Restoration Release Return To Dark Tower Board Game At Retail
May 18, 2022 by brennon
Return To Dark Tower is the "sequel" to the well-loved 1981 Fantasy board game that had a very successful Kickstarter campaign. Restoration Games are now looking to release the game at retail with the first regions lucky enough to get it being the US and Canada.
Return To Dark Tower // Restoration Games
Return To Dark Tower is a cooperative game of adventure where you're playing as mighty heroes seeking to defeat terrible monsters and vanquish the denizen of the eponymous Dark Tower. One-to-four players will build up resources and companions, complete quests, delve into dungeons, cleanse locations and use all of their skills to defeat the "boss" when it steps forth from the Dark Tower itself.
Return To Dark Tower Gameplay // Restoration Games
You'll find neat game mechanics like engine building, resource management and more alongside the more electronic elements of Return To Dark Tower. In the centre of the table is the massive Dark Tower itself which governs the twisting fates of your heroes. There is also a companion app which is needed to play the game, tell the story and deal with all of the work behind the scenes.
If you'd like to learn how to play the game, check out the Watch It Played video below...
Return To Dark Tower // How To Play
The core game is now available for the US and Canada and I have my fingers crossed that we'll get EU and UK options in the near future. I didn't back the game during the Kickstarter but I am now very eager to at least give the game a go!
Return To Dark Expansions
As well as the core game, you can also buy a couple of the expansions for Return To Dark Tower. The first of these is the Dark Horde expansion.
Dark Horde Expansion // Return To Dark Tower
This set features sixty-nine board game figures which can be used to replace the tokens from the base game. You can also replace the four quest markers from the base game and those offered up as part of the Alliances expansion.
Dark Horde Expansion Miniatures // Return To Dark Tower
The figures in the box have been given an ink wash to make them pop and range in size from a more traditionally sized "miniature" through to the towering 85mm-tall Titan. This will no doubt be awesome for those who love their plastic but I reckon I'm good with cardboard for now.
The next of the expansions is Alliances which offers up more hero options for Return To Dark Tower.
Alliances Expansion // Return To Dark Tower
Inside this set, you'll find the Archwright and the Haunted Recluse heroes that can be used to spice up your games. There is also a new resource known as Influence which can be used to form alliances with the powerful guilds of this Fantasy universe. There are also new treasures, allies and abilities for more experienced Return To Dark Tower players.
Archwright // Return To Dark Tower
Haunted Recluse // Return To Dark Tower
I've watched a fair few gameplay videos for Return To Dark Tower now and whilst it's certainly on the more pricey end of the scale when it comes to board games ($190), I could see if finding a place in someone's collection if they don't have a big, extravagant game like this already.
Mechanically, the game is sound and Restoration has done a good job of making the experience feel distinctly different from other adventure-style board games out there. It's certainly what I'd expect from a team that includes the likes of Isaac Childres and Rob Daviau alongside Tim Burrell-Saward, Noah Cohen, Justin D. Jacobson and Brian Neff.
Did you back the Kickstarter? Are you going to be buying this at retail?
"Mechanically, the game is sound and Restoration has done a good job of making the experience feel distinctly different from other adventure-style board games out there..."
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I’d love to have that but it’s a bit out of my personal comfort zone for spending on a board game (sadly)
I love the centre tower reminds me of Krull would look great painted up to look like a crystal tower.
Very nice game board and components. I would have bought it but the mandatory companion app is a turn off for me. I like to buy games that have a long lifespan and I always fear those games that use an app will eventually be unplayable once the app is not supported anymore.
As much as I don’t mind an app (it’s useful for dungeoncrawlers when Nobody Wants to GM), you’d think that it’s the computerized tower that you interact with — y’know, like the original game. In a way, the tower in Dark Tower was an actually well-received precursor to today’s less-well-received app. But with an app, the game designers risk making the tower app-like functionality superfluous, and this review says that, yep, that’s what happened. Return, as a game, is fine, but misses the whole point of recreating the experience of the tower itself.
“The old version, for all its faults, also had some great features that also gave it its charm, features that are completely lost in the new version. In the original only the person that was facing the window in the tower could see what was actually happening to their character. There were fantastic accompanying sounds that everyone could hear, and they largely told what was happening. The distinctive “tuh-Rah tuh-Raah” told you that the current player was in a battle and whether they were winning or loosing, for instance, but not what exactly they won or lost. When you went to the Bazaar you could haggle and try to lower the price of items. This was a real push-your-luck situation that could result in the Bazaar-Keeper closing the Bazaar on you! The sexy sound of the Bazaar opening wonderfully counterpointed the very comical sound of the Bazaar closing, which nicely accompanied the look of disgust on the current player’s face. The new version has a dice you role once and if you roll badly the Bazaar isn’t available that day. Not quite the same impact. The old version could allow you to secretly curse another player and take their items and warriors. They didn’t find out until it was their turn and the tower surprised them with the curse! And it still didn’t reveal who did it! And then there was the dreaded Dragón that could attack at any time!
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2809982/solid-game-just-misses-point
Part of the reason why I didn’t back RDT was how Restoration Games made, oddly enough, Fireball Island into a less fun experience, based on a review I read. Revising a rules game set is a risk, so I’ve only backed games for the miniatures.
I went for this on Kickstarter, I was interested in how the central tower controls the game. I’m still waiting for it to turn up, the last update said they were 3/4 of way through the UK shipments so I am at the end somewhere.
Time really slows down once other people have their Kickstarter rewards.
Strangely the game turned up today!