Some players have recently expressed an interest in the demographics of Magic Realm: how many people are still playing the game, the age distribution of players, etc. Even though Magic Realm has been out of print for many years, the game is still well-supported by the community of players and continues to be apparently quite popular. Given this situation, I think that a comprehensive survey of Magic Realm players would be interesting.

This poll is for people who have played Magic Realm at least once. If you have ever played Magic Realm, even if only by using the RealmSpeak computer version, I hope that you'll take time to participate.

Come on, we need a lot more votes for "willing to preorder" so we can catch a publisher's (or Mr. Hamblen's) eye.

I'd preorder, but I've never played so I don't get to answer the rest of the survey

Currently, when we play, we use the Quests variant off the web and also the expansions from the web. With 3rd edition rules & some house rules, we can play a 5-6 player game in under 6 hours.

The poll will stay open for a year... plenty of time to download the rulebook and RealmSpeak and dive in.



Here's some observations on the results so far (at 80 votes):

The lack of players aged 20 or less (only 1 so far) is what I expected: the era of 12-year-olds discovering the wondrous Avalon Hill game catalog is long gone; video and computer games are now the norm for that demographic age group.

Magic Realm players are now overwhelmingly middle-aged: 48% are 21-40, and 44% are 41-50.

Very few people (6%) started playing in the period 1991 to 2000, which is again what I expected. That was when Avalon Hill was dying, computer games were skyrocketing in popularity, and online communities were still in their infancy.

But perhaps the most encouraging result in the entire survey is that 33% of the players have started playing within the last three years. This is much better than I expected. I think there are several factors contributing to this renewal of interest in the game: the release of the 3rd edition rules, the maturation of RealmSpeak, Karim's well-received graphic redesign effort, and probably the increasing popularity of BGG itself.

An amazing 35% of the players are using a handmade copy of the game.

I wasn't really surprised to see some people still using the 1st edition rules (4%) because we have answered 1st edition questions here on BGG within the last couple of years. But I am surprised at how many people are still using the 2nd edition rules (23%)! It would be fun to try a game with the 1st edition rules, just for the nostalgia aspect, because a lot of things worked differently... but you couldn't pay me to go back and play with the 2nd edition rules.

Playing solitaire is way more popular than I thought it would be, but I suspect that RealmSpeak has a lot to do with that. I wish I had split the solitaire option into two items: with and without RealmSpeak.

73% of the players have played 10 or less games with other players. I envy the folks who are just getting started with Magic Realm: there's so much to discover as you continue to play the game! Solitaire is fun, but playing with other players is where Magic Realm really shines.

On a personal note, I thought I was one of the more experienced MR players with maybe 160 or so multiplayer games to my credit... but a couple of players have played over 200 games against other opponents. Wow.

In what may be the most "interesting" question on the survey, a resounding 80% of the players affirm that they would be interested in buying a new edition of Magic Realm.

And, finally, 25% of the players have declared that Magic Realm is their favorite boardgame, and 50% feel MR is superior to traditional RPGs. Both of those numbers are a little higher than I was expecting.

Magic Realm was a pioneer, but it really, really needs a total overhaul with modern technology. I could make better recommendations, but despite several attempts I can't figure out how to play.

This may be more due to the fact that the game is no longer published rather than a blanket statment about the age group.

I agree with RanDomino, Here's a post I did of some issues I had with the combat system:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/400919/page/2


Most notably is the link to an interview with Richard Hamblen:

http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Vista/9049/mr29.htm

He mentions how the game was originally supposed to be, I would like to see a version that was put together the way he intended, in expansions and such. I think its the main reason for the rules being rather convoluted. I think a game could be redone with more elegant rules that keeps the complexity in tact.

Put me firmly in the camp that has never played but would buy a copy and yes I would be willing to preorder.

Kraken Fan #69

I'm the only 20-and-under-year-old?!? Wow!! That's kind of sad! I would be willing to pre-order and Magic Realm is definetly the world's greatest fantasy board game!

EDIT: There are two more votes for 20 and under!

Hi Jason

Your post on the combat system thread REALLY made a lot of sense. Put your mind to it and see what you can come up with. I am sure there are other people who would love to get creative on this.

Looking at the older threads on this forum, it is the most complained about thing about MR. We all love the immersive fantasy and the strategy involved just to stay alive, never mind making your VP's before the end of the month. WE LOVE THIS GAME -- BUT...

So here is the challenge: Make it better, or have fun trying. Karim Chakroun showed the way as far as the art is concerned. No big brand game company is going to save the day. Make this an open source project.

I know the old guard will object. GOOD. EXCELLENT. You guys have so many hours experience we will take every one of your objections to heart.

And so what if we decide in the end we want to keep it exactly as it is? Then we will have come the full circle. We will have proven to ourselves and future generations that MR is THE BEST BLOODY FIGHTING FANTASY GAME OUT THERE. We will be able to tell the young uns with authority to get off their arses and study the art of MR war, for the spoils are great!

Of course they won't believe us. They will go through the process again. And we will tell them, as the old guard may tell us soon, "Told you so."

And always remember, it is not about VP's. It is about good times, good friends and good beer.

I'm in the 'evolved as I go along' e.g. I had an 1rst edition set, that once I discovered BGG/PBEM/RealmSpeak I traded as it was easier to find games online/PBEM than set up/play face to face.

Also, I'd be curious as to the gender breakdown-I suspect that it is a subset of the typical 'geek' e.g. mostly male, but we do have some prominent MR experts on the distaff side of things (hello Teresa )

And yes, I STILL am amazed at how so little can do so much (compare the monster/native/treasure count w/ say Talisman, RuneBound, Descent, etc.).

Classic case: My White Knight got munched by 3 Bats (Sharks w/ Wings)-how did this happen. it took 5 days to find the treasure to LOOT, and I had the Pilgrim w/ a Staff charged w/ Lightning Bolt to help out. The game plan:

Bat and Bat scheduled to appear. 1 Hide, LOOT, and Pilgrim would cover and run-Lightning Bolt fries one, and I'd deal w/ the other-eventually I'd line up.

Buuuut, way over on the other side of the Realm, the Amazon makes one last play for treasure. She gets the first bat. Which means I get 1 bat plus TWO bats. gulp. Pilgrim does his thang, and I have TWO bats. I eventually get one, but the other finishes me off on round 11.

I mean how many other games hinge on such odd, but fully logical and plausible twists of fate? And yeah, I remember my deaths more than my victories (although the WoodsGirl and the Dwarf pal-ing around w/ a cage of T Dragon whoop-ass in tow in DanF's quest game was a hoot )

21-40 is middle-aged?

MR needs certain rules to be removed/modified if it is going to reprinted.