USD ($)
EUR (€)
We have good news for retro gamers today. Especially 80's/90's arcade heads and fans of neo-nostalgia. Konami's sideways, vertical and 3D shooter, Contra, and top-down multiplayer blow-em-up, Bomberman, are heading to the tabletop. For those unaware, Contra was released in the UK as Gryzor.
Contra Board Game
Contra is due for release next year. Blacklist Games and Kess Co. have been presented the licence by Konami. It'll be a 1-4 player co-operative game, designed by Brady and Adam Sandler (no relation). Their previous games include Walking Dead: No Sanctuary, Warhammer Quest: The Action Card Game, and Street Masters. The latter is also a 1-4 player co-operative miniature-laden, combat strategy game based on arcade fighting games like Street Fighter.
Contra will feature their modular deck system, allowing players to select unique commando cards, stages and adversaries. Expect to see Stallone and Arnie types a-plenty, battling Giger-esque beasts, laser shooting mechanical eyeballs and gun-toting android hordes will a level of toughness enough to make a hardened Dark Souls players weep like a tired bairn.
Bomberman Board Game
IDW Games have obtained the license for 2017’s Super Bomberman R, and this is not their first rodeo for Konami. They are also publishing the forthcoming Metal Gear Solid board game, designed by Emerson Matsuuchi and scheduled for 2019. This will also be a four-player game and features various miniatures from the popular computer game series including Solid Snake and the titular Metal Gear mech (prototypes of these miniatures were revealed at GenCon 2019, but whether it comes in a box large enough to hide in remains to be seen. If it doesn’t… they’ve missed a trick).
It is uncertain whether the Bomberman board game will have both competitive and co-operative modes. Also, there have been no designers or release dates linked to it yet, but it looks like it will certainly be a blast.