A new board game based on The Rocketeer lets anyone strap explosives to their back
Neville Sinclair's a… board game character? Saboteur? Fascist? All of the above.
The hit early ‘90s superhero film is trading cinema for cardboard in the upcoming adaptation The Rocketeer: Fate of the Future. The two-player competitive board game will make an initial appearance at Gen Con’s in-person event starting September 16th before hitting retail.
Based on the stylish and goofily earnest movie of the same name, The Rocketeer: Fate of the Future borrows more than just the name. A press release from publisher Funko Games said the title would be awash in the same late 1930s art-deco sensibilities as its source material while translating at least part of the plot into a strategic experience hobbyists can enjoy.
Each player will vie to control blueprints for constructing the powerful prototype jetpack that gives The Rocketeer his aerial capabilities. The vainglorious and sinister Neville Sinclair and his fascist cronies stand on one side opposite the scrappy heroes, who fear the military potential and ensuing chaos the plans might unleash in Los Angeles and beyond.
The mechanics haven’t been detailed, so it isn’t quite clear how The Rocketeer will play, but images show a sectioned center board with familiar locations such as the Bulldog Cafe, Chapel Airfield and the Nazi rigid airship Luxembourg. Both players have a deck of cards on their respective side, along with a trio of character cards adorned with health tokens.
Plastic miniatures of these characters can be placed on specific locations, possibly bestowing bonuses or allowing for a sort of area control. A Luxembourg miniature gradually crawls across its own space, demarcating its trip through the ostensible North American Goodwill Tour. If you’ve seen the film, you know the ulterior motives behind the stunt.
The Rocketeer: Fate of the Future is being designed by Prospero Hall, the outfit behind the recently announced The Goonies: Never Say Die board game and the nitrous-fueled title of family and car stunts - Fast & Furious: Highway Heist.
Funko Games said The Rocketeer would be playable and up for purchase at the upcoming Gen Con slated for September 16th through 19th in Indianapolis, first. Afterwards, online stores, retailers and local game shops should be seeing the title rocket onto shelves.