One of the greatest classics from the arcade golden age is being adapted into a board game. Space Invaders - The Board Game has just launched on Kickstarter, and, as of this time of writing, it's already pretty close to achieving its $45,000 goal, with 30 days to go. The game is being developed as a partnership of Square Enix Holdings subsidiary TAITO Corporation, the creator and copyright holder of Space Invaders, and 612 Entertainment, a cross-media entertainment production company founded in 2017 by entertainment and media industry veterans. The announcement also celebrates the 40th anniversary of the original 1978 Space Invaders.
Space Invaders - The Board Game will be available as a standard and as a numbered collector's edition. Both will only be available during the Kickstarter campaign. The board game incorporates today's popular deckbuilding mechanics and combines them with a more traditional strategy board game, allowing 2-4 players to collect Space Invaders cards and add them to their hands while moving across the board and shooting enemy ships with laser cannons. The visual presentation and atmosphere strive to be as close to the original arcade game as possible, evoking a brilliant retro gaming experience.
The game includes over 240 playing cards, 40 bunker elements, 20 action card types and 5 resource types, 64 game tokens, 4 laser cannons, a game board or play mat (depends on which edition you choose), a card sorting tray, and a UFO. Early bird backers will also have the opportunity to reserve one of 500 strictly limited numbered Space Invaders Art Boxes, advertised as the ultimate collector's item for fans of the franchise. This is also in celebration of the franchise's 40th anniversary, and all cards are autographed by Tomohiro Nishikado, the creator of Space Invaders. The President and Representative Director of TAITO Corporation enthused about the board game.
After successfully invading video screens worldwide for over 40 years, we are excited to join forces with 612 Entertainment to help Space Invaders, one of our top brands, invade living room tables everywhere.And Robert Colman, President of 612 Entertainment also raved about the announcement.
Video game brands like Space Invaders have become part of our cultural heritage. Our corporate vision is to expand the best of those brands across all media and make them accessible to an even larger audience. We are excited and grateful that TAITO partnered with us to bring one of the world’s most recognizable video game brands, Space Invaders, to the flourishing board gaming market.As of this time of writing, early backers can still grab the limited $20 pledge on Kickstarter. So if this sounds like your kind of game, head over and back the project.
What do you think of this board game adaptation? Will it live up to the magical arcade experience? Let us know in the comments below!
