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Star Trek: The Adventure Game
- 1–2 players
- 120 min
- Complexity 2.2/5
- 1985
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- BGG rating
- 5.8
The Willow Game
1988
Rules assistance for The Willow Game
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–6 players
- 120 min
- 11+
- Complexity 2.1/5
Rules assistant for The Willow Game
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
The Willow Game is a board game released in 1988 for 2–6 players, 120 minutes per game, and ages 11 and up. It was designed by Greg Costikyan.
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About the game
In The Willow Game, you play one (or more) of the characters from the movie. Your characters are either Good or Evil. If you are Good, you must try to keep the baby, Elora Danan, out of the evil Bavmorda's clutches and take the child to safety. If you are Evil, you must try to find the baby, capture her, and take her to Nockmaar Castle. One of the Good characters starts with Elora Danan, but the Evil players do not know who. Thus the Evil players move around the board, searching for the Good characters and fighting them in an attempt to capture the baby. The Good characters begin weak, but become more powerful as the game progresses. They move about the board, searching for Places of Power and gaining Treasures which make them more powerful or enable them to free people who will protect Elora Danan, which is one way for them to win the game. The other is to become powerful enough to defeat Bavmorda in combat.
Questions and answers
The Willow Game supports 2–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for The Willow Game is 120 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists The Willow Game for ages 11 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
The Willow Game has a complexity rating of 2.1 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
The Willow Game belongs to these categories: Fantasy, Movies / TV / Radio theme, and Adventure. Categories describe the theme, setting and style of a game rather than its rules. Filter the catalogue by the same category to find similar games when you enjoyed The Willow Game and want something comparable for your next game night.
The credited designers of The Willow Game are: Greg Costikyan. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists The Willow Game as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.