DragonStrike (board game)

Last updated
Dragon Strike
DragonStrike (board game).jpg
Box cover art
Designers Bruce Nesmith & Andria Hayday
Publishers TSR
Publication1993
Players1 to 6

Dragon Strike is a 1993 adventure board game from TSR, Inc. based on the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. It was intended to be a pathway for beginners to start with, and for players to eventually play the full Advanced Dungeons & Dragons tabletop game after kindling their interest.

Contents

Overview

Dragon Strike is a hybrid between a board game and a table-top role playing game. It was designed to be a gateway into Dungeons & Dragons for new and young players. [1] The game used a ruleset that was simpler than the basic Dungeons & Dragons rules to make it easier to play. The designers hoped to attract players as young as eight years old. [2]

The game came with several fold-out maps, cards, dice, an instructional VHS video, and a number of plastic miniatures. [2] They represent the player characters, monsters, traps, treasure and status effects. The game included several pre-created quests available for play, one of which could be played solo.

VHS video

A video titled Dragon Strike came with the game on a VHS tape, intended to make the game more accessible to young players. [2] It tells a story of the quest of a band of heroes, while demonstrating how to play the game. The "host" is playing the Dragon Master, trying to kindle the imagination and giving instructions on gameplay. The video also shows a live action story, featuring real-life actors. The video bears only a moderate resemblance to the actual board game. At the end of the tape is a section for the Dragon Master, which includes tips and tricks to help the players have fun, as well as making the game challenging.

The tape was prepared by Flint Dille and his Hollywood contacts, albeit on a low budget. The production was filmed with extensive use of blue screen, with actors acting against a blue screen, and a fantasy background replaced in post-production. The shooting and script were based on an early draft of the rulebook before the game was finalized, so does not match the actual game perfectly. Monsters such as Minotaurs and Owlbears, plus the cleric class, make an appearance in the video but not the game itself. [2]

Gameplay

The Dragon Strike game presents the basics of role-playing games in an innovative board-game format. The rules cast players in the roles of dwarves, thieves, and other fantasy archetypes. Each player receives a card representing his character, which shows ratings for Armor Class, Speed, Attack Strength, and special abilities. A clip attached to the side of the card keeps track of the character's Hit Points. The Dragon Master—the Dragon Strike equivalent of a Dungeon Master—prepares a session by selecting a mission from the Adventure Book, locates the indicated markers and cards, then responds with monsters, traps, and treasures as the characters wander around the colorful map board. A mission must be completed within a fixed number of turns. [3]

The Dragon Master controls the actions of the monsters and non-player characters. To resolve combat, the Dragon Master compares the Attack Strength to the target's Armor Class; if the Attack Roll is higher, the target loses one Hit Point. Equally simple rules cover spell casting, feats of strength, and flying.

Publication history

The Dragon Strike game was designed by Bruce Nesmith and Andria Hayday, and published by TSR, Inc. in 1993. [4]

In August 1993, issue #196 of Dragon Magazine included an additional scenario/adventure titled "The Dragon Orb".

DragonStrike was part of an initiative by TSR to make their games accessible to young players. A 1992 introductory product called Dragon Quest and First Quest in 1994 was also part of this effort. [2]

In other media

In 1994, Marvel Comics published a one-shot comic book authorized adaptation of Dragon Strike, written by Jeff Grubb, penciled by Mike Harris, and inked by Frank Percy.

Four books were written about each of the major classes featured in the video. Warrior, Elf, Wizard and Thief were the titles, and expanded on the lore and adventures leading up to the video and game.[ citation needed ]

WildSpace: Announced as a proposed TV series or expansion to Dragon Strike called WildSpace and featuring a return of several of the original cast,[ citation needed ] this time traveling into Spelljammer's WildSpace setting. Aside from a flyer announcement and a trailer, WildSpace was never produced.[ citation needed ]

Reception

Rick Swan reviewed Dragon Strike for TSR's own Dragon magazine #200 (December 1993). [5] Swan claims that "if this doesn't lure your kid brother into the hobby, it probably can't be done", calling it "perhaps the most lavishly packaged, user-friendliest introduction to role-playing ever published". [5] He compliments the game overall by stating: "The much-touted (and unfairly criticized) videotape accomplishes exactly what it's supposed to: Define role-playing for those who wouldn't know a saving throw from a savings bond. What distinguishes the Dragon Strike game from other fantasy board games is, of course, the emphasis on verbal interaction. This may be nothing new to veteran gamers, but for novices, the effect is startling. It's as if pawns on a chessboard started talking back. After a few rounds of Dragon Strike's "Role-playing Lite", I suspect most players will be salivating for the real thing". [5]

The game sold acceptably well, selling out its initial printing of 100,000 copies, with orders for 50,000 more from toy and hobby stores. The financial success of the product was compromised by overprinting, however. TSR CEO Lorraine Williams opted to do a reprint of 150,000 copies rather than the 50,000 additional copies ordered. The extra 100,000 orders did not appear with time, and the excess copies largely sat in a warehouse. The excess copies were eventually sold at deeply discounted clearance rates, as low as a dollar a copy, compromising the overall profitability of the product for TSR. Dale Donovan described the overprinting of DragonStrike as "snatch[ing] defeat from the jaws of victory". [2] The overprinting did have the benefit of allowing TSR to essentially take out a "loan" from Random House, as TSR's contract with them allowed them to ship the excess copies to Random House for immediate payment, and only be charged with debt later after the unsold copies were returned. [2]

Reviews

Hasbro game

In 2002, Hasbro released a board game called Dragon Strike , which was unrelated to the 1993 version of Dragon Strike. [7] [ relevant? ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i> Fantasy role-playing game

Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TSR). It has been published by Wizards of the Coast, now a subsidiary of Hasbro, since 1997. The game was derived from miniature wargames, with a variation of the 1971 game Chainmail serving as the initial rule system. D&D's publication is commonly recognized as the beginning of modern role-playing games and the role-playing game industry, and also deeply influenced video games, especially the role-playing video game genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TSR, Inc.</span> Former company, publisher of "Dungeons & Dragons"

TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had been unable to find a publisher for D&D, a new type of game he and Dave Arneson were co-developing, so he founded the new company with Kaye to self-publish their products. Needing financing to bring their new game to market, Gygax and Kaye brought in Brian Blume in December as an equal partner. Dungeons & Dragons is generally considered the first tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG), and established the genre. When Kaye died suddenly in 1975, the Tactical Studies Rules partnership restructured into TSR Hobbies, Inc. and accepted investment from Blume's father Melvin. With the popular D&D as its main product, TSR Hobbies became a major force in the games industry by the late 1970s. Melvin Blume eventually transferred his shares to his other son Kevin, making the two Blume brothers the largest shareholders in TSR Hobbies.

<i>DragonQuest</i> Fantasy role-playing game

DragonQuest is a fantasy role-playing game originally published by Simulations Publications (SPI) in 1980. Where first generation fantasy role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) restricted players to particular character classes, DragonQuest was one of the first games to utilize a system that emphasized skills, allowing more individual customization and a wider range of options.

<i>Talisman</i> (board game) Fantasy adventure board game

Talisman: The Magical Quest Game is a fantasy-themed adventure board game for two to six players, originally designed and produced by Games Workshop. The game was first released in 1983 and has gone through three revisions. As of 2021, the fourth edition (2008) is the latest version. The board game sold over 800,000 units by 2000.

<i>Pool of Radiance</i> 1988 video game

Pool of Radiance is a role-playing video game developed and published by Strategic Simulations, Inc (SSI) in 1988. It was the first adaptation of TSR's Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) fantasy role-playing game for home computers, becoming the first episode in a four-part series of D&D computer adventure games. The other games in the "Gold Box" series used the game engine pioneered in Pool of Radiance, as did later D&D titles such as the Neverwinter Nights online game. Pool of Radiance takes place in the Forgotten Realms fantasy setting, with the action centered in and around the port city of Phlan.

<i>Ravenloft</i> (module) 1983 adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons game

Ravenloft is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. The American game publishing company TSR, Inc. released it as a standalone adventure booklet in 1983 for use with the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game. It was written by Tracy and Laura Hickman, and includes art by Clyde Caldwell with maps by David Sutherland III. The plot of Ravenloft focuses on the villain Strahd von Zarovich, a vampire who pines for his lost love. Various story elements, including Strahd's motivation and the locations of magical weapons, are randomly determined by drawing cards. The player characters attempt to defeat Strahd and, if successful, the adventure ends.

<i>The Complete Psionics Handbook</i> Dungeons & Dragons supplement

The Complete Psionics Handbook is a supplemental rulebook for the 2nd edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1991 by TSR, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strahd von Zarovich</span> Fictional roleplaying character

Count Strahd von Zarovich is a fictional character originally appearing as the feature villain in the highly popular Advanced Dungeons and Dragons adventure module I6: Ravenloft. Later, this character and his world would be explored in follow-up modules, novels, and the Ravenloft campaign setting. Within this setting, Strahd is the first and best-known of Ravenloft's darklords. He is a powerful ancient vampire. He is also a master necromancer, a skilled warrior, and the unquestioned ruler of the domain of Barovia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Owlbear</span> Fictional monster from Dungeons & Dragons

An owlbear is a fictional creature originally created for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. An owlbear is depicted as a cross between a bear and an owl, which "hugs" like a bear and attacks with its beak. Inspired by a plastic toy made in Hong Kong, Gary Gygax created the owlbear and introduced the creature to the game in the 1975 Greyhawk supplement; the creature has since appeared in every subsequent edition of the game. Owlbears, or similar beasts, also appear in several other fantasy role-playing games, video games and other media.

Al-Qadim is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game which was developed by Jeff Grubb with Andria Hayday for TSR, Inc., and was first released in 1992. Al-Qadim uses One Thousand and One Nights as a theme and is set in the land of Zakhara, called the Land of Fate. Thematically, the land of Zakhara is a blend of the historical Muslim Caliphates, the stories of legend, and a wealth of Hollywood cinematic history. Zakhara is a peninsula on the continent of Faerûn in the world of Toril, the locale of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, although Al-Qadim is designed to stand on its own or be added to any existing campaign setting. The basic campaign setting was divided between two game products: Al-Qadim: Arabian Adventures, a sourcebook describing character creation rules, equipment, and spells unique to the setting, and Al-Qadim: Land of Fate, a boxed set describing the land of Zakhara, with separate sourcebooks for the players and the Dungeon Master.

The Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game has been adapted into many related products, including magazines, films and video games.

James M. Ward is an American game designer and fantasy author who worked for TSR, Inc. for more than 20 years.

<i>House of Strahd</i> D&D module

House of Strahd is an adventure module for the 2nd edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1993.

<i>Ravenloft: Realm of Terror</i>

Ravenloft: Realm of Terror is a boxed set accessory published in 1990 for the Ravenloft campaign setting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.

<i>Sword and Shield</i> Dungeons & Dragons adventure module

Sword and Shield is an adventure module published in 1992 for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gamemaster's screen</span> Equipment of tabletop role-playing game

A gamemaster's screen, also called a GM's screen, is a gaming accessory, usually made out of either cardboard or card stock, and is used by the gamemaster to hide all the relevant data related to a tabletop role-playing game session from the players in order to not spoil the plot of the story. It also hides any dice rolls made by the gamemaster that players should not see. In addition, screens often have essential tables and information printed on the inside for the gamemaster to easily reference during play.

<i>First Quest</i>

First Quest is an accessory for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, published in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Nesmith</span> American game designer

Bruce Nesmith is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. He was Creative Director at TSR, working on a variety of games including Dungeons & Dragons, and is a senior game designer at Bethesda Game Studios, where he has worked on AAA titles such as Fallout 3, Fallout 4 and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and was lead designer on Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Andria Hayday is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set</span> Role-playing game rule set

The Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set is a category of companion accessories across multiple editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. In general, the Starter Set is a boxed set that includes a set of instructions for basic play, a low level adventure module, pre-generated characters, and other tools to help new players get started.

References

  1. "The History of TSR". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2008-09-24. Retrieved 2005-08-20.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Riggs, Ben (2022). Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons. St. Martin's Press. pp. 101, 155–164, 169–172. ISBN   9781250278043.
  3. Hayday, Andria. Dragon Strike Game Instructions. TSR, Inc., 1993, p. 8.
  4. Hayday, Andria. Dragon Strike Game Instructions. TSR, Inc., 1993, p. 32.
  5. 1 2 3 Swan, Rick (December 1993). "Role-playing Reviews". Dragon . Lake Geneva, Wisconsin: TSR (#200): 117–118.
  6. https://archive.org/details/casus-belli-077/page/n25/mode/2up
  7. "Dragon Strike". BoardGameGeek, https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4892/dragon-strike. Accessed 26 Oct. 2020.