Next-gen ‘Pictionary Air’ arrives at Target June 23rd

Starting this Sunday, you can pick up Pictionary Air at your local Target for $20. The new game puts a high-tech spin on the classic. You'll still pull a card, choose from a list of items to draw and race against a timer, but you'll use a large digit...

Space Invaders Gets an Official Board Game

Space Invaders, the iconic classic video game we all know and love, just got even cooler. The popular arcade vertical shooter from TAITO is going to be a board game. Let’s just hope that the gameplay lives up to the arcade version. The game is being created to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the classic 8-bit arcade game.

40 years already? That’s crazy talk. Space Invaders: The Board Game, combines today’s popular deck-building genre with a traditional strategy board game. 2-4 players will collect Space Invaders cards and add them to their hands while moving across the board and “shooting” enemies with their laser cannons. Pew, pew, pew. Visually, the board is designed to mimic the arcade game.

Over on Kickstarter you can pre-order the standard edition for $20 to $30, or the numbered Deluxe Edition for $75. There’s also a limited Space Invaders diorama art box autographed by Space Invaders creator, Tomohiro Nishikado – that’s going for a whopping $990 though.

So if you want to relive the excitement of the classic arcade game in a whole new way, this is your chance. It looks damn good.


[via Mike Shouts]

The Pieces on This Chess Set Coat Rack are Immovable

Whoa, nice rack! If you are a big-time chess fan, hang up your coat on this cool wooden chess board coat rack. It’s a big checkmate in the home decor wars. It was created by Etsy seller CreativeHolz.

These pieces look pretty cool and are made with care. Each individual chess piece is individually screwed into the board for maximum strength. It makes a great gift for chess fans who need a new place to hang their coats, hats and other things.  It comes in different kinds of wood and player positions. The ones shown are the ‘Caro-Kann defense’ and ‘Italian Opening.’ I have no idea what those mean since I’m at a checkers level, but I assume it’s impressive so consider me impressed.

The shelf on top makes it even more useful. Use it for things like sunglasses and keys. I just wish it had one of those chess timers so that when you hang your coat you can slap it, then when you put your coat back on, you can slap it again. Don’t buy a plain old coat rack like a pawn. Buy one worthy of a king. It’ll set you back between $140 – $160 over on Etsy.

[via Geeks Are Sexy via Geekologie]

Taxidermy Mouse Chess Set: These Meeces Are Pieces

Do you like chess? Do you like dead things? Today’s your lucky day. Etsy seller and TheCurious13 has combined lifelike deceased rodents with a classic game of strategy with their taxidermy mouse chess set.

Every single chess piece is a dead mouse that has been lovingly dressed up and decorated to match the pieces from the game. These mice are hand stuffed. You get 16 light colored mice and 16 dark mice. The set also comes with a wooden handmade chess board and storage boxes.

You can even customize this set and request different costumes and colors. I’m thinking Star Trek set with mice as the Enterprise crew and Klingons with those tiny ridges on their mouse heads. Maybe Game of Thrones. That would be cool.

This mess of dead mice doesn’t come cheap though. The complete set will cost you a cool $750. Of course, you could always make your own for much less if you have a rodent infestation, but I doubt it will look this cool and creepy. Just do yourself a favor and don’t play a game of mouse chess if you have cats, unless you want to see your hard-earned money go down the drain.

Monopoly IT Edition: Rich Uncle Pennywise

My first brush with Stephen King’s IT came at a young age when I was home one-day in the summer, and found it in my dad’s bookshelf. It scared the crap out of me within a couple of chapters, and I never finished reading it. The miniseries from back in the day was just as scary. I took my daughter to see the new IT when it was in theaters, and spent most of the time waiting for jump scares so I could frighten her. I got my money’s worth; the people around me not so much.

If you enjoy having the IT scared out of you too, check out this new Monopoly game, based on the creepy franchise.

 

We have yet to see any pictures of the board, tokens, or game cards, but the game will have players traveling around locations from the evil town of Derry. It will include special Losers’ Club currency, and tokens that look like items from IT as well. Hopefully Pennywise will take over duties for Rich Uncle Pennybags, and one of the tokens will be a red balloon.

Monopoly: IT Edition is expected to ship this May for $39.99, and you can pre-order it now over at Entertainment Earth.

 

Big Trouble in Little China the Game: Never Roll the Dice Faster Than You Can See

When I think of 1980s movies, one that always comes to mind – and one of my all-time favorites – is the Kurt Russell flick, Big Trouble in Little China. I nearly wore out the lone VHS copy my local video store had. If you like the movie as much as I do, you’ll want this new board game.

The Big Trouble in Little China board game sends players on adventures as they must survive against the baddies in the alleys of Chinatown. Each game takes 120 minutes and has lots of dice rolling, role playing, and storytelling in the mix. Players can customize their tokens, and the main quests have companions and minion difficulty based on the number of players.

The coolest part is that you can play this board game solo, that is a rarity in board games. Adjustable difficulty means even solo players might beat Lo Pan. Considering today is April Fool’s Day, and this is ThinkGeek listing, you’ll be happy to know this thing is real. Though you might want to check Amazon for a better price, or you will be a fool.

 

Star Trek Catan Looks More Fun than Tri-Dimensional Chess

Fans of both Settlers of Catan and Star Trek can set their phasers to fun as they roll the dice in search of resources thanks to a mashup of both franchises in the Star Trek Catan board game.

If you are sick of trading sheep for wood, this edition of the popular board game will be a breath of fresh air. This officially-licensed Star Trek merch lets you play the game with your favorite characters from TOS and there’s also an expansion set sold separately that will add more players. Explore space and build outposts and starbases as you mine important resources. Just make sure that you follow Starfleet regulations when making first contact.

The biggest army and longest road cards are replaced with “Longest Supply Run” and “Largest Starfleet.” Some of the other features include:

  • 60 Starships (15 each in 4 colors)
  • 28 Outposts (7 each in 4 colors)
  • 16 Starbase Expansions (4 Habitat Rings each in 4 colors)
  • 89 Stands for the Ships & Outposts
  • 1 Klingon ship
  • 95 Resource Cards (19 each of Dilithium, Tritanium, Oxygen, Food & Water)
  • 25 Development Cards (14 “Starfleet Intervenes”, 6 Progress Cards & 5 “Victory Point” Cards)
  • 10 Support Cards (Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sulu, Chekov, Uhura, Scotty, Chapel, Rand & Sarek)

You can find the game at ThinkGeek for $64.99. Grab a glass of Romulan ale and get playing today!

Rick and Morty Operation Game Lets You Remove a Sphincter

Rick and Morty is one of the most popular cartoons out there, and those guys get up to all sorts of weird stuff. One of the most memorable episodes is where Morty decides to save a homeless man, requiring him to go inside the man’s body – and it turns out that Rick has turned the guys innards into a miniature amusement park.

Now, a new version of the annoying childhood game Operation is out to celebrate that episode.

In Operation: Rick and Morty Anatomy Park you get to remove parts from the bum known as Reuben. His removable bits include the Cerebral Cortex Carousel, Esophageal Passage, Hepatitis C, Tuberculosis, Haunted Liver, Bubonic Plague, Pirates of the Pancreas, Colon Log, Gonorrhea, Bladder Falls, Sphincter Dam, Hepatitis A, and the Bone Train.

Two to four people can play at once and share their frustration with the buzzing, vibrating game. You can buy the special version of Operation on Amazon right now for $29.88, including free shipping for Prime members.

‘Overwatch’ action figures and Monopoly are coming this spring

Hasbro is about to give you many, many ways to flaunt your Overwatch fandom beyond the occasional Nerf gun. It's launching a series of toys and games themed around the character-driven shooter, including Monopoly Overwatch Collector's Edition. The $5...

The new Pictionary has you drawing in thin air

It's not easy being a traditional board game manufacturer in these digital days, although some companies have taken pretty bold steps to bridge the gap between table-top and pixel-based play. Now Pictionary is doing the same with Pictionary Air, whic...