Batman: Arkham City Board Game To Be Released

We all loved Batman: Arkham City, but are we ready for a board game version? Click the jump to see more.

I’m not at all a board game aficionado, but like most folks, I can appreciate one. Most notably, the classic property-swapping board game Monopoly and a little Scrabble here and there. In recent times, while my devotion to the great Dark Knight reached a certain high, my friends and I managed to procure a couple of Batman board games for a Batman celebration we’d planned. One was entitled “The Batman Game,” released in 1989. The objective of this game is pretty cut and dry in that you’ve got to get to the Batcave, assign yourself a villain at random, traverse the board to get to their hideout and return to the Batcave. There are few little twists involving battles and cards to help you overcome obstacles, but overall a children’s game. The other one we dug up was newer, released in 2003, and much more complicated involving one person playing a villain, that was assigned prior to the start of the game, controlling henchmen meant to pillage Gotham of certain treasures unique to each villain, while other players play members of the Batfamily to try to take down the henchmen and determine the identity of said villain. That game was called “Batman: Gotham City Mystery.”

Surprisingly, Batman board games aren’t quite dead yet, but I suppose if they were to make any, it’d be based on something incredibly popular, guaranteeing the buck. It was just announced a couple of days ago that Batman: Arkham City is being turned into board game, called “Batman: Arkham City Escape.”

Here are the details from the press release:

BatmanTM: Arkham City Escape to be released June

Based on the award winning 2011 game of the year, BatmanTM: Arkham City Escape is a two player board game that pits Batman against all of his greatest foes as they try to escape Arkham!

One player will take on the role of Batman while the other will control all villains. There are 40 of Batman’s enemies available to play, each with exclusive special abilities, all trying to escape the clutches of the Dark Knight by taking hostages and fleeing Arkham. Batman will use special gadgets from his Utility Belt and randomly placed gargoyles to make his way across the board, save his iconic allies and stop Arkham’s villains.

As the villains are drawn out randomly at the beginning of a play session, each game will develop differently, creating an unlimited number of available scenarios.

Another video game licensed board game, Bioshock Infinite: Siege of Columbia, will be be available in the summer of 2013 from Esdevium Games.

The BatmanTM: Arkham City Escape game will be available in the UK late May – early June with an a RRP of 34.99.

And some more details from the official website:

Release Date: 05.15.2013

Batman™: Arkham City Escape is a two-player game that pits Batman against allof his greatest foes as they try to escape Arkham! In this game, one player represents Batman, and the other player represents the villains that Batman has fought in the past. The player controlling the Arkham inmates earns victory points by helping the villains escape Arkham, while the Batman player gains points by apprehending his rivals before they make it out of the city. The first player to earn 10 Victory Points is the winner!

• In Batman™: Arkham City Escape, two players engage in a game of wits and strategy that pits Batman against his greatest foes as they try to escape Arkham City!
• One player takes on the role of Batman, and the other player is in command of Batman’s Rogues Gallery! No two games play out the same, as the villain player uses a random assortment of villains each time.
• Each of the Arkham City inmates has exclusive special abilities to use as they take hostages and try to escape the clutches of the Dark Knight.
• Utility Belt cards give Batman access to a variety of special gadgets to use as he works towards stopping the Arkham City escapees and saving his allies!

Number of Players: 2
For Ages: 15+
Playing Time: 30 – 45 Minutes
MSRP: $45.00

Game Box Contains:

• 126 Game Cards
• 40 Villain Cards
• 40 Batman Combat Cards
• 8 Utility Belt Cards
• 10 Ally Cards
• 10 Gargoyle Cards
• 18 Setup Cards
• (1) Batman Character Paw
• (8) Combat/Action Dice
• (1) Batman Experience Die
• (1) 18” x 33” Double-Sided Gameboard
• (1) Utility Belt Board
• (1) Rulebook