A Kickstarter campaign to raise money for a new Thunderbirds board game designed by Matt Leacock has smashed all expectations only days into the campaign. With 25 days still to run, over 2,100 backers have pledged nearly £140,000 in an amazing show of support for The Thunderbirds Co-operative Boardgame.
From an initial £20,000 goal to raise funds for the moulds for the game’s plastic models and production, no less than TEN MORE goals have already been reached! The full list of stretch goals can be seen on the right (click to expand).
The success of the project has led to a number of new stretch goals being introduced, including a ‘Play The Hood Expansion’ which will allow a 5th player to join the game and play as the villainous Hood!
Playing the game
A collaboration between hit board game designer Matt Leacock (Pandemic, Forbidden Desert / Forbidden Island) and Modiphius Entertainment, Thunderbirds is a ‘co-operative boardgame’ where the players get the chance to test their skills as members of International Rescue. You and up to three other players take on the role of International Rescue while your arch nemesis, The Hood, is threatening to trigger terrible disasters around the world in an effort to learn your secrets. If you can foil his scheme while completing your missions, then you and your fellow players win the game!
While each player adopts a different character in the game – you could be Scott Tracy or Lady Penelope! – all the characters can operate any of the different vehicles used in the game. You might load up the Mole into Thunderbird 2, fly to Tracy Island, then hop into Thunderbird 3 with Alan and dock with Thunderbird 5 in geo-stationary orbit! The permutations of gameplay are practically limitless and reflect the fact that this is an exciting and intelligent strategy game for players of +10 years. You’ll use all of the vehicles at your disposal to complete different missions around the world and in outer space, and you’ll be continually weighing the threat of any of these individual missions against the overall danger of The Hood’s scheme. Sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it?!
Watch this video to get a run through of the game
What you comes with the game?
The basic game comes with six vehicle models, character pegs and a whole host of cards that define the disasters, events and bonuses that take place throughout the game. The first expansion (stretch goal achieved!) means that you can now choose to add 10 sculpted pod vehicles to your gameboard!
Here at Fanderson we were lucky enough to have an early play of the game in its near-finished form, and we can’t wait to see the final version. Keep your eyes peeled in FAB and this website for an exclusive interview with Matt Leacock and Chris Birch, founder of Modiphius Entertainment.
Make your pledge
In the meantime, there’s still plenty of time for you to make your pledge and grab your own copy of the game. A pledge of £40 gets you the basic game and all base game upgrades, while higher pledge levels will guarantee you the game plus the extremely cool expansions that have already secured in the campaign.