Attack of the Mutants!

About this board game

Attack of the Mutants! is a two-player board wargame from 1981, designed for a 60-minute clash between heroic survivors and a campus membership transformed by the Big Melt-Down of 1993.

Set in a wonderfully campy 1950s B-movie science-fiction horror world, the game pits Professor Applegate, Penny, Buck, the professor’s robots, and other stereotypes against waves of mutant creatures. Frenzied movement through polished corridors, howling pursuits, and desperate attempts to save Penny are all part of the scenario.

The mutants appear in three varieties: normal, radio-active, and leader. Both the map and setup are randomized for replayability, with movable Wall counters helping create a changing campus layout. An optional rule adds hidden movement for players who want more uncertainty.

Each game lasts 10 turns, and victory centers on the Tech Room. A gate there has been opened to an unpolluted, Earth-like planet, offering the “normies” a possible escape. The mutants win if they reach the control room within the 10-turn limit, while the opposing side’s victory depends on control of this crucial location.

• Players: 2
• Playing time: 60 minutes
• Includes a 25-by-12-inch board, 133 counters, a reference card, and a five-page rulebook
• A simplified version was also shipped free with Yaquinto orders, using a 25-room college map on an 11-by-17-inch sheet

With its randomized layout, eccentric characters, and pulpy mutant siege, Attack of the Mutants! delivers a distinctive light-hearted science-fiction conflict focused on movement, pursuit, and control of the Tech Room.