The Legend of Robin Hood
Jun 03
Board & Miniatures Games The Legend of Robin Hood 8 Comments
Much like everyone I know, my workload is a little light at the moment. That probably means I should take the time to update my business website, do a bit of ringing around, work on new business strategies, right?
Wrong! I think I’ll recreate an old Avalon Hill game from the ’70s from scratch!
I became aware of The Legend of Robin Hood when I saw a review of this little-known 1979 gem on Gameshark and thought it sounded just like the kind of game I like. I was about to buy a copy on Ebay when it struck me that the game was pretty simple—board and counters—and that it really could do with a graphic revamp anyway. As if I haven’t got enough in the way of personal projects on my plate …
So, after a couple of weeks work in my spare time, here it is—a complete remake of the game with a new large board, large counters, a double-sided rules summary and double-sided play reference sheets.
As Barnes pointed out, this is a game that really relies heavily on theme, so I hope you’ll agree this revamp makes the whole game experience just that bit more immersive and enjoyable.
I have no idea of the current copyright status of the game—possibly it has reverted to the designer Joe Bisio. Of course this is a completely not-for-profit project, done without permission. The illustrations I used on the board and counters were originally by Stanley Herbert and taken from England: Book 1 The Medieval Scene by R.J Unstead (A&C Black, 1963), again without permission. They have that ‘Boy’s Own Adventure’ feel that I felt worked really well for the Robin Hood theme. Oh, and the logo is a shamelessly modified version of the title screen from Errol Flynn’s 1938 film The Adventures of Robin Hood.
You can download the new version here. Enjoy!
Jun 03, 2009 @ 23:06:29
Very impressive. Thank you.
Jun 11, 2009 @ 07:12:11
If you ever have the time to tweak the board a bit, there are two ommissions. There are no secret passages out of the keeps depicted, and six of the Merry Men starting positions should be numbered one through six (the numbers are used to randomly replace MM counters on the map after they are eliminated during play).
Thanks again for a wonderful upgrade! I’m definitely going to give this game the delux treatment using your files.
Jun 11, 2009 @ 08:23:05
Thankyou – fix coming asap.
Jun 12, 2009 @ 02:28:38
Just noticed one other fix.
There needs to be a way to distinguish between towns and villages. The distinction is necessary because Sherriff reinforcements are placed at towns but not at villages.
There are three towns on the map: adjacent to Lincoln Castle, adjacent to Nottingham Castle, and on the south side of the River Trent bridge near Nottingham Castle. The other four “urban” areas (near Gisbourne Castle, near the mill, adjacent to the fork in the road south of Lincoln Castle, and on the road north of Nottingham Castle) are all villages.
I think that’s about it. Thanks!
Jun 12, 2009 @ 09:43:02
Very useful indeed, thankyou. I’ll make these fixes before the weekend.
Jun 20, 2009 @ 08:39:39
How do you print the board full-size onto multiple pieces of letter-size paper?
Jun 20, 2009 @ 10:19:40
With great difficulty probably. Certainly without reading the Adobe Acrobat Help files (that’s a hint!) 😉
I suggest taking the file to a print shop and getting them to print it on large sheets.
Jul 28, 2009 @ 06:51:49
Wow! Another very niece piece of work from Universal Head! Thanks. I’m planning to try this game very soon.