Evil Dead 2 The Official Board Game


What?

Yeah that is a thing now.  I was fortunate enough to speak to Game Designer Taylor Smith about this upcoming Space Goat Production.  But read quickly because you’ll be DEAD BY DAWN.

Where did the idea for an Evil Dead Board Game come from?

We’ve been making the Evil Dead 2 comics for almost two years now, so it was the natural evolution of a property we’ve already poured so much time and love into. The idea of the gameplay came from me just watching the movies until it played in my closed eyelids and realizing it needed to be a co-op survival horror game where your teammates could turn on you. The Events and Items are pulled from the movie itself, so all that inspiration just comes from being a huge fan of the movie. Everything fell together in the right way.

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What process did you go through to acquire the licensing rights to make the game?

The relationship with the licensor was well established from our comic publishing by the time we started talking about the board game. They were really excited for the project and have been supportive throughout the process. Their schedules with their other properties and Bruce’s availability for approval with Ash vs Evil Dead season two going on has slowed the process, but they’re a wonderful group to work with.

 

How are you hoping to capture the spirit of the Evil Dead franchise in a board game?

The whole game is set up, from the cards to the pacing itself, to run almost like a procedurally generated interactive Evil Dead movie. The slow start followed by a constant escalation of insanity mirrors the pace of Evil Dead 2 and the Events capture countless key scenes in unique gameplay experiences. Backers have already been talking about organizing the deck to form a cinematic version of the game, which I’d be excited to see. The mechanics and interactions that take place are still accessible to non-Evil Dead fans, but it’s also a great excuse to get friends to watch it if they haven’t seen it yet. As if you even need an excuse!

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What can players expect in terms of game play?

There are a couple of gameplay videos on the campaign page and Space Goat’s Vimeo account (https://vimeo.com/spacegoat) which show off the main mechanics and give walkthroughs of a few turns. The turn structure itself is simple, making gameplay accessible to gamers and non-gamers alike; enemies and effects build up throughout the game, which make playing more and more intense right up until the end. The immediacy of events, items, and actions keep play moving forward and calling upon planning, reactionary tactics, and a little luck from the players.

 

What should I have asked you but didn’t?

How my day is going? Oh, better yet, why folks should back the campaign even though we’re already over 500%. We have some Kickstarter Exclusive figures and tiers going on, including the chance for backers to be immortalized as Deadite figures in the actual game to live on thousands of people’s shelves for years to come. We also have dice carved from the actual cabin from the filming of Evil Dead 2. That’s not even to mention the awesome game expanding and quality boosting stretch goals to come. Evil Dead 2 has been a blast to work on, starting with the comics and now the board game; we’re just excited to share it with everyone. Oh, and my day has been insanely busy, but invigoratingly productive.

M.R. Gott is a poorly published horror author who may or may not be a figment of your perverse imagination.