Three Classic Arcade Games Are Getting The Board Game Treatment

A trio of Atari arcade games is making their way to the board game front – and you won’t need [...]

Atari

A trio of Atari arcade games is making their way to the board game front – and you won't need any quarters to enjoy these games.

As noted by Geek and Sundry, Atari has announced that it is teaming up with IDW Games and designer Jon Gilmour to bring three of its old-school franchise to the board gaming front – Centipede, Asteroids and Missile Command!

The games are due to arrive sometime this year, with Centipede arriving first, and the other games to release "intermittently shortly after."

Jon Gilmour noted on the games, "The most exciting thing to me, was being able to try and recapture some of what I (and the other designers) loved about these games as kids."

Those of you familiar with the name IDW Games knows its reputation when it comes to its superior tabletop games, including last year's winning Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shadows of the Past. Gilmour has quite a reputation as well, with exclusive titles like Dead of Winter. So, yeah, experience is totally playing a part when it comes to the design of the games.

"We are trying to capture the joy and fun that many of us experienced playing these games" Gilmour explained. "The most exciting thing to me, was being able to try to recapture some of what I (and the other designers) loved about these games as kids. It was great having conversations with so many people about what we all loved about these games, and how to turn that into a board game."

He added, "Centipede is the closest to capturing the arcade experience, with some nice twists to it. Whereas Missile Command is definitely inspired by the game, and is not a port, but really echoes what the game did."

The rules of each game haven't been discussed just yet, but they should remain true in nature to the original arcade releases. That said, it may help to use discretion with hyperspacing in Asteroids, so you don't end up hitting a rock or anything.

Look for all of these games later this year. And maybe make some room on your shelves for this lovely dose of nostalgia.

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