Learning Magic Realm

And I thought acquiring Magic Realm was hard.

So I bought the damn thing a couple of months ago and tried reading the rules while I waited for a couple spare parts to come in. I got distracted, and the game fell by the wayside. I've decided to give it another go.

I have the 3rd edition rules printed out.
I have the 2nd edition rules printed out.
I have my hair which I am pulling out.

It's not that the game doesn't follow a certain logic, there just seems to be so much to remember. I've been to the other site and read suggestions, but was wondering if anyone here had any as well.

I couldn't totally figure it out, even using realmspeak (which enforces rules). It was still cool, but it's a game I can't imagine playing in physical form.

Don't feel too badly. I've owned a copy for about 25 YEARS and still haven't figured out the rules!

Frankly, I think the game is borderline impossible to play without a table full of people who know what the hell they're doing.

Of course, the biggest barrier to MR success is getting to the point where you know what the hell you're doing.

REALMSPEAK is the way to go- there's so much there that kind of keeps you on the rails that if you play it with the rulebook (third edition) out, you can kind of work out everything on your own. And it does make sense once you do it, it's just extremely detailed and full of sub-systems and mechanics.

The best thing you can do starting out is to run a single character game in REALMSPEAK and just kind of poke around. See how you move, rest, search, etc. All the tables and resolutions are kind of in the background and you don't have to worry too much about that stuff but you can see how the game actually runs. You'll probably die in the first combat encounter. Make sure you use the updated counters- they're easier to use and have more information on them.

Once you get a feel for how it all works together, run a three character game. Take the easier, non-magic characters and just run around. You'll start to see how multi-character combat works and probably get a taste for how you can win some fights. You'll still die all the time though.

It takes time, patience, and actual practice. I'm no expert on it by any means and I honestly couldn't play it live, but Realmspeak is as close as I'll probably get anyway. You do kind of come to rely on its conveniences.

But is it worth learning.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt. It's one of the most rewarding experiences you can get out of board gaming. It really is something special and it's definitely worth your time to learn it. I found that learning to play was really fun in and of itself. It's easy to get frustrated with it, but REALMSPEAK sort of smooths out a lot of that.

For god's sake though, don't set it up and try to solo the physical game. You'll be in tears by the end. The end probably occuring when you finally get the treasure card set up.

Realmspeak and the 3rd ed rules are the key. Like MB said set up a single player game with one character. I recommend the White Knight or the Bezerker. If you take the WK just ignore his one spell for now. Some would say that running a singe character sounds boring. Hah I say. In MR, just surviving the month is an accomplisment.

Once you've mastered the WK, Bezerker and basic melee combat, you can widen your experience to try the Amazon or the Captain. After that consider taking the Bezerker again and hiring a Rogue or two at the Inn so you can try using hirelings. All that right there will set you on the right path.

Yes, MR is hard to learn w/o someone to teach you, however it is SO worth it. Its brilliance ranks with the likes of Dune, Up Front and Civilization.

-Will

Michael Barnes wrote:

Beyond a shadow of a doubt. It's one of the most rewarding experiences you can get out of board gaming. It really is something special and it's definitely worth your time to learn it.

You sound like a fucking GO player.

I think I've got most of it figured out monkeying around in realmspeak but I *still* haven't won an encounter. At best I have survived a few. ah Well back to the virtual drawing board.

Steve"Realmer?"Avery

Yeah I thought I would set the game up and learn as I went. I was a younger, more naive man then. I set the game up okay, and actually liked doing it because it really does give you a sense of what you're in for. Plus I'm OCD, so sorting things makes me happy. But as you already know, everything fell apart after that, and by fell apart I mean I moved once then got lost in the rules.

I downloaded Realm Speak and have played around. I even won a combat against a spider once, but as I don't know how or why I did it, I can hardly claim it as a moral victory. I shied away from Realm Speak because I was afraid of losing out on seeing all the behind-the-scenes mechanics. That, and I loathe playing boardgames on computers since you lose part of the experience.

But I think RealmSpeak may be the only way to go, provided it's used in conjunction with the rulebook. I love adventure games and just couldn't face myself in the mirror if I didn't bother to learn the grandaddy of the genre. Also, I promised myself I would stop collecting games I don't play, so...

Thanks people.

If anyone in the Montreal area will teach me how to play MR- I WILL PAY YOU WITH FOOD.


I'll order us a feast worthy of royalty, sans the minstrels. Anything, anything at all- you name it. I've got an Afghani joint down the street that makes a kick ass soup and kebabs, I've got a few Indian places, Greek, Sezchuan, Sushi, Vietnamise, Korean, Moroccan-- I will hook you up-- just , for the love of all that is good, do not make me learn to play this game on my own.

I still get the shakes from my last attempt.

I think Billyz clearly has the right idea. If there's anyone in Central Virginia who can teach Magic Realm, I would not only buy you a meal, I would buy you a whore*.



*Offer void in the state of Virginia.

Talk about an offer you can't refuse. Please line me up one with big boobs and not too many tattoos. I'll start working out the rules right now.

Steve"Diligently Working out MR"Avery

For the love of god, don't even go there!

I wasted days - literally, days - trying to teach myself Magic Realm. I got there in the end and found that it really, really wasn't worth the journey.

Hark unto me and save yourself the bother - it's not a bad game, but it is in no way worth the effort required to learn it.

MattDP wrote:

... but it is in no way worth the effort required to learn it.

Preach it, brother. The effort/payoff graph is really skewed in the case of Magic Realm ... and not in a good way.

I respect MR for its historical significance and for some of its ideas. But playing it again? Not a chance. I'd rather use the time to play 15 games of Dune.