DragonStrike (board game)

Lore & Background

Dragon Strike was designed by Bruce Nesmith and Andria Hayday and published by TSR, Inc. in 1993. It came with fold-out maps, cards, dice, an instructional VHS video, and plastic miniatures representing player characters, monsters, traps, treasure, and status effects. The game included several pre-created quests, one of which could be played solo. The rules were simpler than basic Dungeons & Dragons rules, aiming to attract players as young as eight years old.

The VHS video, prepared by Flint Dille and his Hollywood contacts on a low budget, featured live-action actors acting against a blue screen with fantasy backgrounds added in post-production. The script was based on an early draft of the rulebook, so it did not perfectly match the final game. Monsters such as minotaurs and owlbears, plus the cleric class, appeared in the video but not in the game itself.

In 1994, Marvel Comics published a one-shot comic book adaptation written by Jeff Grubb, penciled by Mike Harris, and inked by Frank Percy. Four books—Warrior, Elf, Wizard, and Thief—expanded on the lore.

Reader's Guide

Dragon Strike was part of TSR's initiative to make their games accessible to young players, alongside 1992's Dragon Quest and 1994's First Quest. The game sold acceptably well, selling out its initial printing of 100,000 copies, with orders for 50,000 more from toy and hobby stores. However, TSR CEO Lorraine Williams opted for a reprint of 150,000 copies instead of the 50,000 ordered, leading to over 100,000 excess copies that largely sat in a warehouse. These were eventually sold at deeply discounted clearance rates, as low as a dollar a copy, compromising overall profitability. Dale Donovan described the overprinting as 'snatch[ing] defeat from the jaws of victory.' The overprinting did allow TSR to take out a 'loan' from Random House by shipping excess copies for immediate payment, with debt later incurred on unsold returns. Rick Swan, reviewing for Dragon magazine #200, praised the game as 'perhaps the most lavishly packaged, user-friendliest introduction to role-playing ever published,' noting that the videotape effectively defined role-playing for novices. The game's emphasis on verbal interaction was highlighted as a key differentiator from other fantasy board games. In 2002, Hasbro released an unrelated board game also called Dragon Strike.

Did You Know?

• The VHS video included with the game was prepared by Flint Dille and his Hollywood contacts on a low budget, using extensive blue screen.
• Monsters such as minotaurs and owlbears, plus the cleric class, appear in the video but not in the actual game.
• In 1994, Marvel Comics published a one-shot comic book adaptation of Dragon Strike.