What if you could deploy white phosphorus in Monopoly? This is the question that only Call of Duty: The Board Game is brave enough to ask. After teasing its (bizarre) crowdfunding campaign back in April this year, the tabletop version of COD has now put a solid date on the launch of its Kickstarter: It'll drop on August 1, giving you a chance to kick a few bucks towards helping this little indie franchise realise its dream of board game stardom.
"Base game pre-orders and additional Kickstarter pledge tiers will become available" when the Kickstarter commences, says the press guff, "with a worldwide retail release planned for 2024".
Until then, you're encouraged (by them, I'm not really involved either way) to sign up to their mailing list in order to nab yourself a "K-9 Unit promo mini and Killstreak". What does a killstreak even mean in the context of a board game? I have no idea, but I hope it involves screaming "Counter UAV!" as I poke my fellow players in the eye.
I am actually curious to see what this thing looks like when it comes out. As a recent convert to the videogame version of COD, I'd like to know how the board game's makers at Arcane Wonders translate its fast-paced, twitchy gameplay to the sedate pace of a board game. Of course, the answer may be that they don't: Most of the marketing materials emphasise planning and strategy over nailing a kill because you have a 2% faster ADS speed than the other guy.
In fact, here's what the Call of Duty board game lists as its "key features":
- Become an Elite Operator: Legendary soldiers forged in war, customized for battle with signature weapons and unique combat skills.
- Select Your Mission: Choose from a wide array of iconic maps with a variety of intense game modes, including team-based objectives.
- Plan Your Attack: Secretly and simultaneously plot your moves using a simple and intuitive action system.
- Pull the Trigger: Catch your enemies off guard, then blow them away by choosing the perfect combo of battle cards and dice.
Sounds a bit more measured than your standard round on Shipment. We'll find out more when the game's Kickstarter—just to reiterate, a Kickstarter for a game tied to a billion-dollar franchise—hits in August.
