[1] The game includes:[2]: 4 The Tower itself consists of a small membrane keyboard beneath a "display" (a piece of tinted plastic).

The Tower resolves the battle by alternately counting off the remaining numbers of friendly troops and Brigands down to a win or loss.

[2]: 16  At this point, the player returns to their kingdom, buys reinforcements for a maximum complement of warriors, and then attempts to unlock the Tower by entering a code which requires them to confirm a sequence of keys (bronze, silver, and gold) displayed in the correct order, randomized for each game.

[2]: 35–36  Once cracked, this brings them to the final battle to defeat the Tower, which contains a predetermined number of defenders inside, depending on the level selected at the start of the game.

[7] George Ditomassi, the M-B vice president of sales, said it was aimed at "people who had heard about D and D but who didn't want to be Dungeons and Dragons freaks."

[6] Despite favorable reviews[8][9] and reportedly strong sales,[10] production of the game stopped after a single holiday season, and it was targeted by a lawsuit.

[5] Afterward, M-B retained the game for a few weeks for further evaluation, then returned it to the inventors, telling them it was not interested in licensing their design.

[5] At Toy Fair New York in January 1981, Burten and Coleman saw that M-B was exhibiting Dark Tower and noted the similarities between the commercial game and their prototype, despite the changed theme:[6] both games used a round board with raised elements and a rotating, computerized tower that provided visual and sound signals.

Following the initial trial, a jury awarded them US$737,058.10 (equivalent to $2,088,000 in 2023) in April 1984,[5] their estimated share of the royalties they had lost based on $22 million in sales.

[6][13] Erato, called as a witness, was said to have cost M-B the case, as he was reported to be "kind of cranky and [...] annoyed that they alleged that he stole the idea.

"[11] According to Erato, he had independently conceived the central tower around Christmas 1979, two months before Burten and Coleman met with M-B, but his combative attitude during the trial hindered the believability of his testimony and because he did not keep good records, he was unable to prove this assertion.

[5] Despite finding that Milton Bradley had likely "plagiarized the plaintiffs' idea without so much as a by-your-leave", Judge Selya proceeded to issue a directed verdict for the defendant because Burton and Coleman had signed a contract waiving any contractual relationship (which arguably included any duty of confidentiality).

[14] The First Circuit Court of Appeals reversed in May 1985, finding evidence that Milton Bradley entered an implied agreement to keep the game confidential and reinstated the damage award.

[19] Designed by Isaac Childres and Rob Daviau, the creators of Gloomhaven and Pandemic Legacy respectively, the game features a motorized rotating tower guided by an app.