The Inside Scoop on Gaming

DRAGON STRIKE, by B. Nesmith for TSR

This fantasy board game clearly stakes out a position between the Classic Dungeon (and many other) board game and traditional fantasy role-playing games like D&D or Heroquest. Where I found Heroquest to rules intensive to learn/play separately from AD&D ("Why not use the system I am already familiar with, with this box of props?", is the question I asked myself), Dragon Strike is just enough steps beyond traditional board games to allow one to relive the old dungeon delving/hack and slash days of old with board game sized rules.

The six available characters (warrior, male thief, female thief, wizard, elf, and dwarf) come with a minimal amount of stats. There is no character progression, no logical dungeon eco-system and no between adventure role-play time. Get in, get it on and get out. Combat is not the only option, but the focus is on the maze at hand and successful negotiation of it to complete a specific goal. The simplest of rules, aided by icons, makes it a snap to learn and relearn quickly.

The graphics and playing pieces are as good as Heroquest but not nearly as numerous. 2 boards with 4 mazes provide sufficient variety, and more than enough adventures are provided to keep players challenged. The "hyper reality" video takes itself a bit to seriously but does provide a good overview of the intended play of the game. I can see the marketing team at TSR at work here, creating an appetite for AD&D from Dungeon, through Dragon Strike (and Dragon Quest, and basic D&D).

Consumers will stop at the level of complexity they are most comfortable with, but many who would otherwise never think to try AD&D would be drawn into it as an extension of the same fun. In any case, they become TSR customers of a single premise. The character cards, DM's shield and various card decks make play easy and unencumbering. You can hate books, reading and rules, as well be whatever the opposite of a rules lawyer is and still enjoy this quasi-role-playing board game.

I found the references in the rules and on the tape that if the players fail, the Dragon Master (read GM) wins, odd. I guess that's a concession to the traditional board game format, there has to be a winner.

The best part is that, like Heroquest and Battlemaster, toy stores are unloading these at discount prices (<$10). Just the props are worth that much to players of any fantasy role-play or board game. Get out there and find it at a discount, buy it and enjoy it. Then you can laugh at yourself for needing the comparatively extensive rules of the original version of D&D to have the same amount of fun all those years ago.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Dragon Strike
Author: B. Nesmith Category: RPG board game Company/Publisher: TSR Line: none Capsule Review by Papyrus on 05/11/99. Genre tags: Fantasy	DRAGON STRIKE, by B. Nesmith for TSR This fantasy board game clearly stakes out a position between the Classic Dungeon (and many other) board game and traditional fantasy role-playing games like D&D or Heroquest. Where I found Heroquest to rules intensive to learn/play separately from AD&D ("Why not use the system I am already familiar with, with this box of props?", is the question I asked myself), Dragon Strike is just enough steps beyond traditional board games to allow one to relive the old dungeon delving/hack and slash days of old with board game sized rules. The six available characters (warrior, male thief, female thief, wizard, elf, and dwarf) come with a minimal amount of stats. There is no character progression, no logical dungeon eco-system and no between adventure role-play time. Get in, get it on and get out. Combat is not the only option, but the focus is on the maze at hand and successful negotiation of it to complete a specific goal. The simplest of rules, aided by icons, makes it a snap to learn and relearn quickly. The graphics and playing pieces are as good as Heroquest but not nearly as numerous. 2 boards with 4 mazes provide sufficient variety, and more than enough adventures are provided to keep players challenged. The "hyper reality" video takes itself a bit to seriously but does provide a good overview of the intended play of the game. I can see the marketing team at TSR at work here, creating an appetite for AD&D from Dungeon, through Dragon Strike (and Dragon Quest, and basic D&D). Consumers will stop at the level of complexity they are most comfortable with, but many who would otherwise never think to try AD&D would be drawn into it as an extension of the same fun. In any case, they become TSR customers of a single premise. The character cards, DM's shield and various card decks make play easy and unencumbering. You can hate books, reading and rules, as well be whatever the opposite of a rules lawyer is and still enjoy this quasi-role-playing board game. I found the references in the rules and on the tape that if the players fail, the Dragon Master (read GM) wins, odd. I guess that's a concession to the traditional board game format, there has to be a winner. The best part is that, like Heroquest and Battlemaster, toy stores are unloading these at discount prices (<$10). Just the props are worth that much to players of any fantasy role-play or board game. Get out there and find it at a discount, buy it and enjoy it. Then you can laugh at yourself for needing the comparatively extensive rules of the original version of D&D to have the same amount of fun all those years ago. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)