The role-playing board game world is ripe with exciting and imaginative content and releases, with impressive new games coming out left and right. If you’re a fan, then you know some of the best projects come to fruition thanks to crowdfunding. It’s the perfect way to source interest in a concept and to bring it to life without the tricky production process. Basically, it’s a way of letting fans decide what games they want to see and own, without much in the way of creative limitations.
It’s that crowdfunding effort that brought Dark Tower back. Restoration Games is using Kickstarter to release a sequel to the 1981 classic, called Return to Dark Tower. As of this publication, the project already reached its $850,000 goal, and is resting at well over $1 million worth of pledges. That just speaks to the popularity of this title and the demand for its continuation. Thanks to designers Rob Daviau and Isaac Childres, Return of Dark Tower is finally ready for the masses.
If you’re unfamiliar, the original Dark Tower board game (which has no relation to the Stephen King epic fantasy series of the same name) was a huge hit at the time of its release, in the middle of the role-playing game craze of the early 1980s. The nostalgic electronic board game was well-known for its iconic electronic tower that rested in the middle of the board, and had players amass an army, collect three keys, and defeat the evil within the titular structure.
Restoration Games
Return to Dark Tower is described on the Kickstarter as “a cooperative game for 1 to 4 heroes who undertake epic quests, fight fearsome foes, and test their mettle against the looming darkness of the titular tower.” The new game also has an electronic tower, this time controlled by Bluetooth. According to IGN, who got a special look at the game, this new tower has “spinning chambers, lights, and ominous sound effects galore.” Sounds pretty frickin’ rad!
Though Return to Dark Tower is first and foremost a board game, it also incorporates an element the 1981 version could not: a mobile app, which controls the tower’s functions. Depending on the result of your quests and missions, the tower will “sense” what’s going on and react accordingly.
If you’re curious what a play-through of Return to Dark Tower looks like, the good folks at The Dice Tower have you covered. They posted an almost three-hour video on YouTube showing a round of the game. (It also gives you a rough estimate of how long it takes to complete.)
Featured Image: Restoration Games
