Judge Dredd (board game)

Board game

Judge Dredd, subtitled "The Game of Crime-Fighting in Mega-City One", is a board game published by Games Workshop (GW) in 1982 that is based on the dystopian comic series Judge Dredd that appeared in the British comic magazine 2000 AD.

## Description[edit]

Judge Dredd is a board game for 2–6 players where each players takes on the role of a Judge in Mega-City One.[1]

### Components[edit]

The game box contains:[2]

* 16" x 22" mounted gameboard (in two pieces)
* 54 Action cards
* 21 Sector cards
* 28 Perp cards
* 28 Crime cards
* 6 Judge cards
* 24 page card album
* 6 player pawns
* 4-page rulebook
* six-sided die

### Gameplay[edit]

#### Set-up[edit]

Each player chooses a Judge and takes a token. There are always six crimes occurring in the city at any time. Six Sector cards are flipped over to reveal the location of the current batch of crimes, then a Crime card is placed face up at each location along with a facedown Perp card.[2]

#### Movement phase[edit]

All players move 1 or 2 Sectors towards Sectors where the current crimes are located.[2]

#### Arrest phase[edit]

When a player arrives at the crime scene, the Perp card is flipped over and the player tries to make an arrest. Each Judge has a base arrest value of 5. The player rolls the die, and adds the Judge's Arrest rating supplemented by any special cards the player wishes to play. This total must equal or exceed the sum of the Crime card's value, the Perp card's value and a die roll. Other players can play cards to assist either the arresting Judge or the Perp.[2]

If the Judge fails to make the arrest, the Judge's token is placed in the Intensive Care Area of the Justice Department Hospital sector, and the player loses their next turn. The Crime and Perp cards remain on the board.[2]

If the Judge makes a successful arrest, the Crime and Perp cards are placed face-up in front of the arresting player. A new Sector card is flipped over, and a new Crime and Perp card are added to the board, bringing the total number of active crimes back up to six.[2]

### Victory conditions[edit]

When the Sector deck is empty and all Perps on the board have been arrested, players add up the values of all of the Crime and Perp cards they collected during the game. The player with the most points is the winner.[2]

## Publication history[edit]

The Judge Dredd comic by Pat Mills first appeared in the monthly British comics anthology 2000 AD in 1977. Five years later, GW acquired the license to produce a Judge Dredd board game, which was designed by Ian Livingstone, with artwork by Brian Bolland and Ian Gibson.

GW also produced several other Judge Dredd products, including

* Judge Dredd: The Role-Playing Game (1985),
* two adventures for the role-playing game: Judgement Day (1986) and Slaughter Margin (1987)
* the board game Block Mania (1987)
* a Block Mania expansion, Mega-Mania (1987)

## Reception[edit]

Richard Meadows reviewed Judge Dredd for White Dwarf No. 35 (also published by GW), giving it an overall rating of 9 out of 10, and stated that "Judge Dredd is a good game for some light relaxation for both Dredd fans and those who have never heard of him. It is admirably successful in its aims: it doesn't set out to be a game of deep skills and great complexity; it sets out to be simple, playable and as enjoyable as reading your favourite comic book - and if Judge Dredd is your favourite comic-book hero, so much the better."[3]

Paul Cockburn reviewed Judge Dredd for Imagine magazine, and called it "a fine game, with excellent opportunities for player inter-action and fine balance. If you like mayhem, this has to be a winner".[4]

In Issue 76 of Dragon (August 1983), Michael Gray thought the game "captures the theme" through the "appealing artwork." However, Gray found Judge Dredd could be "quite a frustrating exercise" because of the propensity of players to gang up on someone who appears to be winning. He didn't think this was a terribly complex game, warning players that "it takes no brainpower to play." He concluded with ambivalence, saying, "Judge Dredd is fun, but other games are fun and have more going for them as well."[2]

Steve Jackson reviewed Judge Dredd in Space Gamer No. 67.[1] Jackson commented that "If you're a Judge Dredd fan, you'll buy it no matter what the reviews say, so be comforted; you will like it. In fact, it works both ways; I became a fan after reading through the game. If you don't read Judge Dredd, you might still enjoy it as a beer-and-pretzels game (albeit a long one), if you can handle the steep imported price tag."[1]

## Reviews[edit]

* Jeux & Stratégie #18[5]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c Jackson, Steve (Jan–Feb 1984). "Capsule Reviews". Space Gamer. Steve Jackson Games (67): 31–32.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Gray, Michael (August 1983). "Cards Are the Law in Judge Dredd". Dragon. No. 76\. TSR, Inc. pp. 81–82.
3. ^ Meadows, Richard (November 1982). "Open Box". White Dwarf. No. 35\. Games Workshop. p. 14.
4. ^ Cockburn, Paul (April 1983). "Game Reviews". Imagine (review). TSR Hobbies (UK), Ltd. (1): 36–37.
5. ^ "Jeux & stratégie 18". December 1982.

* v
* t
* e

Judge Dredd

Setting and characters|

* List of characters
* Judge Anderson
* Judge
* Mega-City One

Crossovers|

* Batman/Judge Dredd: Judgment on Gotham
* Judge Dredd vs. Aliens
* Mars Attacks Judge Dredd
* Predator vs. Judge Dredd

Publications|

* 2000 AD
* Diceman
* Judge Dredd Megazine
* Zarjaz
* Judge Dredd (IDW Publishing)
* Judge Dredd: The Mega Collection
* 2000 AD: The Ultimate Collection

Spin-offs|

* Anderson: Psi Division
* Armitage
* The Dead Man
* Insurrection
* Low Life
* Red Razors
* The Simping Detective

Other media|

| Films|

* Hardware
* Judge Dredd
* Dredd

|

Games|

| Video|

* Judge Dredd (1986)
* Judge Dredd (1990)
* Judge Dredd (1995)
* Judge Dredd (1997)
* Dredd vs. Death

|

Other|

* 1982 board game
* Block Mania
* Mega-Mania
* Role-playing games
* Games Workshop
* Mongoose Publishing
* Pinball

Novels|

* Bad Moon Rising
* Black Atlantic
* Cursed Earth Asylum
* Deathmasques
* Dread Dominion
* Dreddlocked
* Eclipse
* The Final Cut
* The Hundredfold Problem
* Kingdom of the Blind
* The Medusa Seed
* Psykogeddon
* The Savage Amusement
* Silencer
* Swine Fever
* Wetworks
* Whiteout

Radio plays|

* Wanted: Dredd or Alive
* Death Trap
* Strontium Dog: Down to Earth

* v
* t
* e

Games Workshop

Core games|

* Warhammer 40,000
* Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game
* Warhammer Age of Sigmar

Spinoff games|

* Adeptus Titanicus
* Aeronautica Imperialis
* Blood Bowl
* Necromunda
* Warcry
* Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team

Role-playing games|

* Dark Heresy
* Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay

Discontinued games|

* Advanced HeroQuest
* Assassinorum: Execution Force
* Battlefleet Gothic
* Chainsaw Warrior
* Confrontation
* Dark Future
* Dreadfleet
* Dungeonbowl
* Epic
* Gorkamorka
* Horus Heresy
* Inquisitor
* Judge Dredd (board)
* Judge Dredd (RPG)
* Kerrunch
* Man O' War
* Mordheim
* Space Fleet
* Space Hulk
* Tyranid Attack
* Talisman
* Ultra Marines
* Warhammer
* Warhammer Quest
* The Warlock of Firetop Mountain
* Warmaster

Publications|

* White Dwarf
* Battle Games in Middle-earth
* Owl and Weasel
* Warlock
* Black Library

Non-Warhammer video games|

* Apocalypse: The Game of Nuclear Devastation
* Battlecars
* D-Day
* Tower of Despair
* Chaos: The Battle of Wizards
* Talisman
* Chainsaw Warrior
* Dark Future: Blood Red States

Company|

* Citadel Miniatures
* Forge World
* BL Publishing
* Specialist Games

Events|

* Games Day
* Golden Demon

People|

* Steve Jackson
* Ian Livingstone
* Bryan Ansell
* Adrian Smith
* John Blanche
* Alan and Michael Perry
* Jervis Johnson
* Andy Chambers
* Rick Priestley

Related products|

* List of video games
* HeroQuest
* Space Crusade
* Battle Masters
* Fighting Fantasy
* Chaos League

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