Spectrum Games is pleased to announce that their first miniatures game, Urban Manhunt, will be released in 2018.
ABOUT THE SPORT
In the not-too-distant future, the masses are entertained by a cruel and inhumane sport known as Urban Manhunt. Matches in Urban Manhunt take place in zones, sectioned-off areas of partially destroyed cities that have been re-purposed as prisons. Highly-trained mercenaries known as hunters are set loose in the zone to compete with each other by “eliminating” crims (prisoners who volunteer to take their chances in return for full pardons if they survive). Each crim is assigned a point value by the Urban Manhunt Regulation Committee, based on their competency. When a hunter eliminates the crim, they receive that number of points. This amount can be modified by the live studio audience based on how flashy, interesting or gory the elimination is. The hunter with the most points when the time limit expires wins the match.
There are other wrinkles (such as tubes and pods), but that’s the basic set-up.
ABOUT THE GAME
The Urban Manhunt miniatures game lets you and your friends take control of hunters in their quest for fame and fortune in the zone. Each player can create their own hunter based on the miniatures in their collection or play pre-generated hunters such as Crazy Joe Hacker, Bonnie Clyde, Magnum Steel, Gridiron, Chang-Mu, Fastlane and more.
The crims are controlled by the game system itself, thanks to the implementation of Control Cards. This ensures that their actions will give the hunters a challenge. Will they flee? Will they attack? Will they hide in a ruined building, forcing the hunters to attempt to find them?
The game rules also make use of Event Cards that are drawn periodically during the game. Some cards are carried out immediately (such as one that causes a building to acquire an infestation of fierce mutated rats) while others are kept by players so that they can use them later in the match.
The game system is simple, yet offers an abundance of depth, allowing players to develop a wide variety of strategies that will ultimately help them outscore the other hunters... or die trying.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The core rulebook will be released in the first or second quarter of 2018, with a price tag that gamers will find accessible. It will be jam-packed with all the rules needed to play as well as loads of information on the setting, evocative art, reference sheets and more. It will be sold through Wargame Vault.
The cards used in the game will be available on the Spectrum website as a PDF so that gamers can print them out and use them right away. They will also be available as print-on-demand cards exclusively through DriveThruCards.
At this time, there are no plans for an associated miniatures line, aside from print-and-play paper miniatures.
According to Spectrum President Cynthia Celeste Miller, “Our goal was to create a fun and unique game that won’t cost gamers an arm and a leg to get into. Since each player only controls one hunter, they’ll only need a single figure to represent it, plus miniatures for crims. The paper miniatures will reduce any costs even further. You shouldn’t have to be wealthy to enjoy the immersive hobby of tabletop miniatures games.”
MORE INFORMATION
You can find more information on the Spectrum Games website (www.spectrum-games.com). The website also includes a development blog called “Notes from the Zone” that addresses various aspects of the game. More material will be added in the months to come.