Well this week I'm sharing what I was going to share last week if the post office hadn't been quite so slow. May I introduce Mattel Electronics Dungeons and Dragons Computer Labyrinth Game!
Yes, that's certainly a mouthfull. But it's also a fairly good description of this cutting edge 1980 game. You see, in the late 70s (around the time I was a hip and cool teen) Dungeons and Dragons was huge! All the cool (nerdy) kids were rolling their 20 sided dice to score hits on their imaginary foes in a world completely created by the Dungeon Master.
Now, I may have spent an hour (or a hundred) wandering these imaginary lands searching for riches, or, better yet, creating these worlds for my friends to explore. Time was plentiful, pizza was cheap, and the world was our oyster.
However, there was another ripple starting in the gaming pool. Electronic games, an offshoot of the birth of home computers and video arcades, began to appear. They were crude and simple, but to kids who had never seen the likes of them, they were exciting! It was only a (short) matter of time before the worlds of Dungeons and Dragons and electronics collided.
The first (and most sought after) mashup was...Dark Tower! My friend Chris had it. It's really cool. This post is not about it at all.
The second, and largely forgotten game was this one! (Insert fanfair). Let's take a look, shall we?
The box is colorful and, weirdly, features an Asian dragon. Most Dungeons and Dragons worlds were based on medieval Europe. Still, it's eye catching and colorful. My box is in fairly rough shape, but it still serves it's purpose.
So how is the game? Actually, it's pretty good! The more you move, the higher the stress and when you hear the dragon wake up, it gets really exciting! It's not an easy game, which makes it repeatable.
Interestingly enough, Mattel Electronics released a version with a screen right after this one. I've never played it, so I don't know how it stacks up. I think that one kind of phased this one out, so this one is fairly rare.
All in all, it's a solid game that I recommend. Oh, and how about a period commercial? Here ya go!
So until next time, keep searching for treasure! (And don't get eaten!)
Looks like an interesting game. I'm not clear how the game knows where you are... I guess you have to press your token (sword guy or mace guy) down in each square you go to, and listen for a sound to tell you if there's a wall there, or whatever?
ReplyDeleteI played D&D only once, back in the day. I didn't really understand what I was supposed to do or what the goal was. It left me feeling underwhelmed.
I like the cover art, even with the Asian dragon. The TV ad video (thanks!) doesn't give us much to work with. It's all very vague.
I don't where you find these rare and unusual games that nobody, except you, has heard of. ;-)
Thanks, Stu.
You are correct! Sorry I didn't mske that clearer. The funny thing is that you really don't need the figures, as you can use anything to mark your space. Before I got the replacement parts in, there was a ball bearing, penny, and small die in the drawer, lol!
DeleteI think the key to a good D&D game is having a Dungeon Master who is a good story teller. After all, the whole thing really is a "choose your fate" story. I haven't played in decades, though. I might be bored out of my mind now, lol!
There is a D&D group that meets every Wednesday night at the next table over from my miniature wargame group at our local comic and game store. Their dungeon master is an amazing storyteller and really gets into it. It’s fun sometimes just listening to him describe the scenario while I’m busy keeping records for my fleet or biplane or whatever I’m playing at the moment.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really cool find, Stu. I don’t remember this tie-in game. I bought my first D&D set in 1980, during the Great Dice Drought. Demand for the game was so high that they couldn’t keep up with the demand for 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 20 sided dice, so it came with laminated sheets that you cut apart into individual, numbered squares and put in cups to be drawn out in lieu of dice. There was a coupon to order dice that would be mailed to you when available, but I never sent it in.
I think it's cool that you play wargames!
DeleteWhen I was first introduced to D&D, it was from guys in my rocket club that had the little Gygax booklets (before the hardcovers). I started playing a couple of years later.
I don't remember the Grest Dice Drought, but it may be that I've just blocked it out of my mind! The trauma!
I have a bunch of dice, including a 100 sided. It looks a lot like a golf ball...