The Classic 1980’s Judge Dredd Board Game Is Back!

Forty years on from its original release, Rebellion Unplugged has just announced the return of the classic 1980’s Judge Dredd board game, created by Sir Ian Livingstone, Judge Dredd: The Game of Crime Fighting in Mega-City One.

Updated and re-issued by Rebellion Unplugged in November, the new edition introduces the Specialist Judges expansion, meaning you now get the opportunity to play as one of six characters across the history of Dredd, each with special abilities that change the gameplay. They include a Mechanismo droid, Psi Judge, Chief Judge, newbie Cadet, you can play nasty as one of the Special Judicial Squad, or even the very different set of skills offered by the Wally Squad’s Dirty Frank. There’s even an exclusive Judge Fish offer for pre-orders at the Rebellion Unplugged site.

Here’s the 2000 AD PR…

“Mega-City One. A vast 22nd century metropolis of 800 million citizens, each one a potential criminal. Under the watchful eye of the Judges no one escapes justice, whether their crime is littering or murder.

And now, YOU ARE THE LAW!

Head out onto the streets of Mega-City One and prove that you are worthy of the badge. Bring the Angel Gang, Judge Death, Orlok the Assassin and other notorious lawbreakers to justice. But be warned – they won’t go down without a fight, and even a lowlife sugar-addict can take you out if they get lucky.”

Alongside the expansion, the game features new and updated cards, revised rules for faster play, and recoloured artwork from iconic artists Brian Bolland and Ian Gibson, giving players the ultimate Judge Dredd experience!

Over on Facebook, Pye Parr mentions that he did the recolouring on the game board and that it practically killed him and his computer:

“Did the colouring for this, based closely on the original version. Also completely recoloured the game board (drawn by Ian Gibson), which because of both size and detail and almost killed me AND my computer, but which looks pretty flippin’ good now if I do say so myself.”

The updated version of the game comes out in November, giving a new spin on a classic where players take on the role of Judges competing to prove themselves the greatest crime fighter in Mega-City One. Each turn they patrol the board and bust Perps, using their action cards to gain crucial advantages or sabotage their enemies.

“I’m thrilled that Rebellion Unplugged is publishing my Judge Dredd board game. It’s 40 years since players first had the chance to drive around Mega-City One to arrest the Angel Gang, Judge Death and other perps for their various crimes. The additional rules, action cards and recoloured art combine to make the new edition a game that I hope every Dredd fan will want to play.” – Sir Ian Livingstone

“It’s a delight to be working with Ian, and a real treat to revisit one of the true classics of British board-gaming. We’ve kept the gonzo spirit of the original while giving it a fresh look and adding new characters like the Specialist Judges, to make this edition a real celebration of the last 40 years.” – Duncan Molloy, Head of Rebellion Unplugged

For those who don’t know, Sir Ian Livingstone CBE co-founded Games Workshop in 1975, launching Dungeons & Dragons in Europe. In 1982, he co-authored The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, the first Fighting Fantasy gamebook in the series which has sold 20 million copies worldwide (and I was part of that 20 million – I loved those books back in the day!)

Since then he has written 17 Fighting Fantasy books and designed several board games including Judge Dredd, Battlecars and Boom Town. He’s also been involved in video games since the 1990s as Executive Chairman of Eidos plc.

Judge Dredd: The Game of Crime Fighting in Mega-City One is released in November from Rebellion Unplugged – you can pre-order it at the Rebellion Unplugged site.