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The Terminator™: The Official Board Game

Created by Space Goat Productions, Inc.

An asymmetrical strategy game played across two boards based off of the iconic 1984 James Cameron film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Kyle Reese Gameplay and Photo Card Unlocked!
about 7 years ago – Wed, Mar 15, 2017 at 11:59:22 PM

ATTENTION RESISTANCE SOLDIERS:

Welcome new backers, we're excited to have you! Thank you for supporting this game, we can't do it without you wonder folks.

Congrats on unlocking the Kyle Reese Photo Card! This card will now be included with all pledges $60 and above!

 Since Kyle has been brought up, we might as well give some details on how he plays from game designer Josh Derksen!

Kyle Reese:  

Sent back in time to protect Sarah, Kyle begins the game in 1984. His dedication to protecting her is represented by his Bodyguard ability, allowing Kyle to take wounds instead of Sarah if they occupy the same location. 

As such, Kyle should always be looking to stay close by. In addition to carrying a "Sawed-off Shotgun" and helping Sarah construct some "Homemade Pipe Bombs"

 

Providing valuable offense, Kyle has a number of powerful utility cards for making quick escapes and holding the Terminator at bay.  

Sarah Connor:  

As the Terminator's primary target in 1984, Sarah Connor must play the most carefully of all the Resistance characters. Losing her skews the odds heavily in Skynet's favor, as they gain many victory points and a slew of resources in 2029 for defeating her. 

While Sarah has a number of abilities to make a quick getaway from the Terminator, she does have a few combat-related action cards such as "You're Terminated - Fucker!" to help her stand her ground when necessary.

Where Sarah really shines however is at completing missions in 1984, and supporting the Resistance with information and Supply caches in 2029.  

Now for general campaign updates, we're in the last 24 hours, and can use your help getting the word out there!

To start with, we only have two social stretch goals left! The first is Lynnvander's Twitter, if you haven't already, go give them a follow!

 Next is the Board Game Geek subscription goal! About 600 have subscribed, and with your help we can get to 1000 and unlock more Torso Endoskeletons!

 Some other notes for our new backers:

  • If you use the Kicktraq browser add-on while commenting on the site, it helps us in ranking and gets the project in front of more eyeballs. If there's a stretch goal you have your eyes on, this is an easy way to help: https://www.kicktraq.com/tools/ 
  •  If you're interested in any optional buys on the front page, but aren't sure how to adjust your pledge, there's a great video here explaining the whole process.

That's it for tonight, thank you so much for all of your support!

We'll Be Back,

Team Space Goat

Last 48 Hours and more Gameplay Info!
about 7 years ago – Wed, Mar 15, 2017 at 04:24:49 PM

Attention Resistance!

We are now entering the last 48 hours of the campaign, and we're going to need your help to get the word out there! Sharing the campaign on Facebook, Twitter, etc. are always a big help. Tracking the game on Kicktraq can also help get more eyes on the campaign as well. If you all know of any more places we can share out the game, let us know in the comments!

But in the meantime, we have more info on the 2029 Resistance Units:

Resistance Soldier & Heavy

The backbone of the post-apocalyptic forces of the Resistance, the Soldier unit has the odds stacked against it. They are cheap to recruit, and are relatively weak. The Resistance players usually hope to overwhelm the defenses of Skynet with numbers before larger units are built. 

On the other hand, the Resistance Heavy packs a Bazooka with a punch suited for dealing with the tough T-800 Terminators and HK-Tank.  

General Housekeeping:

  • If you use the Kicktraq browser add-on while commenting on the site, it helps us in ranking and gets the project in front of more eyeballs. If there's a stretch goal you have your eyes on, this is an easy way to help: https://www.kicktraq.com/tools/  
  • If you're interested in any optional buys on the front page, but aren't sure how to adjust your pledge, there's a great video here explaining the whole process.  

We will be be bringing more updates tomorrow with details on gameplay, so keep your eyes peeled!

We'll be back,

Team Space Goat

Welcome New Backers!
about 7 years ago – Wed, Mar 15, 2017 at 11:45:41 AM

Attention Resistance!

We got some new backers tonight, so we wanted to say welcome! Thanks so much for supporting this game, we really appreciate it.

Here are some stuff you might want to check out now that you're here:

1. If you want more info on the optional buys on the front page, you can check them out here.

2. Here are some samples of the combat coin! They'll be 24mm diameter/ 2mm thick.

3. If you'd like to see the game in action, you can click the below picture to see the game getting played at ECCC.

 

4. We also have an animated gameplay video and prototype gameplay video to get you acquainted with the gameplay.

5.If you use the Kicktraq browser add-on while commenting on the site, it helps us in ranking and gets the project in front of more eyeballs. If there's a stretch goal you have your eyes on, this is an easy way to help: https://www.kicktraq.com/tools/  

6.If you're interested in any optional buys on the front page, but aren't sure how to adjust your pledge, there's a great video here explaining the whole process.

Thanks for your support! See you tomorrow with more updates.

We'll be back,

Team Space Goat

Terminator Fans & More Gameplay Breakdown
about 7 years ago – Wed, Mar 15, 2017 at 02:46:03 AM

Attention Resistance!

It's been incredibly important for us to get the Terminator lore right for this game, so we brought in Michael Chadwick, head of The Terminator Fans. His wealth of knowledge and support has helped guide the making of this game. We asked him for a couple sentences on what it's been like working on this game and putting up with us and, well...

 

"Terminator drew me in at a young age; yes, I was one of those kids that managed to watch something that I technically shouldn't have been watching (there are plenty of us out there). I fell in love with the first two Terminator movies due to the episodic nature and unfolding saga of Sarah Connor and her son John Connor (who would grow up to become the leader of the worldwide resistance in the war between man and machine). Terminator was my Star Wars, it was darker and edgier. The first two films were also the first films that had me interested in the people who actually made the movies, there was simply so much creativity going on and I loved every second of it.

 

Pictured next to the dictionary definition of "Iconic"
Pictured next to the dictionary definition of "Iconic"

 

There is something undeniable about the gritty horror and tension of the first movie which stands out, to me, as Terminator in its purest and most honest form. Even though a low-budget independent movie; it still offered high octane action, adrenaline-fueled chase sequences, sheer suspense and most importantly... the movie lived up to the name. James Cameron gave us one of the coolest and greatest horror icons of cinema with Schwarzenegger's performance as The Terminator: a cyborg wrapped in human flesh, programmed to Terminate mankind itself.

 

Not the kind of night light that you want to see after dark.
Not the kind of night light that you want to see after dark.

 

After speaking with Space Goat Productions it became clear that they wanted to make a Terminator product that would not only please fans but live up to the roots and legacy of the first Terminator movie. It was also great that they understood the importance of canon storytelling and wanted to work hard to stay true to James Cameron's original masterpiece and vision of The Terminator (1984) whilst still pushing some creative boundaries to allow gaming scenarios and expanded content within the world fondly loved by Terminator Fans. It has been a pleasure seeing the game come to life from concept to reality and having the likeness of Arnold, Linda and Michael included brings total authenticity, adding yet another facet to the engrossing imagination and creativity which will provide hours of entertainment for fans and some damn fine collectibles too.

I am more than happy to be a part of this fan-tastic project!"

 

The gang's all here!
The gang's all here!

 

We've been very fortunate to have Michael in our corner as we recreate and explore uncharted territories of The Terminator.

Speaking of our titular terror, let's dig in deep to the T-800 inner workings and see what makes him tick. Straight from the notebook of Josh Derksen, Lynnvander's lead designer:

Series 800 Model 101 Infiltrator unit, aka AHNOLD
Series 800 Model 101 Infiltrator unit, aka AHNOLD

 

"No pity, no remorse, no fear" is how Kyle Reese described the Terminator to Sarah Connor. The Terminator is the only Skynet character in 1984 but he is a nearly-unstoppable force to be reckoned with and is easily a match for Kyle, Sarah, and Lt. Traxler combined.

 

 

In gameplay terms, the Terminator can perform more actions each round than other characters, and no matter which action cards he plays, he can also move a space with his Relentless ability. Even successful attacks against the Terminator merely slow it down, necessitating repairs.

 

 

Besides raw killing potential, the Terminator's design as an infiltrator unit affords many options to accomplish its core mission of killing Sarah Connor, including impersonating others with cards such as "This is One-Four-Three." and "But honey, I need to know where I can reach you". A successful Terminator player is not always the most direct.

T-800 Endoskeleton
T-800 Endoskeleton

 

The T-800 forms the core of any Skynet force. Slower than Resistance units, the T-800's toughness and raw firepower give it the edge. However, if the Resistance characters in 1984 can keep tight control over mission cards, the resulting lack of resources for Skynet in 2029 can make building an army of T-800s difficult.

Tomorrow morning we check back in on our social stretch goals, so let's break some of those before then!

We'll be back.

Team Space Goat

Terminator Characters & Missions: Gameplay Breakdown
about 7 years ago – Tue, Mar 14, 2017 at 08:40:21 PM

Attention Resistance!

There was a bit of confusion with yesterday's video: we sent the fancy prototypes and figures home with Lynnvander after ECCC. BJ Shea's Geek Nation are prominent figures in the Pacific Northwest's nerd culture community and we wanted to keep our commitment with them to play the game. That commitment—and showing reactions from hardcore gamers and critics outside of our companies—was ultimately important enough to us that we chose to move forward with the print and play. We would've loved to play with the version you're familiar with from ECCC:

 

 

 

 

 

Note: not all figures printed are to scale, to each other or the board. These 3D printed prototypes were optimized to show detail and to be ready by ECCC.
Note: not all figures printed are to scale, to each other or the board. These 3D printed prototypes were optimized to show detail and to be ready by ECCC.

  

Let's zoom in on how amazing you've helped us make this game. Josh Derkenson, lead designer over at Lynnvander, talks theory and game details. Let's start with the characters you haven't seen as much of yet: John Connor, Traxler, and the HK-Tank.

John Connor
John Connor

While the other three Resistance characters in the core game all play on the 1984 board and ripple the effects of their actions and missions into 2029, John Connor plays exclusively in 2029.

 

He's a good fighter, but an even better commander with many action cards such as "New Orders" that allow him to move and then attack with other Resistance units while he takes the fight to Skynet.

 

His strategic prowess also comes into play through "Misinformation", which he can use to keep Skynet off-balance by swapping with other Resistance units.

Lt. Ed Traxler
Lt. Ed Traxler

Unlike Kyle, Lt. Traxler is more of a command and support character. Traxler usually doesn't fare well against the Terminator, but he can make maximum use of the neutral Cops to damage the Terminator on his behalf.

 

As a police detective, he has the unique ability to move and place cops with a variety of action cards such as "You're safe. There're thirty cops in this building."

 

Traxler isn't as formidable a fighter as Kyle Reese, but he's still capable of laying down the law with "Let's see how this guy likes playing hard-ball."

HK-Tank
HK-Tank

Unlike other Skynet units, the HK Tank begins the game as a blueprint. In order to get it in play, the Skynet player must play several Develop action cards to slowly build up this technological terror. If the Skynet player can find the breathing room to get the HK developed, it all but guarantees Skynet control of the 2029 board.

 

The earliest phases of what will become the HK-Tank begin all the way back in 1984 with the Defense Contractors Mission. If the Terminator can hunt down and eliminate these engineers, it immediately makes progress on developing the 2029 HK-Tank. If the Resistance can protect the contractors instead, development of the HK-Tank stalls.

 

See how all these fit together in our official gameplay video!

Stay tuned tonight as we walk through more characters, strategies, and missions for The Terminator.

We'll be Back,

Team Space Goat