Quick Important Comment: You do not need to rotate the drums in the Tower to clear the skulls at the end of the game. They are all right behind the seals. Just half-slide up each remaining seal and the skulls will tumble out. Thanks for the review.

I was hesitant to watch this review before receiving my copy but now I am even more excited! Thanks all!

This game was totally worth the money. Super cool and fun. Solo mode is also a blast. I recommend solo play on gritty mode. I hope this game gets future scenarios and support

I'm glad I've ordered it. Can't wait to get it. Great review.

I'm seeing a lot of weird flak directed at Chris and Wendy "only" giving 7+ ratings. I just want to share that I've enjoyed you thoroughly as additions to TDT including this 4 Squares. You strike me as omni-gamers just like the rest of the crew, and I've particularly been meaning to request more Wendy. Now seems like a perfect time to finally make my plea: More Wendy, please and thank you!!

Need to get a lazy-susan to spin the board so the tower doesn't get in the way. Awesome job guys, thanks for your thoughts.

Eric Summerer reported that the batteries drained quite quickly when he played it. Having a supply of good rechargeables sounds sensible here.

Just bought this after playing it at Dice Tower East last year. So excited!!!

Nice review!. I'm waiting for my copy (it probably arrives in the next couple of days). I love the design of it, and i get why is expensive (i'll probably be my last board gamig buy for this year, because budget). But anyway!. I don't regret the money spent. It looks fantastic!.

I really like the way Chris teaches. Not too overwhelming in detail, but not too "shallow" either. I was able to understand what the game is about and what turns look like without it feeling complicated.

Played the original constantly back in 81-82'. No big deal now but a huge step up for board games at the time. Been looking forward to this one for years and it's the only game I'm really interested in this year,well maybe Frosthaven but that may not come out. Just bought a copy of the game at a pretty price off eBay. Sadly this may end up being one of those games like Eldervale that's going to be really hard to find. That tower ain't cheep boys and girls although it is very cool. I can also see little touches of Gloomhaven since Isaac Childres did help out.

I am a huge fan of the original game from when I was a kid and still own a working copy that me and my friends play about once a year. I hope that at some point there’s like a “retro mode” that let you play something more similar to the old school game. That being said, this new implementation looks amazing just like everything else restoration does and I can’t wait for my copy to arrive

I’m very interested in the competitive mode and how that differs in feel. I’m hoping at least some of you try it out and follow-up. Personally, I’m far more likely to want to play this competitively (I think).

I can't wait for this to come to my door!

I’ve played a few times with my daughter and we love it. We use a lazy Susan to make it easier to see all the areas. Works great!

My copy just arrived yesterday. Have only played it once (solo) so far, but I enjoyed it. I do have the expansion for it, but didn't add the new content yet. I would be curious if any of you played the original game.

I've been looking to get a tablet for games. Which model iPad did you use? Looked crisp

I'm looking forward to playing this, for sure. By the way, the graphic design and illustrations in this game look *amazing.*

I'm glad Tom's still on the table, because I trust his opinion.

I love my copy I'm so excited to get the second expansion as it will add even more character options.

Chris - hopefully a helpful suggestion: Before you launch into how to play a game, please provide an overview of the game's objectives (What are players trying to accomplish?). After watching you push iPad buttons for nearly 10 minutes, I still had no idea. Thank you

I like the box like that, though could use its name on the tan section

I’m not sure if I missed it at the beginning of the explanation, but how many actions per turn do players get?

Another solid review.

Still waiting on mine to arrive. Sigh… Endlessly waiting. 😳

Should be arriving soon. I didn't realise the four squares wasn't solely Room, Zee, Mike and Chris

"I'm Jovelinia the warrrior Princess" - Tom Vasal...... (Another clip for the end of year blooper reel)

8 lb Vacuum!!! LOL!!!......Chris...so on point....and now people want to hear about the game mechanisms!!! To all the people who are like the price is too high. You can't make Dark Tower without the mechanical tower. It would be different game then. The new Descent is a video game but, people love it and it is MSRP $175. Not for me but, embrace the love of the hobby and if your money doesn't quite meet the love for the game Dark Tower then I guess you weren't going to buy it anyway.

I'm curious how this qualifies for the Seal of Excellence when the highest score was in 8.5 and the three other scores were all lower. Just curious. Happy backer here.

This game was one of the very first Kickstarters to catch my eye. The visual appeal blew my mind. I didn’t back it but eventually preordered what is essentially the all-in pledge. Since then, I’ve had huge buyer’s remorse thinking I wouldn’t enjoy the game. This review actually helped me realize this may have a place in my collection after all. I like the variety, the advantages thing does sound very cool, and I didn’t know about the dungeon thing. I’m excited again. PS - I also can’t stand the look of the box. Absolutely hate the two tone top and bottom. Wish it was black on black, maybe purple for the shoulder. I think it looks really tacky. Disappointing given the look of the box in the draft photos on the campaign looked very different. At the end of the day a little bit minor, but still disappointing to me.

The review didn’t seem to match the scores they gave. Felt a little more generous.

The app tracking advantages can be added in

March is not long way off, but it feels as if it is years away.

I am very interested on this one. But one thing really makes me on the fence, as board games in general you can play them until (probably) forever, but with this tech and app implementation, would this going to be a problem years years after? Let say, for the next 10-20 years. I would love the game can still be played with my children or even grandchildren, a bit silly but that it is.

Love the Yi pair. Could the tree creatures be represented by Tolkiens? Or must they be tokens?

Why does the "Final Thoughts" section start at 10:29 in a video just shy of 30 minutes long?

I like the fact that they can patch the app to change/improve it based on the feedback like the counting of Advantages.

Quite a few gameplay differences from the original. Not a fan of the blutooth. I like the old style where everything was in the tower. Thought sure the tower was gonna have a screen on it. That being said, the old game was a family favorite so I'm still going to buy it and hope for the best.

Mine finally arrived... I've played it now three times, with each game being more enjoyable than the last. Went all in on the Kickstarter and while my wallet may regret this, I myself do not. It's great fun. The one--and so far only--thing I would change about it is the glyphs in the tower. They have a stenciled plastic cutout look to them, and some nice shiny artwork (like the original!) would have been appreciated. Also there are a number of positions that don't seem to be used at all, which makes me wonder if more effects could've been incorporated rather than ONLY using the glyphs. At any rate, I'd give it a 9 based on my initial plays, due to many of the same things Tom mentioned; only time will tell as to its staying power.

Hmmm, I'm sure I'll still love my copy when it comes but it is a little worrying that it may not play out as randomly as I once thought. Tom pointing out that you can use meta to position your hero that's strongest to a specific enemy type sounds both good and bad, replay-wise. Also, I absolutely get the complaint of having to dig through cards when a game requires you to have a specific win condition. That's an absolute slog and can even be a game-killer as a barrier to getting it to the table. Hopefully these just end up being outweighed by the experience, which I'm fairly confident it will. Great points; thanks for the review!

The tower should be the most important component in the game, but it's not! It's the app! The more a board game goes digital, the less and less the physical components actually matter.

Struggle with the price point as a negative in the review what is the price point, I missed it ?

Our first play got butts kicked, a couple triggers got everyone to 2 corruption and then a building was destroyed and someone got a third, I wish there was a mode where you can kill off that player and continue to try to win with the rest but everyone wanted to play again immediately :)

Not a fan of the paper playerboards. Don’t know why they didn’t go with a thicker cardboard.

I would put it on a lazy susan.

I am so torn. Maybe I took what they said wrong, but aside from Tom it sounds like the game is awesome to look at, they had fun playing it, but it was not something they feel much of a need or desire to play again unless they wanted to pull it out to show off the bling factor. Makes me feel like it's not a bad game, but also not good enough to be a coop they keep coming back to over other games. I would hate to spend $180 for a game that's fun for 5 or less games and then I really have no desire to come back to it unless I wanted to show off its bling.....Trying to decide to preorder this or Just back Marvel Zombies for $130. On the bright side, I already tried and like Zombicide so not really risking anything. I did not originally back because I thought it looked like a version of Pandemic. Such a hard choice, take the risk and hope I am of Tom's opinion or walk away even though I want to try it because of what I understood the others to be saying (even though they gave it high marks). Edit: I really do dislike the box. I got rid of Lords of Waterdeep because the box was annoying visually and would not stay shut. This one visually looks fine, hopefully it stays shut stored vertically.

I'm surprised they didn't talk about the competitive mode. Isn't that the mode based off the original game?

how do I get my hands on a copy of this bad boy?

Isaac Childres worked on Dark Tower? No wonder Frosthaven is taking so long :P

I really look foreward to the day they do a punlisher/ designer .. top list... Best of blue Orange , or pandasaurus.. or The guy zee likes... Like essentials top 3 top 5 top 10.. based on catalouge..

I'm with Wendy. Taken by itself it looks fun enough, but considering that price point...that's a no. It just doesn't seem to justify it mechanically.

Looks cool, but it bothers me that it's light on story. Like the main game it doesn't bother me, it's not too different from something like Castle Panic, just the inverse. But I feel like the dungeon crawls were a pointless addition. You randomly pick rooms for no rhyme or reason. I would have expected more story telling to go with that to help you decide which way to go. As it is, it just looks like busy work.

The lapel mic was 'windy' noise SFX. I have the original MB game. I didn't back the KS. My FLGS will have this. This is helpful. But I'll have to watch more videos. The artwork and design is nice. I would venture a guess the original's speaker is louder than this ones based on what I've heard and your comments. It also sounds like the app doesn't make as much noise as I'd think so using a blue tooth speaker with the iPad might not make a huge effect. You can't beat the huge D batteries & 3-volt motor rotating plastic gears lol

Innovation or the year.

I only want reviewers who like this type of game to review this game to reinforce my purchase bias. I unfortunately cannot form my own opinions based on watching the rules breakdown and gameplay explanations. I certainly cannot play it myself and make up my mind. Great review guys! Hopefully we get some more reviews on the expansions/scenarios.

Dice tower and Dark Tower, they do both "roll bones".

my problem with that is eventually that tower will break... then what...?

Setup takes a little bit of time but tear down is a BREEZE. I really enjoyed the game and can't wait to play it with some friends. I agree with a few of their points: *audio from the tower isn't great *its weird it doesn't release any skulls from the tower at the end. It could thematically represent the corruption being removed from the tower at the end of the game or somwthing... *I wish there was more flavor text on the character cards, especially the main heroes *I wish they had a first game walthrough or something to help teach the game *OH and I wish the virtues flipped vertically instead of horizontally

I had the original Dark Tower game, and I could kick my own ass for getting rid of it, though I still have the Dark Tower itself and it still works. I dunno, this looks like a pale comparison to the original. Where's the pageantry? Where's the fluttering banners? I still have ne memories, I guess.

Am I a curmudgeon if I really hate what they did with this game? I was born in 1991 and so this game was already very old when I played it, but my friends and I played it dozens and dozens of times from 5th-7th grade. My uncle was letting us borrow it and eventually took it back. Worst day of my life lol I loved the simplicity of the original game, the chip tune music, the anticipation of the rotating column. Dang it, I’m a curmudgeon aren’t I. And I’m only 30!🤣😋

Wow! (28:14) Dissing the OG Dark Tower game is just not cool, considering it's why this overwrought future paperweight even exists. Unlike these 4 toads, I was there. I owned and played the original and often! It was one of the hardest to get X-Mas presents of 1981 but my dad came through. It was before its time, which is why you get to sit here and say how primitive you think it was. AND, it was designed, targeted and marketed to children, even though adults found themselves playing it too....because it was just that cool! And even though I was already in my 30's, and my original copy had long since been discarded, it was the first thing I ever bought on ebay back in 1998, for the very reasonable price of $56. Now they go for $500 on ebay but I'll never sell. And yes, in my family we still drag it out of its dusty box at least once a year...because it's still just that cool!

8lb vacuum! lol

Kind of surprised no one talked about the App base for the game. This allows the company to provide extra content without actually needing to sell you anything else. Or the fact that they could improve on aspects of it on the fly.

lol .the 8 pound vacuum.

I was a huge fan of the 80s game, but 4 minutes into this explanation and I'm glazing over. It might be too complicated for this old lady.

The tower is very cool, BUT once your kid drops it on the floor 1 time and it breaks. You cannot play this game anymore. And if it happens from now in 5 years, you cannot find a replacement for the broken tower.....

As long as people keep paying these prices for games, games will continue to be very expensive. I now do most of my game shopping at the graveyard of many expensive Kickstarters, the local game swap

I really don't think reviewers should be lowering their score for a game based on the price. Talk about the price, sure, that makes some sense, but I really think it shouldn't change your rating of the game. It should just be a side-note. The market and the cost of production are what drive the price.

Dang, kinda disappointed it has an app. Not saying the game isn't good. Just wishing board games could be board games. I like the idea of turning off the computer and tv. Of putting away the ever dominant iPad and phones and just having a game night. Wish video games would stay as video games and board games stay board games.

Meh, I really don't enjoy games that require an app. I highly doubt the app will get much support at all, and what happens when a major OS change happens, or the company just delists the app for whatever reason- then you're stuck with a useless game that looks pretty. Beyond that, there's always the fear of digital DLCs for the app- new enemies, new monsters, new scenarios, etc, that make it easy to nickle & dime people for minimal content. It's a flashy idea, but it's a one-off, and I just don't see the point in the app- all of this could have been done without bluetooth, without an app, without all the bits and bobs.

Not much onto board games that require an app. The app will eventually outdate and a board game should BE a board game. A board game is NOT a video game on a phone or tablet. Total bummer. I love the original.

Every time I see this game i am slightly disappointed, because my knee jerk reaction is that is has to do with the Stephen King Dark Tower.

8 lb vacuum lol

The constant hissing noise during the overview is very distracting.

too much app interactions for me ... might just play a videogame instead ... hate apps in games that takes too much place

Still hoping for an actual reprint of the original. It could be done at a small fraction of the cost, too, with the tower in the center just basically being a phone/tablet holder. It could have 2 modes... one an exact copy of the original, and one with some new mechanics to bring it up to modern gaming standards (but still _much_ closer to the original than this one).

way to expensive :(

You lost me at "App". I know that this is the trend now but I find that app driven games really pull me out of the experience. For me I want to play an App or a board game, not both. This is just my personal preference. Thanks for the review.

Cool. But this bein app dependent is a huge Achilles heel.

10:33 Waaaaaaaaaaaaay way before the dark dice tower - THE bigggest thing in this game is the app.. (..and not everyone might likes it)

The reviews in a nutshell: If you have kids: this will be a hit with them, and it won't be boring for you - with the first few times being quite fun. If your an adult without kids: you'll have fun playing it 1 or 2 times and then never touch again except to show it off to other people. The review presented here is strange because the scores don't properly represent what they're saying about the game.... unless they are reviewing this game as a kid's game. Then the scores make sense.

It always bugs the crap out of me that reviewers (who may or may not have hacked the game) get their copies before those of us who actually did pay

Oma PFirst!!

Wow... The Dark Tower itself seems utterly incidental. The Tower should be the absolute star of the show! Instead, they clearly made the app the star of the show. I'll pass.

Thanks for the review. Restoration does it again. Take a classic game and update it with overproduction and lackluster gameplay. Dollars successfully saved.

All to their own of course, but I just think the tower looks silly. Makes me feel it's a kids toy.

Long winded review that could have easily been fixed with a lazy susan. If you're accustomed to heavy euros then have them review this - it's already being looked at with more scrutiny and not a fair shake - Roy and Tom were spot on. The game is awesome for what it's meant to be. People looking for something way more involved should keep an open mind for what this company's mission statement is - it's their company name.

This is an odd video game. i guess this is the the new toys to life line

No offense to Chris and Wendy (both of whom we love) but the more euro players seem like an odd choice for this VERY Ameritrashy game. Mike, Killmila and Roy, would seem like the ones who would like it best.

Wow....such a waste of the main feature of the whole game. The tower is reduced to the equivalent of a Pez dispenser. Color me disappointed. The original one people interacted with the tower..for pretty much everything. You waited for that random result for the tower to spit it out. Brigands!--something you always loved to see when struggling around the board. I guess the app is doing that work now, but then...why the tower? Especially something that big and way overproduced(given its function)? I can see that the stories/scenarios might be cool, but an oversized Pez dispenser really makes this game much more overpriced than what it should be. What was once a gimmick, but a cool gimmick that really worked in emersion of the game...is now basically a paperweight riding on nostalgia. Take the tower out and there are better games out there doing what this is trying to do, without the overproduction (and added cost due to the overproduction) Hard pass. Not even in consideration. Get the old one if you can find it and it works.

I'd consider trying this were it not for the absolute cringefest that is the plastic tower with shit sound effects. I don't have the nostalgia so it does nothing for me.