Monday, June 01, 2009

Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride - The Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas Board Game


We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something like “I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive...” And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, which was going about a hundred miles an hour with the top down to Las Vegas. And a voice was screaming: “Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?”

So began the book by which all of Hunter S. Thompson's work would be measured for the remainder of his career, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - "A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream".


Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas first came to light as a two-part series in Rolling Stone in 1971; a year later the book was published.

16 years after it was released as a book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas became a movie starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro.

Now, four years after Hunter S. Thompson's suicide, and nearly 40 years after it was first published, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is back. This time as a board game.


The thing that struck me funny when I first saw this is that I have a brief case I carry when I go on road trips that looks rather similar....


Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas sounds like an interesting game.

According to the rules, "The first player rolls his dice and moves his player.

There are three different spaces to land on. Yellow means dosing a certain amount of a drug specified by the dosing card. A scale is included in the game in order to get accurate measurements."


The rules continue, "Blue means going on an adventure or doing a fun activity. If a blue card requires driving, the sitter will always drive."

To conclude, the rules state, "Red cards are challenges that would be specifically hard for someone to accomplish while on various drugs. If you are unable to complete a challenge, you must move back three spaces on the board."

Spoiler Alert...

My friends know I don't buy gifts when they're "expected" such as at Christmas and other traditional gift giving holidays. This year I just might be giving copies of the Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas board game, along with a case of Flying Dog beer.

1 comment:

kang londonEater said...

Im so glad I found this blog, I am a fan of the gonzo style of reporting too !!