DFTA 92 Dark Tower 1981

Hey gang, I'm back with a look at a truly astonishing game, Dark Tower from Milton Bradley. When this game hit the scene in 1981 there really was nothing like it, and 40+ later... it's still a marvel of ingenuity, though a game with a very scandalous and sordid past... I hope you enjoy the review.
It's been a long time coming this review and for a number of reasons. First, Dark Tower...how to put this....Dark Tower is a particular sod of a game to film, to get across just how this game plays. I've played it extensively since restoring the game to working order and have experienced things in the game that you think "oh, that's definitely going in the review!" but...the tower has different plans when the camera is actually rolling, with it having an electronic mind of its own it would never quite perform how I wanted it to when the camera was trained on it. That meant filming A LOT more footage than normal for a review... and having to carefully comb through and categorise the clips...exhausting.
Added onto that, my primary drive, the drive that I use for editing on, having all my pre render files, meta data decided to die on me halfway through the edit. Annoyingly, because all the files are mimic linked to the timeline, they were showing but as ghosts to the clips that were there. In so much, I had to re do the edit all over with my back up drive (remember folks, back up twice!) and actually, it's better for it, a lot more tightly paced and fun! It's took a few weeks for my back up to rebuild the files, as I keep rushes for all episodes I've filmed just in case I need them again. All a learning experience and one I'd not like to repeat
A few links for those interested in Dark Tower.
well-of-souls.com/tower/ is a fantastic resource and has some very insightful interviews with Bob Pepper the artist for the game and also outlines the history of the Dark Tower scandal. Well worth a read
law.justia.com/cases/federal/... and here's the actual court case with Burton vs MB games.
Take it easy and keep on gaming,
Luke

[@LordOfClarkness]

Great to see you‘re back! I just found your channel about three months ago, and you‘ve given me HOURS of entertainment! You‘re doing an amazing job! (Not for my wallet though:D)

[@humulos]

Long have I awaited the Dark Tower episode. A board game that terrified me as a child before I was old enough to play it and became the most iconic game in my memories as I got older. My parents still have their original copy, we still play it, and it's still super unique. Love the new version they just made, it's a ton of fun, but it's still a very different game.

[@downfromtheattic]

Oh yeah, the new game has wiped the floor with me a number of times 😂 makes those victories all the more satisfying! I’m itching to get the add ons for it, they should be arriving in October all being well. Glad you enjoyed the episode!

[@lolreaction5025]

do atmosfear/nightmare pls@@downfromtheattic

[@downfromtheattic]

I haven't a copy of nightmare I'm afraid but the bigger issue there is no longer have a VCR 😂@@lolreaction5025

[@lolreaction5025]

oof@@downfromtheattic

[@lolreaction5025]

RETURN OF THE KING

[@Erik.Miller]

Better than that 😉

[@williamwright9079]

Aaah ! the DARK TOWER!

[@Aphex26]

It's always good to have a new video from you!

[@jecabreradc]

Spectacular video, thank you.

[@manpig1991]

Hi new to the channel and I've been binge watching every single one of your episodes and appreciate all the details and fun packed into every single one them!!! Thank you so much for the hard work and keep it up man!!! 10/10

[@thatgeek8064]

So happy to see your return in my notifications

[@napalmjam]

Nice to see you again.

[@roberttsikretsis5014]

I had this game brand new back in the day. I played it relentlessly until I won. At that point my neighbor had 5 young boys in their early teens. I gave it away to them. It was a complete working set. Years later along comes eBay. Well, I own Return to Dark Tower. Haven’t played it yet, seems like a lot of setup time. However, I purchased an App that played the original game so I do have that on my iPad.👍👍👍

[@downfromtheattic]

Honestly, it’s not too difficult to set it up and get the game going and it’s well worth playing. With all the different combinations of quests and foes, you could conceivably play no two games the same. It’s the game I’ve got the table the most in the past year 🙂

[@ChrisKoerner]

Great video and special thanks to Well Of Souls for it’s Dark Tower resource since 1997

[@downfromtheattic]

It was a really fantastic resource for putting the history of this game together. There's a real air of ambiguity to the timeline of events. From what I've researched, it seems like Vince Erato had the idea of an electronic board game around 79, a full year before the Triumph prototype was brought in by Coleman. The iffy bit is MB apparently held onto the prototype for a month...plenty of time to figure out it's programming and mechanism. There's definitely grey areas to the story

[@kidcardco]

Bravo! You've put out more videos this year than tabletop island has in the past 2! Great review Luke!

[@downfromtheattic]

I’ve had issues with my drives holding my clips and my edits, had a drive become corrupted so lost edits I was part way through 😕 I’ve been able to recover some though. And maybe write to Santa, he might deliver a tabletop island episode before the year is put 😂

[@TabletopIsland]

Matt is just cranky nobody wants to play games with him lol

[@kidcardco]

@@TabletopIsland I want to play games with LUKE! lol

[@randomguy9898]

I thought the rotating display film was crazy enough, but the way it memorizes stats and does battles is nothing short of amazing! I would love to see what a modern take on this could be like, the complexity could be insane. (And then I got through the last few minutes and see that a new one does exist.. Excited for that review!)

[@randomrickreviewsrrr4662]

Remember seeing this around back in the day never got to play it. Cool stuff.

[@craigward7691]

great video as always mate

[@drummerboi841]

I sense a Restoration Games review in the future lol. Great video keep it up!

[@downfromtheattic]

That's the plan! The game's all painted up and ready for filming!

[@drummerboi841]

@@downfromtheattic Then it's in good hands! 👍 Should be a good one 😀

[@Dripfed]

Luke! Great to see another video from your good self. Love this channel.

[@downfromtheattic]

More to come!

[@davidl6609]

Wonderful !!

[@wilsonjonah]

Great to see you again, Luke!! Always a good day when you bring down a gem (or a dud) from the Attic, especially your Hero Quest video 😁

[@misterjerkface]

This is my fathers grail game. He played with his old school buddies back in 81/82. He still has the game but the tower has since died. Hoping to find it in a random thrift store some day!

[@downfromtheattic]

The bulbs are probably the hardest thing to find replacements wise. If it's not rotating, I'd speculate on the drum graphic has lifted away from the inner drum and is stopping it from rotating. It's not so difficult to take apart to repair that. Hopefully you can get a working copy for your dad!

[@jayvalentine2046]

Excellent

[@lucadonati3338]

Bel video! Ho appena comprato una copia del gioco in Italia con le istruzioni in Italiano.

[@TabletopIsland]

Excellent review! Mine is coming soon as well ;). I have a few mixed in certain areas, but my overall opinion has developed over time haha

[@downfromtheattic]

As I say, I think battling could be more interactive. But for what it accomplishes for it’s time, it’s nothing short of remarkable.

[@AtticRaidersRetroReviews]

Good to see a new video Luke. :) So what was actually wrong with your non-working copy? Easy fix or hard work?

[@downfromtheattic]

Hey Mark, the issue with my tower wasn't a particularly difficult fix but a fiddly one nonetheless. The drum with the graphics on it on the inside of the tower actually has the graphics printed onto a piece of clear acetate then affixed to the drum with glue. Over the course of 40+ the glue wasn't as strong as it once was and the sides of the graphic sheet were lifting away off the drum. Not a big issue you might think, but the lifted edges were actually contacting the inner walls of the tower and causing it to chock itself against it, stopping the drum from turning. I had to take the base of the tower off, along with the control panel that just slots in place via it's ribbon cable, and using a bent piece of metal, I kinda shove that in the gap between the drum and the outer wall to force that graphic sheet to stay flat, allowing it to turn. I had to manually rotate the worm gear on the motor to rotate the drum round into a position where I could deal with the lifting edge. If you're able to get the drum to a position similar to how it rests during it's boot test up sequence (where all 3 bulbs are visible) you've good access the those graphics. A bit of double sided tape and the graphics sheet is back down and I'm seeing no problems with how it's running. If the tower can't turn, for whatever reason, it'll throw up a fault. The motor isn't that powerful so anything obstructing it will cause it throw a wobbly. I'd speculate this is a fairly common issue with these towers, stands to reason if the glue has perished on my copy it will have on others. Hope this helps!

[@downfromtheattic]

I've also got in the habit of putting the game away with the test sequence and the 3 bulbs facing me. If it happens again, it'll be far easier to deal with

[@gallery7596]

Terrific, but just consider turning down the background music a little, or eliminating it entirely. Aside from that, fine video.

[@jeffreyscarbroughboardgame2822]

I have one but the electronic part does not work 😢

[@downfromtheattic]

If you feel brave enough to, take the underside off and you can get to the worm gear that moves the drum around. The issue I found with my copy is the graphics on the drum. They’re printed on this clear plastic sheet that’s glued to the drum. But 40 years later the glue has lost its strength and the sheet was lifting off the drum and catching on the inside of the tower. It’s a really quick fix to just tape it or glue it back down, I’ve seen this issue before with other copies👍

[@lolreaction5025]

and seeing as you done this do atmosfear/nightmare

[@dtimm612]

Seems these usually have at least one burnt out bulb, but I thought I remember hearing you can't find replacements. Is that true?

[@downfromtheattic]

I got extraordinarily lucky with my copy having an original replacement bulb. Model number JKL 1/2 .7 quick google for “dark tower bulb” and I found an eBay listing :) should be able to get a replacement

[@JohnnyBGoode634]

Did those card holders come with the game?

[@downfromtheattic]

Yes, they’re UK/ European release only as I understand. They’re vac form plastic, pretty flimsy and cheap feeling but nice nonetheless

[@majinstu2216]

Is your game box and board a reproduction? I like your board better than the original

[@downfromtheattic]

Far as I know this is an original box, I mean, it’s battered, taped together and tatty enough to be original

[@BG-bn6ev]

haggle ...haggle ...store closed

[@Erik.Miller]

Fantastic! Iʼm so glad you got this and got it working! The limitations of electronic games of yore is part of what makes many of them so exciting; for the creatorsʼ cleverness in working with and overcoming those limitations is indeed, to use your word, a marvel. And itʼs not just the game creatorsʼ ingenuity we appreciate - itʼs also _our_ ingenuity, the imagination _we_ ply in immersing ourselves into the world of the game … so invested are we that itʼs no wonder we should find the experience, to use another of your words, endearing. (This is the sort of answer I give when someone tries to tell me that modern video‐game consoles are better than the Atari 2600. More technologically sophisticated, certainly…but _better?_ Never!!!) Ah, yes, the amazing Orson Welles. When his name comes up, I usually first think of _Citizen_ _Kane_ or his _War_ _of_ _the_ _Worlds_ broadcast or maybe his incredible run as the Shadow…but in the era of Dark Tower, he was doing a lot of advertising. His voice work on the teaser trailer for _Star_ _Trek:_ _The_ _Motion_ _Picture_ (a film directed by _Citizen_ _Kane_ editor Robert Wise) helps elevate even the teaser to the status of classic. Live long and prosper… 🖖

[@downfromtheattic]

You're absolutely right, as rudimentary the mechanics and electronics are by modern standards, we inject the personality onto them and incorporate them into the story we build in our heads. The noises such as the dragon screech, they act as leitmotifs, despite the window facing a particular player, if you hear those sounds and know what they are, you know what they're doing. There's something quite fun about that. Orson Welles had become a bit of lush toward that era of his career. The Paul Masson wine commercials outtakes are...I won't lie, they're hilarious because Welles is quite obviously drunk as a skunk. I believe one of the last things he worked on before his death was Transformers The Movie, where he voiced Unicron. But you're right, he has an immediately identifiable and icon voice

[@Erik.Miller]

😁 Look, if youʼre going to tell the world you will sell no wine before itʼs time, youʼre morally obligated to personally verify the productʼs fitness for consumption, right?!? 😆 And you can hardly rely on a single measly sample - that would be statistically insignificant, wouldnʼt it?!? 🥂⁠🍾⁠🥴⁠✨⁠💫 Welles was definitely a man of foibles (quite plural)…thereʼs definitely fodder there for evaluating the artist vs. evaluating the work. I often think Welles drew on a sense of autobiography in contrasting Kaneʼs achievements and public image with his more flawed personal choices…but I think I may be digressing a wee bit… 😛 Excellent comment about the sounds. Some other electronic board games of the day also use sounds to provide imprecise clues: Dungeons & Dragons Computer Labyrinth Game, Stop Thief, Electronic Stratego…but not quite the same way. Dark Towerʼs approach seems a little like a poker game in which every time you draw a card, the other players get some sort of clue about its face - is the rank high, low, or somewhere in the middle? is the suit symbol pointy on top? etc. A regularized tell as an added wrinkle…