''Grail Quest'' is a solitaire

Arthurian King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a Legend, legendary king of Great Britain, Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest tradition ...

fantasy combat adventure published by

Metagaming Concepts Metagaming Concepts, later known simply as Metagaming, was a company that published board games from 1974 to 1983. It was founded and owned by Howard Thompson, who designed the company's first game, ''Stellar Conquest''. The company also invente ...

in 1980 that uses the combat rules from ''

The Fantasy Trip ''The Fantasy Trip'' (''TFT'') is a tabletop role-playing game designed by Steve Jackson (American game designer), Steve Jackson and originally published by Metagaming Concepts. In 2019, ''TFT'' was republished by Steve Jackson Games as ''The F ...

''.

Plot summary

In ''Grail Quest'', the single player controls a party of up to three

Knights of the Round Table The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...

and their retinue, who travel across Arthurian Britain searching for the

Holy Grail The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...

, as well as helping those in need and accepting combat challenges from other knights that they encounter. The game can be played solo, or two player can take opposing sides, one playing the knights, the other the encounters. The game is playable using the combat rules of ''The Fantasy Trip'', or its predecessors, ''

Melee A melee ( or , French: mêlée ) or pell-mell is disorganized hand-to-hand combat in battles fought at abnormally close range with little central control once it starts. In military aviation, a melee has been defined as " air battle in which ...

'' and '' Wizard''.

Publication history

''Grail Quest'' was written by Guy W. McLimore, Jr., and was published by

in 1980 as a digest-sized box with a 32-page book, counters, and a die. As game historian Shannon Appelcine noted in the 2014 book ''Designers & Dragons'', "After the publication of ''The Fantasy Trip'', Metagaming continued publishing releases, which initially consisted of additional MicroQuest adventures, including Guy McLimore's Arthurian ''Grail Quest'' (1980); after Steve Jackson left the company, and following the publication of ''Grail Quest'', McLimore became the new line editor for ''The Fantasy Trip''."

Reception

In the October 1980 edition of ''

The Space Gamer ''The Space Gamer'' was a magazine dedicated to the subject of science fiction and fantasy board games and tabletop role-playing games. It quickly grew in importance and was an important and influential magazine in its subject matter from the la ...

'' (Issue No. 32),

Steve Winter Steve Winter (born December 8, 1957) is an American game designer who worked on numerous products for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, which was originally published by TSR and later Wizards of the Coast. Early life Winter ...

admired this game, calling it, "a great little MicroQuest. I never knew being good could be so much fun. If you would rather defend justice and honor under the clear blue skies of Britain than go mucking about underground robbing tombs, you'll love ''Grail Quest''." In the January 1981 edition of ''

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

'' (Issue #45), Robert Camino noted that although designer McLimore "does a fine job given the nature of the game, it still suffers from the problems that programmed adventures fall prey to. Though the design can be made challenging by presenting formidable obstacles, there is little opportunity for the players to exercise skill, if the game is played solitaire." As an example, Camino pointed out that jousts, the preferred method of combat in this game, used no skill whatsoever, being "very much a matter of dice rolling." Camino concluded by questioning the game's ability to hold a player's attention, saying, "the chances of repeated playings are slim as players become frustrated at their inability to be able to influence the course of events by their skill. The sense of being puppets on a string is pronounced and definitely not consistent with the fundamental independence of knighthood."

Other reviews

"From the Horse's Mouth"
''Pegasus'' #10 (Oct 1982) from

Judges Guild Judges Guild is a game publisher that has been active since 1976. The company created and sold many role-playing game supplements, periodicals and related materials, but became best known during the late 1970s and early 1980s as one of the leadin ...

References

{{reflist Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1980 The Fantasy Trip adventures