Slots and consumables being lumped together in an abstract fashion.
There is a small menagerie of monsters at the back of the book with enough to get you going and also to be able to improvise new ones. Also a page on advancement for your heroes (assuming they survive).
There are no lists of suggested treasures (although a rudimentary monetary system is hinted at in the cost, or value, of weapons and armour) and no magic items. The designer is writing for folks who can cobble this kind of thing together easily enough.
All in all I really like this attempt to find the sweetspot in the FF-AFF family. Any FF fan could pick this up and start having great fun within 20 minutes.