Item - Buffalo Castle

I've long wanted to play this solo roleplaying adventure from 1976. Other than the printed booklet, there is an HTML version accessible for free at the Flying Buffalo website. I went for the MetaArcade T&T app instead, which gives you 10 free plays - certainly enough to see all there is to see in Buffalo Castle.

The app handles the rules, looks up all the tables and even provides a map once you've made your way into the castle. Quite comfortable, I must say. However, for an obscure reason, not every location allows you to look at the map. Each room comes with an illustration, one of those wonderful original drawings by Liz Danforth. T&T backstories tend to be quirky. You've probably been sent to a castle dungeon by the local mayor before, but was it to find a healing potion to save a child's life? Some of the encounters are bizarre, even memorable, though sketchy to the extreme. I especially liked the final encounter, and, well, I won't forget the buffalo stampede either.

There is a good deal of randomness in Buffalo Castle. Machines, fountains, even a bank vault: You never know for sure what will happen. Wandering monsters populate a number of rooms as well as some intersections. Every one of them has some treasure in its pocket - at least a couple of gold pieces. Some even carry jewels. This may even be the biggest advantage of the digital version of Buffalo Castle: You never get to see the complete table. There will be some surprises left on repeated playthroughs.

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