"Kill the Hippies" Announced and Arrives For Review

There's only one reason why we can't say we're huge fans of Golden Laurel's releases, and that's because we haven't played one yet. Unfortunately the upcoming space strategy and political epic Galactic Destiny has been delayed due to production issues, so we haven't been able to sink our teeth into that juicy morsel. And even though "Kill the Hippies" has only been just-announced, we're lucky enough to get a preview copy here at CG, and we'll soon know exactly what Golden Laurel Entertainment's labs are capable of cooking up.

First thing to note is that the game's literature is firmly smacked with the disclaimers "ironic", "satirical", etc, so as to not offend half the planet. In a country of extremes, including an uncanny ability to take things extremely seriously, "Kill the Hippies" is smothered with slightly offensive material. But to anyone with half a sense of humor, this party game has plenty of flavor to make you smile and, potentially, laugh out loud.

For instance, the Disabled Vietnam Vet hippy is instantly converted by any alcohol-based Relic cards placed on him by the players (who fill the role of Christian Fundamentalists attempting to kill or convert hippies). In contrast, the Open Mic Guitar Girl is immune to thrown bottles or cans, and the King James Bible Relic is better at dealing damage than converting people. That's good stuff.

We should note that some cards award the player's knowledge of the Bible, and hippy conversions are worth twice as many points as wiping them off God's green Earth. Our point? The game is obviously designed with dark humor, but is for moderates on both sides of the fence. That pretty much sums us up as far as that's concerned..

Now, although the game makes us laugh a bit at first, we wonder how long that will last, or how quickly it might wear off. It call comes down the the gameplay, and we'll let know our full impressions once we get some games in. Until then, here's the official press release from Golden Laurel Entertainment:

The Company Line: Kill the Hippies is a comedic game that plays ironically on themes of religious fundamentalism through a fast-paced, interactive party card game mechanic. For 2-6 players, the hundred card deck plays through quickly, game time from 20 – 60 mins.
Like other games you can play at home, a party or the pub, anyone—even a non-gamer—can learn the rules in moments, as they play! With humor and satire that can be viewed lightly or taken seriously (as a kind of social commentary).

Produced by Golden Laurel Entertainment, KILL THE HIPPIES features the artwork of Tristan Noone (who joined GLE for the Skull & Bones: A World of Pirates board game project in October, 2006; a project still underway, scheduled for release at GenCon Indy).

KILL THE HIPPIES is the second game from Golden Laurel Entertainment, following the critically-acclaimed board game Galactic Destiny (which has -- prior to release - garnered excellent reviews from Boardgamegeek.com, Critical Gamers, and other well-known game designers. See our website for such reviews.)

Hey wait -- that's us.

Kill the Hippies is currently scheduled to ship to stores in North America, England, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand in May 2007.

March 7, 2007

"Kill the Hippies" Announced and Arrives For Review