Publisher: Drei Magier Spiele (Lion Rampant Imports)

Designers: Inka & Markus Brand

Ages: 5+

Players: 2-4

Duration: 15-25 min.

The sinister sorcerer Ravenhorst has kidnapped the princess and locked her in a tower, and only young Robin can find the key and save her! But he better hurry… because the sorcerer is on his way back! And someone has enchanted the padlocks to the tower… which one of the 6 is the right one?

In The Enchanted Tower one player will assume the role of the sorcerer Ravenhorst and 1-3 other players will control the young hero Robin. The objective for both players is the same… to get to the tower first and open the correct padlock. However, young Robin wishes to free the princess and the sorcerer has other dastardly plans. The first to reach the tower and open the correct lock wins the game!

What’s in the box?

The box contains 2 game boards, one small and one large, 1 tower, 2 metal keys (one as a spare), 3 figures (Robin, Ravenhorst and the Princess), 2 die (one numbered and one symbol) and 16 tiles. As most of you have figured out… I’m a sucker for pretty artwork, and this one is no exception. It looks like a children’s storybook come to life, and the little touches are just fantastic.

One thing I really have to give a shout out to is how efficient the design and storage is. I mean, everything fits perfectly in the box for storage, and I love how the game box is used for the game… you can tell how much thought went into the design. Even the rulebook has a little story you read before the game. Nothing is spared in the production. And the Robin and Ravenhorst figures have something special about them… but I’ll get to that later.

So how do you play?

The Enchanted Tower has what you call asymmetrical gameplay. What that means is that players have different starting points and/or objectives within the game. Now this is a children’s game so don’t expect complexity. To set up, remove the tower, dice, figures and one key from under the board and place the big board back on top of the box. Then the tiles will be placed over the holes in the board (doesn’t matter where they go) and place the smaller board next to the board so the paths line up. Next, you place the tower in its section and place the princess inside it. Then the sorcerer gets placed in the starting point on the small board. Now it’s time to decide who will play the sorcerer and who will be the hero.

Now the fun comes… the sorcerer will ask the other players to close their eyes. Then he will take the key and hide it randomly under one of the 16 tiles, not revealing to the players. After he has hidden it the other players open their eyes, and place Robin in one of the 4 starting spots on the main board.

Then the hero players take turns rolling the 2 die. The first die has 3 sides of Robin and 3 of Ravenhorst… it is used to determine who will move first that round. The second die has 2 numbers on each side; one red and one blue. The red will determine how many spaces Robin will move that turn and the blue how many Ravenhorst can move.

But wait… the sorcerer player knows where the key is. How is that fair? Well… that’s why he starts on the small board. He has 8 spaces he must travel to before he gets on the main board. That gives Robin a head start to find the key before he does!

Players will roll and move, trying to find the key (follow the path… no shortcuts!). But how will you know when you come across the tile where the key is hidden. Magic obviously! Well… ok not magic. Remember how I said the figures have something special? Well… both figures have a magnet on the base of them, and as soon as they pass over a tile and hear a click, you know you have found the key. Lift up your figure and the tile and the key will come up along with them!

So you found the key and now you can save the princess (or whatever the sorcerer wishes to do, his motivations seem rather vague). Only it’s not that easy… there are 6 locks on the tower and only one will free the princess. After you find the key, put it in one of the 6 locks. If the princess springs out, you win the game! If not… the Robin player closes their eyes and the sorcerer hides the key again (not in the same place though!) and it keeps going until the princess is freed!

Is it any good?

It’s not good… it’s great! My daughter is 3 years old (will be 4 in about 3 months) and she loves this game, even though it says 5+ on the box. She always plays Robin, but she loves to roll and move and try to find the key. The only thing that can be a little frustrating is when you pick the wrong lock 5 times… but that doesn’t always happen. It’s also because she is 3 and doesn’t have much patience. Go figure.

I love how this game has a roleplaying element to it. As I said earlier, there’s a story inside the instruction manual and also illustrations so as you read it forms the story of the game. And even though I’m not a kid, I do enjoy being the sorcerer and hiding the key… and I know my daughter loves to be the hero trying so save the princess. Kids can really immerse themselves in it and thats probably the best thing about it. You can really see them absorbing not only the game, but the story.

I find this to be a perfect 2 player game. Because the hero players have to take turns moving Robin, I can see some younger kids losing interest. But I can also see if you have 2 kids, the older one can be the sorcerer and you can play as a team with your younger one and work together. Overall, thats a minor issue and may not affect everyone.

The art is fantastic, the gameplay is great (and unique) and the story is immersive. If you have kids and want to try something different, you really can’t go wrong with The Enchanted Tower.

Pros

• Unique and engaging gameplay
• The story really immerses you into the game
• The art is wonderful and makes the game come alive
• The components are top notch and store so well in the box

Cons

• Young players may have a hard time taking turns playing as Robin