Swords & Sorcery: Quest and Conquest in the Age of Magic (1978)

About this game

This fantasy wargame is really two games in one. The Army game uses SPI zones-of-control and a combat results table. Forces include elves, dwarves, orcs, spiders, swamp creatures and a host of others set in a fictional valley on a fictional world. Some of the more exotic inclusions are memorable for their pun value: Unamit Ahezredit, Logarithm Son of Algorithm; places such as the Evelyn Woods and the Stream of Consciousness, as well as the notorious Hills of Avalon; and peoples such as the Corflu (Correction Fluid) Cultists, the (communist) Orcish Revolutionary Council, and the dreaded Killer Penguins. X the Unknown could potentially conjure the SS Wiking Division. The Quest game is concerned exclusively with characters and is akin to a role-playing game. Credited developer is Eric Goldberg. The game appeared with two covers: a blue box with a Tim Kirk illustration and a red box with a John Butterfield illustration. The games are otherwise identical.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 2 to 7.
• Rules load. At 3.2/5 this is a mid-weight game — expect a proper rules explanation before you start.
• Age. The publisher suggests 12 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.