The more I look into TSR's 1980 boardgame, Knights of Camelot, the more entranced I've become by it. Take a look at some of its counters, with art that looks to me like the work of Dave Sutherland:
If you're a fan of TSR's artwork from that remarkable period between 1979 and 1982 as I am, this is like catnip. Darlene's map, which serves as the game board, is similarly eye-catching.
What a terrific looking game this must have been! I wish I'd seen a copy back when it was originally released. The legends of Arthur and his knights played a huge role in my early introduction to the hobby, so I imagine I would have enjoyed this game as much as I did Greg Stafford's masterful Pendragon.
Thanks, once again, to Thaddeus Moore for providing me with these images.
"Mind you, I have an inordinate fondness for counters..."
ReplyDeleteI question whether there's any such thing. Maybe if someone announced they were engaged to their unpunched Titan counter set I'd question their sanity but until then, what's not to like?
Counters are just neat, especially ones with really varied art on them. The utilitarian "unit icon" style is boring, but stuff like Revolt On Antares or Saga makes up for them. Even plain silhouettes can be great - the aforementioned Titan, or those weird alien critters on the Snapshot sheet in your link. Can't help but try to imagine what those would look like in full detail, or as a 3d figure.
That map is great!
ReplyDeleteDarlene's maps were always top notch.
DeleteThis is great; I've never seen these interiors! I love discovering illustrations from my favorite TSR era that I've never seen before. I think the counter art may be by Eymoth (A pseudonym of Kenneth Rahman, the game's co-designer, who also collaborated on the cover with Erol Otus). I've read that he also did some of the Arthurian mythos art in Deities & Demigods. He used a couple of different names and is one of the more obscure artists of the era.
ReplyDeleteA very fun game, if you don't mind flipping over the rules from chart to chart a bazillion times. Bought a copy on BGG from England a few years back and managed to play once with a friend and a few times solo (my 6 years old son likes to watch and imagine the story unfold). It's a multi-solo experience anyway, even if it includes some rules for cooperation. Fortune swings can be gruelling and there's not much to decide, mind you, but still ... it's great to see these how adventures play out (more picaresque than heroic sometimes) and you progress in virtue towards a place at the round table. All in all a treasured possession and one finest TSR boardgames, together with Divine Right, which I own but can't find gamers to play with ...
ReplyDeleteIn.think you'd be delighted to play ICE's The Lonely Mountain!
ReplyDeleteDid you ever play Grailquest?
ReplyDeleteNo. It's another game I'd love to get my hands on.
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