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Dark Tower - A Fantasy Adventure Born of Electronic Wizardry
In Dark Tower the players are noble adventurers in a medieval fantasy world. They must travel through the four kingdoms, collecting followers and gold and searching for keys to the ominous Dark Tower. Along the way they may investigate mysterious ruins and tombs for gold and treasure, stop at sanctuaries for healing and rest, visit bazaars to purchase food and hire scouts and face goblin hordes and even dragons.
When they have found all three keys, they and their forces must journey to the tower, break the code needed to enter and defeat the forces within. The first player to do so wins the game.
By the early 1980s computer chips were becoming more common and several game manufacturers were experimenting with including "electronic" components in their games. Probably the most successful of these was Dark Tower.
As the players moved their tokens (representing their adventurer and followers) about the board they pressed buttons on the Tower to indicate their moves. The Tower would display images indicating what they found in their journeys and, when they encountered opponents, would resolve the conflict. The players had to make a good number of logistical choices while playing; "should I hire a scout to keep from getting lost or should I buy more food?" "Do I have enough troops to assault the tower or should I go to the stronghold for more?"
Once the player reached the tower they had to guess the order in which to use the three keys they had collected. If they guessed wrong they had to wait until the next turn and try again. (Guess wrong too many times and they would run out of food and their followers would desert them.) Once they had the order for the keys the Tower would run a final battle between the player's troops and the defenders of the Tower.
This is one of the few of the electronic games produced where the electronics actually contributes to the game instead of being a simple gimmick. The tower could be rotated so that only the player who's turn it is can see it which keeps each player's moves secret. The fact that it is electronic means that the game can be played solitaire but it is much more fun with the full number of opponents. A really fun game.
20 comments on Dark Tower:
yes so tis game looks bad ass... i love me some bad ass games... yea so i def want my parents to buy this for me... oh damn they died. yea well my mom loves to bake pies. so yea how much this be hoe.
Absolutely fabulous game! Way ahead of its time. Too bad a used copy is impossible to find under $200.
I got this for Christmas the first year it was out. I asked for it as a joke. Was I surprised!
My sister bought this game the Christmas it came out for her nerd boyfriend. I think she paid $80.00 for it. Man, it turned out to be a blast to play! When they started to heavily discount them to get them off the market I bought one too. I still have it, still wrapped in cellophane no less. It sat for over 20 years at my mothers house in storage only to be rediscovered when she sold the house. I wonder what it is worth to a collector?
on boardgamegeek there is a link to a site where you can play dark tower, its very easy. you can only play solitaire against the tower, not against other people, but its still good times. hope this was helpful.
Hey Dana, You can get about 300 for it I bet.. maybe 400 if you auction it!
my fam use to always play this game, and we still have it. it gets dusted off and played at christmas from time to time.
'More than a game, it's an experience'..
That was the slogan of one of the most astonishing and involving boardgames ever created.
I remember the first times I watched the brief but atmospheric and intense tv advert played by Orson Welles (nonetheless) and how it drove me crazy (I was 11 or 12). Just released, its price was really high and definitely unaffordable..but on summer of 2 years later, I came across the showcase of my town toy shop and..yes..Dark Tower stood there, at a much lower price!
As a result of a mad pressing on my relatives, I succeded in convincing them to buy it only a few days after. Every expectation was fulfilled..man, what a fun! The battles with brigands, the dragon, the sword, the curse of wizards, the keys final puzzle..Every game was different from the previous one, too ahead fot those times.. Had been playing with some friends for years. Currently I owe the game, still working and in good conditions.
Really a franchise of my 80's.
Wow... I think mine is somewhere in my parents' garage....
I remember saving all my Christmas money when I was just 8 years old to buy this game at over $40 in 1981....which certainly was a lot of money for someone that age. It was sooooo worth it. It was my favorite game ever and I truly treasured it. Unfortunately my brother lost some of the pieces when I was young and I threw it out. Oh....if I only knew ebay would exist someday! I have been wanting to get one now for years and can never afford one in complete and good condition. I would do almost anything for one of these games!!!!!!
This game has been around for a long time. It is absolutly a fantastic game! You battle your way through the world fighting,bargaining, and conquering. This is a perfect gift for a Board Game lover, this game never gets old and neer gets boring. the prices prove it.
I got it for christmas when I was 12 (1982) I thought it was excellent although i cannt remeber what happen to it (so probably not that excellent.)
What a great surprise! I have this game, still working, after all these years. My daughter saw it when I was cleanign up the basement and has been pestering me toplay it. We broke it out last night and it still works after at least 20years of boxed disuse. So I got on the internet today and find out it's a rare game. What good luck, as this is only one of a handful of games that survived my youth! Sure hope it holds up until my daughter tires of it and we can box it back up again.
This game sooo kicked ass. My mom bought it for me the Christmas it was released. I saw the commercial for it during Saturday morning cartoons and thought it was really cool. I didnt say another word about it and a few months later, there it was under the tree Christmas morning. What a surprise. I remember removing all the plastic play pieces from the tabs and going over that huge manual at the time. LOL Of course we didnt have batteries for it so I was in agony until the next day. I put it together and played it a few times and absolutely loved it. I invited my friends over across the street and we would play, and play. This game was revolutionary for a board game and believe it or not, still is. The tower gave you just enough information to let your imagination run wild and keep you heading toward your goals.. which of course was to unlock the tower and fight the horde. Remember the dragon! Schreeeeeeeee duh duh duuuunnnnn. LOL Great game!
wow. i'm pretty upset that i took it apart when i was younger. i wanted to find out how it worked. i didn't, and it never worked after that. my brother never forgave me.
had one when i was a kid looked for years 37yrs now and i got one now i am buyind another for parts to keep my tower working> really with they would bring it back out in production but they sold the desighn to a japanesse company after the law suit.
I gave it away to goodwill years ago when I started playing Dungeons and Dragons, there was no comparison
It is a family tradition at all Holidays for us to play D.T. All of the sites show a different instruction book than I have. Mine only has tha Dragon on it. Has anyone else seen this kind?
My Mom has an old copy that i remember playing when i was a kid with her. the worst part is the fact that the game left such a lasting impression on me that im now 25 and saving up to actually buy one despite the high price it is now. definitely one of my favorite board games of all time.
This was a fun game, but after playing the sh-- out of it back in the early 80s I realized there was a way to never lose. This required that you recognize a pattern that would develop as the game progressed. The pattern was sophisticated and hardly apparent but it never failed. I'm surprised no one else ever mentions this in the posts. Hard to believe I'm the only one ever to spot it.