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Return to Dark Tower v1

Return to Dark Tower

I’m sworn to defend the Tower. I’ll stop at nothing to defend it.

Dare you Return to Dark Tower? With your EOG rules & reference you do!

I missed the original release of Dark Tower – by 1981 I was 16, and increasingly distracted by girls and music rather than games – but I can imagine the wave of nostalgia when Restoration Games announced this gorgeous new edition. This is what the company is all about – taking beloved favourites and restoring them to a better-than-original shine. And what a stunning job they did with Return to Dark Tower.

Because this game pretty much sums up all the reasons I was first attracted to the world of games. The classic fantasy theme, the amazing bits, the incredible production, the sense of adventure. And on top of all that there’s a huge electronic tower thing! Well, maybe not that last reason, but what a beast the titular tower is. I’m agog with wonder at how the team at Restoration Games tackled and completed this project – not least working out the rights with Milton Bradley (who, according to Wikipedia, originally ripped off an idea submission and subsequently had to pay out $700K in court).

The great thing that Restoration Games does is not just to re-release old games, but to make them as good as you remember them to be. And for anyone who has tracked down a game from their childhood and been disappointed when they finally played it again, that is a huge distinction. I’d guess that the original 1981 Dark Tower is a bit ‘meh’ compared to your childhood memories when you give it a spin, but this fantastic new version is going to be a treasured possession, much played, for many years to come.

The essential app component works so beautifully you hardly need a summary for this game, but it is handy as a rules refresher. It includes the Alliances expansions, and later I’ll add the upcoming Covenant expansion as well.

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