# My first steps into Magic Realm...



## MerricB (Apr 8, 2011)

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!


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## Mark CMG (Apr 8, 2011)

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.


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## MerricB (Apr 8, 2011)

Oh dear! Mark, how did you avoid that!

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

Cheers!


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## Mark CMG (Apr 8, 2011)

MerricB said:


> 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.


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## Jan van Leyden (Apr 8, 2011)

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.


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## Croesus (Apr 8, 2011)

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.)


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## GreyLord (Apr 8, 2011)

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.


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## MerricB (Apr 9, 2011)

Croesus said:


> 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
> ...




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!


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## MerricB (Apr 9, 2011)

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!


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## Croesus (Apr 9, 2011)

MerricB said:


> 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.


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## MerricB (Apr 11, 2011)

We added the treasure rules into our third game







Cheers!


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## Ulfhethnar (Aug 21, 2011)

Jan van Leyden said:


> 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.



Just a passerby. Do check out RealmSpeak, a faithful java (imho the best, far better than the Vassal and Cyberboard) version?
I bought the 2nd Edition in early 80s' Imagine a non native English speaking school kid trying to crack the rulebook with no mortals save himself? Beyond doubts I never made beyond the First Encounter. I also bought the General Vol 16 No 4 but still could not understand much more.   Yet I was still charmed by the pieces. Just tingling with the pieces and the setup card I could see a complete and deep but small fantasy world. 
After almost 30 years, just like many others, I seem to have outgrown the dreadful feeling of MR and started all over again. The 3rd Edition rulebook and the Magic Realm in Plain English kicked in and I found myself once again strolling in the realm. I was surprised by the amount of information and the huge (and growing) fan base, which breath new life into this "legendary, lost"  classic. I have been playing solo over six months and I have never got bored. MR is truly unique and I have never seen any games, board or computer, that have this level of sophistication and elegance. Just a few months ago some dude wrote and posted a lengthy "review" of the game, complaining about the absurdity of the rulebook while ridiculing the combat system as nothing more than a silly and trivial paper-rock-scissors diversion. But then amusingly when asked he admitted he had never played it even once ... Has anyone ever invented a kind of paper-rock-scissors that applies speed, levels of effort exerted, types of weapon (and even its sharpness), directions of hitting, directions of maneuvering, the special advantages and inherent weaknesses of your characters,  the unpredictable ways of attack/counterattack of the enemies, ... and the list keeps going ... 
The game mechanics is far from being dominated by sheer randomness. In fact most of the likeliness of the results of actions can be calculated quite precisely, as revealed by Steve McKnight's "Magic Realm Probability for Beginners". True probability, math, not dumbaxx randomness, which is the basis of the unique survival technique of each character.
I have just finished my own box, complete with Robin Warren's expansion together with Pruitt's new monsters and even the new counters/chits/tiles/cards from RealmSpeak not yet present in the printed versions. At the moment I am in the process of modifying the setup card making use of all these extra components, rearranging slightly the denizens' appearance, and 
organizing a "quick start" guide from the existing resources.


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