Agents of Mayhem finds new life as a board game on Kickstarter

Despite high expectations for Volition’s follow-up to Saints Row, last year’s Agents of Mayhem landed with a thud. The game misfired with critics and appeared to sell poorly, reportedly leading to layoffs at the developer. But the property looks like it’s found a different audience in the form of a board game.

Tabletop game maker Academy Games launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for Agents of Mayhem: Pride of Babylon last week. Academy Games quickly found success; backers have already contributed more than $120,000 to the project, more than four times its original funding goal.

Some of that success likely has something to do with Academy Games itself. The developer and publisher has already established itself on Kickstarter with five previous projects, including well-received titles Freedom: The Underground Railroad and Mare Nostrum — Empires. But Agents of Mayhem: Pride of Babylon is not in Academy Games’ historical niche.

Academy Games

Agents of Mayhem: Pride of Babylon happens to look pretty interesting, which helps. The game uses a 3D board set up, and players can construct (destructible) buildings on the playfield. Academy Games describes gameplay as a team vs. team skirmish board game for two to four players.

“You and your opponents will play through a radiant story where every choice you make will have effects that ripple throughout the campaign,” Academy Games said on Kickstarter. “Play as either LEGION, an organization of super villains who have taken over the world, or as MAYHEM, a band of anti-heroes who will do what ever it takes to stop LEGION.”

Agents of Mayhem: Pride of Babylon promises customizable characters via gadget cards, character progression and a branching narrative campaign. There’s also the promise of humor, something the Agents of Mayhem video game whiffed on.

Academy Games is offering two pledge tiers: $90 gets backers the game, its first expansion and all stretch goals; $115 includes everything in the $90 tier, plus a PC copy of the Agents of Mayhem video game and all of its add-on content. Agents of Mayhem: Pride of Babylon is expected to ship in September. The Kickstarter campaign ends Feb. 27.