IDW Announces A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Board Game With Art By Kevin Eastman

As is usually the case, last weekend's San Diego Comic-Con involved a ton of announcements, but there's one really cool new project in the works that might've slipped under your radar: A "big box" Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles board game set for release in early 2016 featuring art by TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman, and a design by Kevin Wilson.

That in itself would be pretty intriguing given Wilson's own track record with board games like Descent, but what really makes this one interesting for me is that it's coming out from IDW Games, which means it'll be directly based on the current run of TMNT comics --- one of the best books going.

The official announcement includes this description of the game:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shadows of the Past will be a scenario-driven campaign game that features story content from the hit ongoing IDW comic. Two to five players will battle their way through a series of 60-90 minute missions where players develop their characters strengths, fighting styles, and equipment along the way to create a lasting story arc. Fan-favorite characters like Casey Jones and Alopex will appear throughout the missions, as the Turtles call on their closest allies for help in battling their deadliest foes.

Not to pigeonhole Wlison or anything, but the idea of a scenario-driven board game that incorporates equipment and leveling up sounds an awful lot like what he's done with Descent --- a system that actually made its debut in the licensed board game version of the first-person shooter DOOM --- and that's a very good thing. Being able to guide Michelangelo through a series of frantic dice-rolling battles and improving his nunchuk skills is everything I never knew I wanted until this moment. And, if Descent is any indication, it's a system that allows for future expansions and fan-created adventures that could end up being a whole lot of fun.

It's definitely something I'm going to want to check out, and while I wish it was out for this year's holiday season, the early 2016 release date will probably give me just enough time to play through the campaigns in the upcoming Ghostbusters board game, which, while being published by Cryptozoic, also features new material from the creators behind IDW's Ghostbusters comics.