Warhammer Quest Silver Tower Review | A Stick to the Script Games Workshop Board Game Review

[@robertlykins728]

I still play warhammer quest spread out on my living room floor! & I’m 53 years old!

[@michaelhill6453]

Youngster!

[@TheDungeonDive]

This game is an absolute masterpiece of presentation. One of the all time great dungeon crawls.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Its a beautiful game.

[@TiltingAtCthulhu]

Hey, after watching countless videos, I feel compelled to comment for the first time. It's uncanny how you manage to cover seemingly all the things I'm interested in right now: Having played and loving Blackstone Fortress, I noticed your channel and was delighted by your covering all the BSF products. Then Warhammer Conquest was introduced in my country and I found out you had already looked at every single issue of that. Now that I've been eyeing Silver Tower for its sweet miniatures and interesting things it does, there's a video about it. Keep up the great work and thanks for your insights. Really liking the calm and concise observations in your videos.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thank you so much for subscribing and watching so many of the videos. I really appreciate the support. I'm really pleased you've been enjoying the content and finding some of it useful. Silver Tower is a great game, and as Games Workshop really didn't support it all that much there aren't lots of expansions to track down if you do decide to buy it.

[@easygrin1127]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring how to resolve summoning the summoner? We gathered all the shards we needed to summon but... cant see how?!?

[@TinyDiodes]

You are an excellent writer my friend. It's been so nice to listen to your thoughts in this well thought out format (in edition to you impromptu thought sharing.) I REALLY loved your review of Kingdom Death Monster as well. You seriously have helped to teach me, over the last couple of years, how to extract a more cinematic and rich experience from my gaming sessions. I feel like you have helped me to develop a new lens from which to view my experience in my tabletop games. (The review on the Ambul White Dwarf esp helped me to grow.) I can not thank you enough for the gift of this new sight, I only wish I could articulate better to you what I have been able to take away. This is a gift that has no monetary value, it is priceless and will forever more accompany me on all of my gaming adventures.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I'm genuinely moved. It's amazing to hear that you've taken that from my reviews. Board games are so special to me, they've helped me deal with tough situations and even just running this channel helps me with my anxiety, and it's wonderful to hear that games have become more special for you as well. Thank you for sharing this, you've absolutely made my day.

[@DestroyerHivePro]

I love your videos like this. You don't review the game as a system - you review it as an experience and a piece of your life. Thank you for these - I look forward to your next video :)

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks, that's really kind of you. I'm really pleased you're enjoying the reviews.

[@garathminis5108]

You dear sir, are an excellent narator. I have listened to this 5 times, and still it draws me in...

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

That's really kind of you. I never really think of people watching my stuff more than once, so it's really nice to know that you've revisited this one.

[@garathminis5108]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I've watched it when it was released and taught to myself ," If only I could get buy this game, but its soo expensive.. " turns out last week a local guy is getting rid of his copy for peanuts. I'm happy as kid. A narrative driven game with 30 years if stories behind it, and a simple enough ruleset that allows me to play multiple heroes. Honest suggestion here; you have a talent. Trust me on this one, I studied classical music in Vienna. You could do narrative video with you reading Warhanner stories people could listen to while painting.

[@palerocty]

I love your narration. It is like hearing a podcast of your blog. I started reading your blog a few years back and I loved it. I could say that you are the reason to enter the world of boardgames. Today, because of your blog and reviews, I have enjoyed games like: Deathwatch Overkill, Assassinorum Execution Force and of course Blackstone Fortress. So thank you for your always positive attitude and your excellent content. One of the few channels on youtube that are truly honest with always great, high quality content.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks so much. That's really kind of you. I'm glad you're enjoying the reviews and have had a chance to play some of these great games.

[@brianvanveldhoven]

Silver Tower is what got me into Blackstone so fast. Love this game! As always good and informative content, keep it up and stay safe!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It's been really interesting to play through "New Quest" reaching Blackstone Fortress via the Silver Tower. It's fun to see the system evolve and change with each new release. Thanks for watching!

[@NikoTeaJay]

Ended up choosing Silver Tower over Blackstone Fortress. I found a copy lying around in a small town lgs. Hoping to have my copy built & painted before the year is through. Very excited to play this. Just wanted to thank you for all the coverage you've given to the Quest series. Hopefully we will see another entry in 2021.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Great choice. Silver Tower is an excellent game, and a lot more compact than Blackstone Fortress. Thank you for watching the videos, and I hope you have a lot of fun in the Tower.

[@dwsonye]

Bought Silver Tower and Shadows over Hammerhal for a steel. Now I’m considering buying Blackstone Fortress.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

They're all great games. Blackstone Fortress is a bit more involved though. If you haven't seen it, you might want to check out my Blackstone Fortress deep dive video to see more of how it plays. Also, you may already be aware, but Blackstone Fortress is set to end this year. Several expansions are already out of print. That's something to keep in mind.

[@dalelewis625]

We played warhammer quest to death!! An amalgamation of talisman and advanced heroquest. We had a lot of fun with this game.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

We certainly did. Every damned weekend, throwing Finger of Doom spells at minotaurs.

[@dalelewis625]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring "A finger of doom is just enough to slay a minotaur..." 😂

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

@@dalelewis625 A Finger of Doom is just enough to push him through death's door.

[@easygrin1127]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring we did too. Our wizard did 90% off all monster killing in the end though.

[@ER-bg9bo]

Nice to hear, this game was my entry to the hobby, the idea of an ever changing game was what i ever dreamed of. Its mystic, magic, i never played it to the end, my 10years old son like it very much too. Greetings from Germany 👍😎

[@TinyDiodes]

I thought the manual for Silver Tower wasn't great, then I played Mice and Mystics. They have a very similar layout, such as, they are laid out as if a person wrote them in one shot, recalling the game point by point by memory, mentioning each detail once. But MnM is WAAAAAY WORSE.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I think sometimes there's a competition going on for the worst rules book. I've seen so many bad ones over the years.

[@k.maillot1318]

Great vid, great review, as always... quality.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks. I really appreciate the kind words.

[@herkko1613]

Dude, this video made me take the plunge :D I just ordered the base game and managed to find the "Mighty heroes" figurepack aswell(though i dont how much it adds to the gameplay?!). Can you give any thoughts to the replayability and how necessary the expansions are?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I hope you have a lot of fun with it. I find Silver Tower very replayable because even when you play a mission you have played before you will get the rooms in a different order, different enemies, and different special events. You can also change up your heroes (I have all the hero cards and lots of miniatures to choose from).There isn't really much in the way of expansions. I'll break out the points into a list to make it easy to follow: 1. Games Workshop released two hero miniatures packs, but they are really just miniatures - no rules included. 2. The rules for the heroes in the Mighty Warriors pack are printed in the back of the adventure book, so as long as you have access to a photocopier that hero pack will give you another four heroes. 3. The Arcane Heroes pack includes another five heroes, but the rules for those were available in the Silver Tower Hero Cards pack. 4. The Hero Cards are a fantastic addition, adding dozens of heroes and countless party compositions, but they're very hard to find now. They are available online if you do a quick Google, but they are bootleg versions that have a few minor mistakes. That's pretty much the best you're going to get though. 5. Also in the back of the Silver Tower adventure book there are rules for four additional enemy types. You can get these separately, but the best way to get them is to buy a Start Collecting Daemons of Tzeentch boxed set. That box includes all of the extra monster types, and works out cheaper. I made a video a few years back that explains exactly how you can use that set to get the most out of it for use in Silver Tower, because you have to do a bit of conversion work. 6. Games Workshop published a few heroes in White Dwarf. Most of them ended up in the Hero Cards pack. A few didn't, but you aren't missing much. 7. There are no gameplay expansions for Silver Tower, but the game is compatible with Shadows Over Hammerhal. I combined the two games as heroes, monsters, skills, and items are cross-compatible (although the cards have different art on the backs). Because of this the Shadows Over Hammerhal adversary cards are also compatible with Silver Tower. Unfortunately, they are also out of print and very hard to find. 8. Hammerhal introduced a few extra rules that you can port back into Silver Tower. 9. Final note: In White Dwarf there were some extra missions for Shadows Over Hammerhal. As part of those missions, Games Workshop included rules for letting heroes from Hammerhal travel to the Silver Tower. They weren't particularly in-depth, and basically they just said "play through Silver Tower but someone controls all the monsters using the rules from Hammerhal." I think that covers everything. Hope it helps!

[@herkko1613]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Thank you for the comprehensive answer, i feel much more confident in my decision even with the knowledge that i most likely wont be able to have the "complete collection"! Ive known about this game since it came out but i wasnt into miniature games at that time(i was a serious eurogamer 😄) even though i was fascinated about almost every aspect of it. Time has passed and ive come across channels like yours and now i have everything for BSF and soon Silver Tower 😊... also, ive started miniature painting 😄. Keep up the good work!! Eagerly waiting for more BSF content aswell and especially the long awaited Zoat news 😉....

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Happy to help. I hope you end up loving Silver Tower as much as I do!

[@herkko1613]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Hi ABNB, i managed to get my hands on the "chaos adversary cards" and i am on the process of getting new adversaries but seeing the amount of spawns on some of them is making me question the balance and overall implementation. Are the tiles even big enough to support from 10-18 adversaries on top of existing minis on the board? Is there a scalefactor to be applied? Im a bit lost 😃

[@herkko1613]

Oh, and i have totally forgot to subscribe. Ive been going through your library of videos and they are awesome, especially the silver tower and Blackstone fortress ones.

[@jamesmit7914]

Great review! Is there a lot of custom fan content for this (or tools to create any)? WHQ 95 is a sandbox and gateway into an entire world, which is probably why it is loved so much. Silver Tower looks more like a polished and scripted experience but one that might not have the same longevity (just from watching this!).

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I've played Silver Tower on and off since 2016. The core game comprise a series of missions that are semi-randomised, so you always get the same rooms, but they will be in different orders, with different monsters, and different events. The main action beats will be the same (boss fights, etc.) but everything else will be different. As I also have the hero and adversary cards, and a good selection of Games Workshop miniatures, I have plenty of variety to keep things feeling different every time I play. I don't know much about fan-created content. A lot of the hero cards are available online though, and there were some extra characters in White Dwarf magazine. Silver Tower also combines with Shadows Over Hammerhal (as long as you don't mind the change in artwork between cards) which extends the life of both games considerably.

[@dedicatedgamer2500]

Now we need a reprint of this!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

While that’s unlikely Warhammer Quest Lost Relics comes out later in the year and that seems to have drifted more towards Silver Tower’s rules rather than Cursed City’s.

[@dedicatedgamer2500]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Thanks for the information! I'm not a fan of Cursed City for a variety of reasons, some of which you've covered in your content. Silver Tower, however, is much more my kind of thing : ) I'll keep an eye open for Lost Relics!

[@matthpotte]

I found a copy of Shadows over Hammerhal new last week for discounted retail price, really want silver tower too, I had the original WHQ back in 1995, absolutely loved it,

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I actually like Shadows Over Hammerhal even more than Silver Tower (which came as a shock because I love solo gaming). They're both fantastic games.

[@matthpotte]

Always Board Never Boring would you say silver tower is worth it as another purchase? My 3d printed BSF bases came today, very good quality but my pile of shame has skyrocketed in the last few weeks!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I love all three games. I've said before I see Silver Tower as the other side of the coin to Shadows Over Hammerhall. Each game does something different. Did you ever check out my 2,000 subscriber video? I talk about the evolution of the game system and what I like about each each there: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6Hbn6Rpnt98nJY

[@matthpotte]

Always Board Never Boring I’ll check it out, I have watched it before but a while ago whilst painting, and until I found hammerhal I thought I’d missed the boat with things pre BSF, I had about 15 years out of the hobby and things stayed in production a bit longer back then it seemed!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Games Workshop can move at whiplash speed if you aren't prepared for it. I'm glad I own all three of the Quest games, and I'm interested to see if they're going to continue the line after Blackstone ends.

[@plazma2891]

i got this wen i got my income tax with the hero cards and adversary cards and hammerhal on ebay was pricy but i jumped in right ne for the prices got worse. it sat for a few months im painting it now finally cant wait to play it

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It's great. I mix together all the Hammerhal and Silver Tower items and skills, and all the enemies, for more variety.

[@itsallfunandgames723]

Just reviewing an old review. It's funny, I tried this game out again after a few years, and it was tedious, shallow, and boring. I tried WQ94 out again after two-and-a-half decades, expecting that time and adulthood would deeply diminish my opinion of it, and found a very playable and engaging game. As someone said on BGG about Silver Tower, I'd like to play the game it wants to be. It's not a surprise to me that on its 30th anniversary Warhammer Quest is still played and has a dedicated fan community, while Silver Tower was forgotten nearly instantly. The proof of the pudding was in the eating. Though Silver Tower clearly had its charms for a decent number of people.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It remains to be seen if Silver Tower will stand the test of time for me, but it will always be special to me because it helped me through a very tough time. And I think everyone is different. I loved Quest 95 (and still do) but when I revisited it a few years back I had no fun with it at all. Conversely, I couldn't get to grips with Advanced Heroquest back in the day, but now it's one of my top 5 games of all time.

[@fumarc4501]

Praise Tzeentch!

[@CinKaiDRocks]

I absolutely prefer the 1995 WHQ and I did not have it as a child. Silver Tower is a good game too though.. but.. to me it fells more like a board game and less like a World to adventure, equip and develop your warrior in. And if you play full on roleplay with a game master it becomes insane in it's possibilities and AI. Ohh and the look.. The old Card art and way of making everything look like it fits in a Sword & Sorcery setting in terms of fonts and so on is just so much better imo. To each their own of course. :)

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I'm sure you aren't alone in thinking that. I think, with the exception of maybe Warhammer Fantasy Battle, I played Warhammer Quest more than any other game in my childhood, and it will always be special to me, but kind of in the way the first person you ever dated is special. Thanks for watching!

[@CinKaiDRocks]

@Always Board Never Boring Everybody has different feelings on the old vs new thing. I felt that since you delibaretely made the video a WHQ 1995 vs Siler Tower I would wave the flag of my personal favorite. 😊 I actually prefer when videos dont make it a "Here is why this one is better" since it is all so subjective and I feel that WHQ 1995 is the popular target at the moment because it has gained a lot of cult popularity. So I had to fight for my big love. 😄🤘 You're welcome.

[@johnmiddleton4291]

Man, it looks like you got hit by some youtube spam. You do deserve more subs....and money making apps.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I've been getting hit by KZbin spam ever since I hit 2,000 subs. I remove really obvious spam immediately. Where there's a vague bit of a doubt it sits for a while until I have chance to go to the sending account and check it out. I usually end up deleting multiple comments in every video, but as the bots usually spam you within seconds of your video going live most people never see them because I'm on the ball.

[@johnmiddleton4291]

Well you seem to have missed all the spam I type.

[@MarioMartinez-ek5ev]

Do you believe GW will evwr create a game that mirrors the original Warhammer Quest?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I doubt it really. It's a bit old hat now, and it seems that often when they revisit an older game they take it as an opportunity to change things up (thinking of Necromunda, Lost Patrol, Aeronautica, and Titanticus). Besides, Shadows Over Brimstone cleaved pretty close to the original Warhammer Quest, as did Darklight: Memento Mori, so a "traditional" Quest would have to stand entirely on the Old World setting as a way of drawing the crowd. Of course, with the Old World making a comeback, anything is possible.

[@Bassmunchkin1]

I have the original Warhammer Quest as well, but like yourself, I believe I will also never play it again mainly because I love BSF and prefer to play that. I also have Silver Tower but I've never played it, never enough hours in a day unfortunately

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

So many good games in the world, and so little time. I know that problem well!

[@robertlykins728]

I’m glad I have a copy of Warhammer quest! But it’s still a great game! I’ve played it solo for over ten years! & it’s still crazy hard!

[@mikolajwitkowski8093]

The game is great but flawed. You can see the same event 10 times in one play etc. All great ideas here have some small issues. There is a very interesting community effort to clean it with rewritten rules and combing with Hammerhall.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

No game is flawless, but I don't agree with the degree of flaws you're suggesting here. Apart from respite I've never felt a need for the game rules to be rewritten, and I've never had a game where the same event turned up more than twice, but that sort of thing is always a possibility with randomly generated sequences. When Hammerhal came out I immediately combined the two games, porting a few rules back from Hammerhal and using all the cross-compatible heroes, monsters, skills and treasures. White Dwarf also published a fun little way to travel from Hammerhal to the Silver Tower.

[@JezielProdigalSon]

the combat in Silver Tower sucks ass imo. The narrative is great however. I do wish the ending of the game was abit more wholesome though. I did not expect an RP choice, and it felt kinda lackluster for the rest of the party, who didnt get to choose anything. Anyways, reading those events, getting two 1s or 6s and just having the Silver Tower completely shit upon your party, is always a great time. I plan to play this game through again, when my nephews reach the age of 8 to 12, as i actually think the game is way better suited for a younger audience.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Interestingly, I prefer the combat in Silver Tower and Shadows Over Hammerhal to Blackstone Fortress. I like a good old D6 system. I won't say too much on my thoughts on the ending in case it's a spoiler for anyone, but I thought it was a totally fitting conclusion. Thanks for taking the time to watch the video and share your thoughts.

[@JezielProdigalSon]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring My issue with the combat is mostly the lack of room in the corridors, meaning some players often have to skip their turn, and the initiative system. . We have had sooo many times where we managed to clear the room, before any monsters got to take turns, and even in bossfights (which i think are generally very cool and clever thought out), it undermines the whole event as you get to remove half the threat before they do anything. . And if you have one of those "one-shot something" items, well, there is no rule that prohibits turning the big minotaur guy into stone and just moving on with a "lul", haha. The game however i think, due to its awesome narrative component and beautiful models (which i still display in my cupboard over a year after completing the game lol), makes this game quite unique within the genre of Dungeoncrawlers. And yea, dont get me wrong. The last boss fight was amazing, but yea..

[@robertlykins728]

I really want a copy of this game but I can’t afford to buy it! & I’m sad for that circumstance!

[@RAWxxx07]

So if I only have time to buy/paint/play one Warhammer quest quick one would you recommend? Silver Tower or Shadows over Hammerhall or Cursed City?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

That's not an easy question. They are all different. Silver Tower has an interesting environment and through-narrative, modular randomly generated maps, and is a fun co-operative experience. Shadows Over Hammerhal leans much more into being narrative based but has fixed map layouts and requires a dungeon master to play. It's the one that's most like Advanced Heroquest. Cursed City has a completely different rules set that's much faster and leaner, but it doesn't feel like it has a really strong story as you are generally just doing similar skirmishes over and over again to balance different threats. Then, of course, you have Blackstone Fortress which has the 40K setting. None of the games are easy to expand due to either a lack of expansions, or such expansions being discontinued and hard to find. I love them all for very different reasons, as I talked about in my Top 10 games video, so I wouldn't recommend one over another. I have reviewed all of these titles on the channel, so if you haven't seen all the reviews, maybe check them all out and see which game speaks to you the most.

[@RAWxxx07]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring thx for the detailed reply. While I really love story based dungeon crawler, I want to be able to play them solo (so no hammerhall). I think I like the fast leaner rules of Cursed City, but I prefer the dungeon exploration of Silver Tower. Will check those out and thx again :)