Dark Tower (game) - Gameplay

Gameplay

To play, each player takes turns rotating the Tower to face them and then moving about the board. The quarter of the board in front of a particular player is their territory. Gameplay proceeds by moving a player's token one space and then pressing a button on the Tower that corresponds to the type of space (e.g., Plains, Tomb, Bazaar, Frontier). The Tower then resolves what happens to the player by showing the player the appropriate cel and reporting whatever occurs. For instance, if the Tower decides that the player has encountered Brigands, it will turn to the Brigands cel, simultaneously displaying the number of brigands encountered. If the player chooses to fight, the Tower resolves the battle by alternately counting off the remaining numbers of friendly troops and Brigands. Once all events have resolved, the Tower is rotated to the next player and their turn begins.

Each territory besides a player's own contains one of three keys—bronze, silver and gold, in that order—needed to unlock the Tower. The location of the key is randomly determined by the Tower. Each player will therefore need to travel counter-clockwise around the board, through each of the other three players' territories, until the player has all three keys. At this point, the player returns to his or her territory, buys reinforcements, and then attempts to attack the Tower, which contains a predetermined number of defenders inside. The first player to beat the Tower wins the game; losing requires building up another army.