Restoration Games brings Return to Dark Tower to KS
January 14 was a huge day for Kickstarter, hosting no less than 3 high profile board game projects. Arguably one of the most anticipated is the Restoration Games project Return to Dark Tower, designed by the dream team of Rob Daviau (Pandemic Legacy), Isaac Chilres (Gloomhaven), Justin D. Jacobson (Fireball Island), Noah Cohen (Betrayal Legacy), and Brian Neff (Betrayal Legacy).
Restoration Games is famous for taking old but loved board game titles and reimagining them for the modern age of gaming. Past successes included the mega-hits Fireball Island, Downforce, Stop Thief and Indulgence. The original Dark Tower from Milton Bradley was first released to massive love and success in 1981, and included a mind-blowing, heavy, black electronic tower that sat in the middle of a round fantasy board. The tower would spin, light up, and direct the warfare of the game through ominous beeps and boops. Even though this classic was only on sale for 1 year, most people from 45-55 years old still look back on it with misty eyed reverence.
Return to Dark Tower promises to bring the magic of the original into our homes, and possibly take over the world, much akin to SkyNet. First announced in August 2018, this powerhouse cooperative fantasy game combines the undeniable nostalgic factor of the original Dark Tower, with the designing chops of several of the best board game wizards in the business, and cutting edge electronic wizardry. The tower, of course, still exists, albeit in a very modern form. The new tower is a functional cube tower, taking tokens into the top, and storing them in multiple levels within the tower for later random dispersal. Skull tokens released this way collect on the players’ buildings, can destroy said buildings, and corrupt the players. The tower will communicate with player’s mobile devices, dictating the flow of the game, displaying images to individual players and spitting evil skull tokens upon the board.
In Return to Dark Tower, 1-4 players choose starting territories and characters: The Orphaned Scion, the Spymaster, the Brutal Warlord or the Relic Hunter. They must then work together to grow these characters in reputation and power, before attempting to eventually assault the Tower and any guardians within. Intensely story-driven, gameplay works off of unique virtual decks of cards for each character, allowing interaction with NPCs, buildings and individual character advancement. The game comes with 4 hero miniatures and player boards, 16 buildings, over 120 cards, spirit and warrior tokens, 20 virtues, 8 corruptions, and 40 fantastic plastic skull tokens. An optional Alliances expansion adds 2 more heroes and components, while the Dark Horde add-on brings a ton more miniatures to the party.
The Kickstarter for Return to Dark Tower continues through February 4, and the project is expected to deliver in February 2021. For more details, ad some fantastic movies, check out the Kickstarter Campaign page here.
