A nice over view of this, with an easy to understand explanation. Definitely reckon this would sell if they did a re-release (with slightly better art work! 😂) Another great video with a slick script as always 👊😎
For someone who absolutely loves the film, making a custom version could be a real labour of love. It would be a lot of work though. There is lots of art!
I wasn't aware of this film. Quick googling makes me think of some fantasy films from the 80s. I guess it could be a fun watch. Game seems.. I want to say surprisingly good. Some neat ideas there.
I don't know how Willow would stand up to viewing from someone who didn't grow up watching it. I think it's a really fun film, but I watched it endlessly as a kid. It's tonally a bit weird and Val Kilmer is really good in it. Worth a watch.
It's a shame I don't like the art more. A good game is a good game, but the final artistic execution really does add to my overall enjoyment of something.
I like how Mick Jagger plays Willow in the game. A note section in a rulebook is always handy. Maybe you could make a grocery list on there whilst playing? The production history of this one is sort of weird. I know Eric Goldberg ran West End games for a bit and the had the license to Star Wars and later Indiana Jones (in their Worldbook rpg series) but Tor books did Willow, under Goldberg as their only game release. I don't know if this was after he left West End or not but it's sort of strange licensing. Costikyan ( and Goldberg) were old hands from the SPI wargame days and he had done lots of other games, though many of them were not actually very good. He did several for West End too, including a really weird Red Dawn sort of Soviets invade the USA resistance RPG/wargame, The Price of Freedom. I liked his two Star Trek games and the simplicity of Trailblazer, a space merchant micro game. They were both pretty outspoken about other peoples game designs though.
Now you mention it he does share a resemblance. I'm not sure I've ever played any other Costikyan designs. His stuff tends to fall slightly outside of the things that normally catch my interest.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring He did the old Sword & Sorcery wargame/boardgame for SPI that is absolutely loaded with terrible puns for most of the names. Really, really bad.
Interesting game. This is one movie that has always had a weird polarizing effect among people. Either you liked it, or you hated it. Could never figure that out as it's just a fantasy movie and there were certainly worst ones at the time. Interesting game with some unique twists for sure.
It's probably not in your wheelhouse, but if you get a hold of the Lupin the 3rd board game, I hope you would do a review of it. You review board games so thouroughly.
Ha. I'm sure an old game from the 80s isn't going to be at risk of cancellation, especially when things like Cards Against Humanity exist. But there will always be themes in games that people find distasteful or would like to avoid. Games like Hate and Lobotomy spring to mind, but Willow is a funny one, because I would say the end game for the evil team isn't a particularly common objective.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I know I was just kidding but found it funny. It’s an interesting game that I’ve never heard of before. Thanks for posting this video
It's all right, I knew you were just joking around. Evil Queen Bavmorda would definitely be cancelled if she opened a social media account. Thanks for watching.
To me it just feels so jarring to see such a big game over such a strange movie, but I guess Star Wars opened Pandora's Box of merchandising and to this day it's too powerful to close.
Willow is definitely a strange movie, but it's a really good one. I couldn't tell you how often I watched it as a child. I think the thing to remember is that everybody was expecting Willow to be a massive hit - much bigger than it actually was. Written by George Lucas, released through Lucasfilm, and directed by Ron Howard who was coming off the back of back-to-back critical and financial hits with Splash and Cocoon. Add rising star Val Kilmer who had previously starred opposite Tom in Top Gun, and I guess it's not hard to imagine why people thought it would do better than it did.
You didn't mention the clips for marking the stats on the cards damaging the paper. Also I didn't get how do characters gain magic resistance. Is it only from cards on their hands? How do the evil players cast magic when the evil witch is not a playable character? You didn't mention how they fight the witch at the end.
My character boards were damaged by the clips because the previous owner stored the game for years with them attached. In general play it doesn't happen; and I just haven't got around to pressing the character cards flat using the methods I discuss in my board game restoration videos. This review only contained an overview of core gameplay elements, so I didn't cover every little detail, but in answer to your questions: Characters don't gain magic resistance. Every spell has a magic resistance printed on it. The character casting the spell rolls a dice and adds their magic stat; another player rolls a dice and adds the resistance of the spell. As I mentioned in the video, if the character fails to cast the spell their magic stat will increase by one but only if they have a magic bar with a slider; if they have a fixed magic value it doesn't change. Evil players start with a fixed magic stat, but they can still acquire allies and items that increase their magic value. Bavmorda waits at Nockmaar. If you go there you can challenge her. It's exactly the same as a normal fight except using magic values instead of prowess.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I will assume Bavmorda has a very high magic bonus so you need the treasures to increase yours as well. Does a single die roll determine the winner?
Fighting Bavmorda is pretty much your last resort as it's very difficult to win. She has a magic of 12 and 6 health, and while you can use treasure, equipment and allies to boost your magic value, you can't cast any spells on her or play any cards that might weaken or kill her (such as the acorns). The magic duel continues in rounds until one combatant is defeated. If the hero is defeated, and there are no other heroes at Nockmaar to continue the confrontation, Bavmorda gets all her health back. Your best chance in a contest with her is to boost Willow and Franjean and Rool to the maximum of 6 magic, give them some other magic boosts, equip one of them with Cherlindrea's Wand (which allows them to roll two dice when confronting Bavmorda in a magic duel) and then have both characters attack at the same time.
I don't agree with calling people dumb for having different opinions. Personally, I don't think the show is great. The dialogue is often poor, and I really dislike when they will suddenly drop a cover of Enter Sandman or something similar. All of that is very out of place. But I've never been bored watching it. Rings of Power was a slog to get through, but I have remained engaged enough with Willow to be interested to see what happens next, and there is a lot to like about it. The costumes, set design, and cinematography, for the most part, have been very good. I also don't agree with people saying the show has a disregard or even distaste for the original movie. I approved of them finding a way to incorporate Madmartigan without recasting Val Kilmer, and there are some fun little nods, like in episode one when Madmartigan's son did the same sword flourish that his dad did in the movie.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring It matches the dialog. All the characters talk like they are hanging out in the hills of Los Angeles. Davis sounds like he's reading lines from a teleprompter in a language he learned the night before.
Yeah, I've said elsewhere in the comments here that I'm not a fan of the dialogue. The princess keep saying "like" and there are some very modern phrases that don't sit well at all. I probably set my bar lower after Rings of Power, but I have found Willow to be watchable. I doubt I would ever revisit it in the future and I doubt people will be talking about it a month from now, but it's diverting enough that I will keep watching to end of this season (which I'm pretty sure will be the only season).
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Kitt is about the most annoying character ever made. Some one just needs to stab her and leave her on the side of the road. I didn't even bother with Rings of Power. Andor was actually really good, now that Disney have burned down Star Wars.
She is very annoying, but at least they realise it and all the other characters think she's annoying too. Rings of Power isn't worth the time to sit through. I haven't got around to Andor yet.
![Willow Longplay (Arcade) [4K]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Nz0ItqpQk2k/mqdefault.jpg)
A nice over view of this, with an easy to understand explanation. Definitely reckon this would sell if they did a re-release (with slightly better art work! 😂) Another great video with a slick script as always 👊😎
Better artwork would be a must. I could see this sitting in Funko's line of IP games quite nicely. Thanks for watching, and for the kind words.
I'd love to see a custom version of this game with models and revised artwork. Sounds like the rules are pretty solid! Thanks for showing
For someone who absolutely loves the film, making a custom version could be a real labour of love. It would be a lot of work though. There is lots of art!
Played the heck out of this in the 80s. Still have it in my closet.
I think it's still worth cracking open every now and again.
omg I watched Willow today and was looking online for this game. Magic's real!
I expect a lot of people have been revisiting the film recently after the launch of the television show. Thanks for watching.
OMG I didnt realise this game existed, how cool! Even if the art is a bit.... old. Burglecut!!
Yeah, I'm really not a fan of the art, the game does a great job of squeezing in all the elements and story beats from the film though.
I wasn't aware of this film. Quick googling makes me think of some fantasy films from the 80s. I guess it could be a fun watch.
Game seems.. I want to say surprisingly good. Some neat ideas there.
I don't know how Willow would stand up to viewing from someone who didn't grow up watching it. I think it's a really fun film, but I watched it endlessly as a kid. It's tonally a bit weird and Val Kilmer is really good in it. Worth a watch.
…artwork… - I spat out my mouthful of bacon and eggs! Lol 😂
It's a shame I don't like the art more. A good game is a good game, but the final artistic execution really does add to my overall enjoyment of something.
Great stuff ABNB
The Rules seem really good. Thematic and kinda fun too. Thanks for reading through them
It's a solid design, I think.
I like how Mick Jagger plays Willow in the game. A note section in a rulebook is always handy. Maybe you could make a grocery list on there whilst playing?
The production history of this one is sort of weird. I know Eric Goldberg ran West End games for a bit and the had the license to Star Wars and later Indiana Jones (in their Worldbook rpg series) but Tor books did Willow, under Goldberg as their only game release. I don't know if this was after he left West End or not but it's sort of strange licensing.
Costikyan ( and Goldberg) were old hands from the SPI wargame days and he had done lots of other games, though many of them were not actually very good. He did several for West End too, including a really weird Red Dawn sort of Soviets invade the USA resistance RPG/wargame, The Price of Freedom. I liked his two Star Trek games and the simplicity of Trailblazer, a space merchant micro game.
They were both pretty outspoken about other peoples game designs though.
Now you mention it he does share a resemblance. I'm not sure I've ever played any other Costikyan designs. His stuff tends to fall slightly outside of the things that normally catch my interest.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring He did the old Sword & Sorcery wargame/boardgame for SPI that is absolutely loaded with terrible puns for most of the names. Really, really bad.
whew! ...that art...
Still pretty cool though! I loved the heroic theme of this film!
I wish the art was better. It's a solid game though.
Great vid.
Thanks.
Interesting game. This is one movie that has always had a weird polarizing effect among people. Either you liked it, or you hated it. Could never figure that out as it's just a fantasy movie and there were certainly worst ones at the time. Interesting game with some unique twists for sure.
I always thought Willow was really good fun. The game is decent too.
It's probably not in your wheelhouse, but if you get a hold of the Lupin the 3rd board game, I hope you would do a review of it. You review board games so thouroughly.
Thanks for the kind words. Lupin the 3rd isn't on my radar I'm afraid, I don't know the source material at all.
Have even board games reached the point where evil characters can’t do evil things because somebody might cancel them? 😂
Ha. I'm sure an old game from the 80s isn't going to be at risk of cancellation, especially when things like Cards Against Humanity exist. But there will always be themes in games that people find distasteful or would like to avoid. Games like Hate and Lobotomy spring to mind, but Willow is a funny one, because I would say the end game for the evil team isn't a particularly common objective.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I know I was just kidding but found it funny. It’s an interesting game that I’ve never heard of before. Thanks for posting this video
It's all right, I knew you were just joking around. Evil Queen Bavmorda would definitely be cancelled if she opened a social media account. Thanks for watching.
There are games that punish corruption at the end of the game
To me it just feels so jarring to see such a big game over such a strange movie, but I guess Star Wars opened Pandora's Box of merchandising and to this day it's too powerful to close.
Willow is not a strange movie.
Willow is definitely a strange movie, but it's a really good one. I couldn't tell you how often I watched it as a child. I think the thing to remember is that everybody was expecting Willow to be a massive hit - much bigger than it actually was. Written by George Lucas, released through Lucasfilm, and directed by Ron Howard who was coming off the back of back-to-back critical and financial hits with Splash and Cocoon. Add rising star Val Kilmer who had previously starred opposite Tom in Top Gun, and I guess it's not hard to imagine why people thought it would do better than it did.
You didn't mention the clips for marking the stats on the cards damaging the paper. Also I didn't get how do characters gain magic resistance. Is it only from cards on their hands? How do the evil players cast magic when the evil witch is not a playable character? You didn't mention how they fight the witch at the end.
My character boards were damaged by the clips because the previous owner stored the game for years with them attached. In general play it doesn't happen; and I just haven't got around to pressing the character cards flat using the methods I discuss in my board game restoration videos.
This review only contained an overview of core gameplay elements, so I didn't cover every little detail, but in answer to your questions:
Characters don't gain magic resistance. Every spell has a magic resistance printed on it. The character casting the spell rolls a dice and adds their magic stat; another player rolls a dice and adds the resistance of the spell. As I mentioned in the video, if the character fails to cast the spell their magic stat will increase by one but only if they have a magic bar with a slider; if they have a fixed magic value it doesn't change.
Evil players start with a fixed magic stat, but they can still acquire allies and items that increase their magic value.
Bavmorda waits at Nockmaar. If you go there you can challenge her. It's exactly the same as a normal fight except using magic values instead of prowess.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I will assume Bavmorda has a very high magic bonus so you need the treasures to increase yours as well. Does a single die roll determine the winner?
Fighting Bavmorda is pretty much your last resort as it's very difficult to win. She has a magic of 12 and 6 health, and while you can use treasure, equipment and allies to boost your magic value, you can't cast any spells on her or play any cards that might weaken or kill her (such as the acorns). The magic duel continues in rounds until one combatant is defeated. If the hero is defeated, and there are no other heroes at Nockmaar to continue the confrontation, Bavmorda gets all her health back.
Your best chance in a contest with her is to boost Willow and Franjean and Rool to the maximum of 6 magic, give them some other magic boosts, equip one of them with Cherlindrea's Wand (which allows them to roll two dice when confronting Bavmorda in a magic duel) and then have both characters attack at the same time.
Critics and viewers with taste have loved the show. Dumb people have not liked the show.
I don't agree with calling people dumb for having different opinions. Personally, I don't think the show is great. The dialogue is often poor, and I really dislike when they will suddenly drop a cover of Enter Sandman or something similar. All of that is very out of place. But I've never been bored watching it. Rings of Power was a slog to get through, but I have remained engaged enough with Willow to be interested to see what happens next, and there is a lot to like about it. The costumes, set design, and cinematography, for the most part, have been very good.
I also don't agree with people saying the show has a disregard or even distaste for the original movie. I approved of them finding a way to incorporate Madmartigan without recasting Val Kilmer, and there are some fun little nods, like in episode one when Madmartigan's son did the same sword flourish that his dad did in the movie.
I don't mind the baby hunting premise. Maybe if more people had played this and won as evil, the world would have be spared the awful new series.
Ha. I don't think the new series is great, but it's okay. It's not boring, at least. I'm not sure what they were thinking with the music, though.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring It matches the dialog. All the characters talk like they are hanging out in the hills of Los Angeles.
Davis sounds like he's reading lines from a teleprompter in a language he learned the night before.
Yeah, I've said elsewhere in the comments here that I'm not a fan of the dialogue. The princess keep saying "like" and there are some very modern phrases that don't sit well at all. I probably set my bar lower after Rings of Power, but I have found Willow to be watchable. I doubt I would ever revisit it in the future and I doubt people will be talking about it a month from now, but it's diverting enough that I will keep watching to end of this season (which I'm pretty sure will be the only season).
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Kitt is about the most annoying character ever made. Some one just needs to stab her and leave her on the side of the road.
I didn't even bother with Rings of Power.
Andor was actually really good, now that Disney have burned down Star Wars.
She is very annoying, but at least they realise it and all the other characters think she's annoying too. Rings of Power isn't worth the time to sit through. I haven't got around to Andor yet.