My first steps into Magic Realm...

[MerricB]

Yesterday, my new (old) copy of Magic Realm arrived. Luckily, I was able to play a game of it last night. We didn't get too many things wrong: mainly the placement on one of the dwellings (so, nothing major).

Don't know what Magic Realm is? Well, in the old days (1979) of Avalon Hill, it was an insanely complex Fantasy Adventure Game, of the same genre as Talisman, Runebound, Return of the Heroes and Prophecy, but with perhaps a bit more determinism in knowing what's coming to get you whilst still having random set-up.

It's been out of print for a long time, and the rights are confused. Neither the original author nor Hasbro seems to know who has it. Sigh. There's a fellow on BGG who has created a Print Yourself version of the game, but that sounds like too much Hard Work(tm) to me, so I just bought a copy on ebay.

Astonishingly, the copy was complete (no missing counters), and after spending a lot of time reading the rules to the first three encounters - like many old Avalon Hill complex games, it used programmed learning to introduce you to the rules in stages - and so we wandered around the map and fought monsters last night. Or got killed by them. The full story is here.

So, have you ever played Magic Realm? Have you ever tried Magic Realm and thrown the rulebook away in disgust? Any stories of things I should look out for?

Cheers!

 

[Mark CMG]

Nice. Never played that one.



(What???!?! Mark never played a particular old school game??!?!?!)



Nope. Not that one. I look forward to making time to read your field report.

 

[MerricB]

Oh dear! Mark, how did you avoid that!

I suppose next you're going to say you've never played Dune!

Cheers!

 

[Mark CMG]

Oh dear! Mark, how did you avoid that!

I suppose next you're going to say you've never played Dune!

Cheers!

I've whispered as much though that didn't pass without the opportunity to play.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

Ah, Magic Realm! This peculiar combination of fascination and disgust.

I've bought it eons ago ('83-'84) and several times tried to play it. We never got past the second encounter and no one was keen to proceed with it.

I now of one player group who spent several weekends with Magic Realm and played with up to - I think - encounter 5. Their verdict was: more work than fun.

Magic Realm would be a cool game if someone did a computerized version of it, just like those computer adaptions of several Eurogames which are available here.

 

[Croesus]

In 1979 my gaming group alternated between D&D and the latest AH/SPI boardgames. I remember when this one came out, there were several articles in the General where the designers admitted they hadn't done a very good job with the rules. After reading the articles, it looked too complicated for what we wanted, so we gave it a pass. I vaguely remember that one of the players had a chance to play it and wasn't terribly impressed.

That said, AH talked of producing a 2nd edition rulebook that would address most of these issues. It appears one was produced, but I'm not sure how you can get it. By the time it came out, my own group was busy with other games and passed again.

Here's a list of articles from the General, in case you have access to them:

16-4, The Magical Mystery Tour, Analysis, 3, Richard Hamblen
16-4, Additional Rules Systems For Magic Realm,Variant, 11, Richard Hamblen
16-4, Magic Realm Errata & Additions, Designer's Notes, 13, Design Analysis, Richard Hamblen
17-5, My Son, the Berserker, Strategy, 41, An Inside Tour of the Magic Realm, Jim Stahler
20-2, What am I Bid For ...,Variant, 15, Varying Prices in Magic Realm, Edward Connery
21-5, Which Way the Witch King,Strategy, 14, A MAgic Realm Seminar, Paul R. Bolduc
23-6, A Little Help from Friends, Strategy, 42, Giving Suckers an Even Break in Magic Realm, Michael Anchors
24-5, Monster Mash, Strategy, 43, Playing St. George in Magic Realm, Michael Anchors
26-4, The Legendary, Lost Index, Designer's Notes, 48, An Index for 2nd Edition Magic Realm, Jay Richardson

(As an aside, I have played Dune. It is hands down my favorite cutthroat multiplayer game of all time, even better than Diplomacy and Rail Baron, IMNSHO.)

 

[GreyLord]

Magic Realm, eh?

I prefer Runebound (what I consider the perfect RP boardgame) far more.

I love Talisman as well...MR and Tal are probably thematically similar but polar opposites as far as rules, complexity, and depth/weight, so it can be interesting to see different opinions on it. Some consider MR a grail game.

Hope you have fun with it and report back here if you manage to get a full game in a couple times with how you feel about it. Some find it imensely satisfying...after they get the hang of it.

I also beleive there was a computerized version out for it that someone made. It doesn't come with the rules if I recall (been a while) so you'd probably do best if you read the rules on it first, if you can find it.

 

[MerricB]

In 1979 my gaming group alternated between D&D and the latest AH/SPI boardgames. I remember when this one came out, there were several articles in the General where the designers admitted they hadn't done a very good job with the rules. After reading the articles, it looked too complicated for what we wanted, so we gave it a pass. I vaguely remember that one of the players had a chance to play it and wasn't terribly impressed.

That said, AH talked of producing a 2nd edition rulebook that would address most of these issues. It appears one was produced, but I'm not sure how you can get it. By the time it came out, my own group was busy with other games and passed again.

Link to 2nd Edition rules
Link to fan-created 3.1 edition rules

Here's a list of articles from the General, in case you have access to them:

16-4, The Magical Mystery Tour, Analysis, 3, Richard Hamblen
16-4, Additional Rules Systems For Magic Realm,Variant, 11, Richard Hamblen
16-4, Magic Realm Errata & Additions, Designer's Notes, 13, Design Analysis, Richard Hamblen
17-5, My Son, the Berserker, Strategy, 41, An Inside Tour of the Magic Realm, Jim Stahler
20-2, What am I Bid For ...,Variant, 15, Varying Prices in Magic Realm, Edward Connery
21-5, Which Way the Witch King,Strategy, 14, A MAgic Realm Seminar, Paul R. Bolduc
23-6, A Little Help from Friends, Strategy, 42, Giving Suckers an Even Break in Magic Realm, Michael Anchors
24-5, Monster Mash, Strategy, 43, Playing St. George in Magic Realm, Michael Anchors
26-4, The Legendary, Lost Index, Designer's Notes, 48, An Index for 2nd Edition Magic Realm, Jay Richardson

Incredibly, they're all here. The Magic Realm community is pretty awesome, with a lot of them on BGG. Indeed, Jay Richardson is an active member of BoardGameGeek; he remains an avid Magic Realm and ASL fan.

(As an aside, I have played Dune. It is hands down my favorite cutthroat multiplayer game of all time, even better than Diplomacy and Rail Baron, IMNSHO.)

It's an awesome game. Alas, many of my friends don't like it!

Cheers!

 

[MerricB]

My second game report is now up, with a couple of pictures to give you some context for the explorations. Unfortunately, we haven't added the treasure rules yet; they'll come this afternoon.

Cheers!

 

[Croesus]

Link to 2nd Edition rules
Link to fan-created 3.1 edition rules

Incredibly, they're all here. The Magic Realm community is pretty awesome, with a lot of them on BGG. Indeed, Jay Richardson is an active member of BoardGameGeek; he remains an avid Magic Realm and ASL fan.

I'm always amazed at the resources available online, if you can find them. Thanks for the links.