How a legendary board-game failure became a thoroughly modern hit.

Save this article to read it later.

Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.

The most complicated turn is your first one?

We had a whole list of games we wanted to do, says Jacobson.

We had a suggestion box on the site, and wed get some weve never heard of.

The big three for us wereHeroQuest,Dark Tower, andFireball Island.

Dark Towerhas indeed taken on legendary status in the 41 years since its release, despite a disappointing launch.

Unfortunately for everyone concerned, the game wouldnt get the chance to recoup that investment.

Now, Daviau and his colleagues at Restoration have broughtDark Towerback.

Excitement for the new game even showed up on television with an incredibly detailed rendering of the tower.

(South Parkco-creator Trey Parker is a fan of the original game.)

In the case ofDark Tower, however, it wasnt entirely clear who the actual designers were.

Theyre listed as designers because they were the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that led toDark Towerbeing shelved.

By all accounts, Erato lost them the case because he didnt make a good witness.

He was kind of cranky and was annoyed that they alleged that he stole the idea.

The originalDark Towergames trademark was long expired, and game mechanics cant be copyrighted.

The tower had to be the heart of the game, not just visually but mechanically as well.

It was the sounds that would disappoint you or make you so happy.

Hed even designed one of the scenarios inGloomhaven.

When I play an epic fantasy game, I want to be working with people.

The tower is your DM and youre all working together to defeat it.

The essence of the game?

Its all about that electronic tower.

It always came back to the tower, which, in early prototypes, was a monster.

It originally had five layers, recalls Daviau.

People thought doors falling off meant its falling apart and youre winning, said Daviau.

The doors would knock pieces around (on the board).

Also it was 12 extra electromagnets and costs were adding up.

The tower itself costs more thanScythe.

More complexity also meant more risk that something wouldnt work, ruining the playing experience.

Or maybe thered be an unsatisfying moment where youd have to help the doors open.

We cut it and went with something safer.

A Bluetooth speaker in the tower is an obvious one, says Burrell-Saward.

It would make things costly to the point of not worth doing.

So we had to cut it, like the idea of the connected board itself.

The possible savior would have been an amazing tower.

However, the games are just different, both in play style and overall feel.

Its a perfectly adequate game that looks great.

Matt Smith not the Eleventh Doctor bought the game as a teenager using money from his newspaper route.

Given that objective, I think RG squarely hit the mark.

The table presence is very similar, but the game play is much improved.

Daviau has been pleased with the response, saying, Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive.

There will always be people frustrated on the internet, frustrated that were not doing a literal reprint.

I see why people have a fondness for it but the original game doesnt hold up.