The Walking Dead board game hits Kickstarter, asks premium price for pre-order

Cryptozoic Entertainment, makers of the successful series of Ghostbusters-themed board games and other licensed products, have a new game on Kickstarter. Based on AMC’s The Walking Dead, a pre-order will run you a steep $125. However, the game promises top-quality miniatures based on the actors themselves and a quality game design pedigree.

Called The Walking Dead: No Sanctuary, the campaign is running until Aug. 1 and seeking $250,000. The co-operative, scenario-based board game was designed by Adam and Brady Sadler, formerly full-time designers for Fantasy Flight Games and part of the development team on Star Wars: X-Wing Miniature Game and Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition.

The game has a tactical feel to it, with characters like Glen and Andrea grappling with zombies or shooting at them with limited ammunition. What makes it unique is its leadership mechanic. Leaders make decisions for the entire group, and other player or characters in the party can either choose to comply with those decisions or not. Some characters thrive on being non-compliant, and have special perks that only come into effect when they refuse to follow orders. But non-compliance piles up stress on the leader, and could force leadership to switch hands during a game.

You can watch a full playthrough in the video below.

Also unique with this campaign is the price point. On the low end, a $40 package gets you the base game without plastic miniatures. Cryptozoic told us this is intended for fans of the show who might not be able, or willing, to invest in a high-quality hobby game.

To receive the complete version of the game, backers will need to shell out at least $115. For that price they’ll receive four playable characters modeled in plastic and bearing the likeness of the show’s actors from the first season along with 25 other miniatures in at least two sculpts.

Backers at the $115 tier and up will also receive an exclusive Daryl model and any additional perks that are unlocked, should the campaign exceed the $250,000 ask. Delivery is expected in July 2017, with the retail version of the game to follow.

We asked Cryptozoic about the high cost of the pre-order, and while they expect the final retail price to be lower they can’t say by how much. They said that they intend to provide value at the premium price, however.

"The pledges of the Kickstarter will be receiving exclusive components that won't be available with the retail version," Cryptozoic said via email. "We are very confident in hitting many awesome stretch goals also with exclusives."

We’ll be taking a closer look at The Walking Dead: No Sanctuary at this year’s Gen Con in Indianapolis, which starts Aug. 4. For more of last year’s coverage, check out our StoryStream here.