The Tower is connected via Bluetooth to an app that prompts it to move with certain in-game events, as well as virtually organize and run the whole game.
[4] Players are given command over their kingdom that includes their quarter of the game mat, complete with fortresses, communities and locations, which may produce economic resources or be the sites for quests and battles.
Players are allotted with an amount of turns representative of six months - the game becomes increasingly challenging, with more quests to complete, while also contending with the flow of corruption out of the Tower.
[6] Return to Dark Tower features cooperative and competitive game modes, with mindfulness pertaining to the others' kingdoms being crucial.
At the center of the board is the battery-powered Tower, which contains a small membrane keyboard beneath a carousel that features a backlit display, depicting any number of pictures.
Commanding a single hero game piece for their kingdom, each player inputs their actions and movements into the keyboard, followed by the Tower dictating what events will transpire.
[8] Though Milton Bradley was the third-largest toy manufacturer in the United States at the time of the Dark Tower's release, sales had slowed down, motivating the company to invest heavily in the game's success.
In addition to the base game, a number of other rewards were available, including the two expansions, Alliance and Dark Horde, featuring new playable heroes and miniature figurines.
[2][3] James Palmer, writing for Smithsonian, called it one of the best board games of 2022, stating that "the appeal of a big old tower that makes strange noises hasn’t gone away.