Saturday, September 21, 2013

IDOL PURSUITS: SPECIAL EDITION:
The DOCTOR STRANGE BOARD GAME
(That YOU can now PRINT out and PLAY!)

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Introductory page to:
DOCTOR STRANGE’s
HAUNTED PATHWAYS
The Game of Mystic Mindrot

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“WHAT-the-wha…? A DOCTOR STRANGE BOARD GAME”, I hear the collective crowd exclaim, incredulously.

Yes! And, as a point of fact, a DOCTOR STRANGE BOARD GAME that was OFFICIALLY produced by MARVEL COMICS!

“Who-in-the-WHAT-now?!”, You all stammered, as one….

Yes! I am quite serious. There is a DOCTOR STRANGE BOARD GAME.

“WHY didn’t I ever hear of such a thing? HOW is such a thing possible? WHEN did this miraculous event occur?”, I heard you say, while completing the rest of the ‘5 “W’s” of proper questioning’.

I know what you’re thinking. “Whoever green-lit this project would have to be… CRAZY!

And y’know what…? You’d be 100% correct!


Printed in the pages of CRAZY # 88 (a “SUPER SPECIAL” issue) by Marvel Comics (magazine division) back in July 1982, there was presented all the makings of an honest-to-goodness paper-craft DOCTOR STRANGE BOARD GAME!


My hand-colored figures and a close-up of my home-made box (from the early 1980's) for
DOCTOR STRANGE’s
HAUNTED PATHWAYS
The Game of Mystic Mindrot
Written by Steve Skeates.
Art by Steve Mellor



Complete with: spinner, multiple decks of cards, the game-board itself (because it can’t really be a board game if there isn’t a game board), rules, game pieces, and, of course, for the very reason that this is an “IDOL PURSUITS” post… FIGURE STANDEES!




But not just any old paper figures of ordinary people. Oh no! These are papercraft figures of:
 DOCTOR STRANGE
CLEA
DORMAMMU
&
BARON MORDO
!!!
(AND the game pointer is the
G’URANTHIC GUARDIAN!!!)

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(NOTE: For MORE info on the "IDOL PURSUITS" series of posts, and a review of every entry thus far, see the post just prior to this one  [HERE].)
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And so I present to you, in all its glory…
DOCTOR STRANGE’s
HAUNTED PATHWAYS:
The Game of Mystic Mindrot

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For your entertainment pleasure, I’ve scanned in the entire game pages (game board, pieces, instructions, etc) and digitally cleaned it all up to high-quality standards (available for download below).

You can either save the files and color them digitally (if you have the knack [and art software]) –or- print these out and color them in the more traditional manner (crayons, colored pencil, magic marker… heck, turn them into oil paintings, Picasso).

I still have my original set, which was from when this book was only a scant few months old. There were no fancy computers then, ya young whippersnappers, so we colored things with markers of magic, and THAT WAS THE WAY WE LIKED IT! Uh… sorry. I have the sudden urge to chase kids offa my lawn.

Now where was I?
Oh yes… My old set is shown here (at the top of this post) - for authenticity's sake - in a makeshift box and all hand-colored and pasted together. I have the urge to redo it all digitally now… and since I made these scans, I think I will!

Oh, you want to know what the game is about?
Well, it’s about obtaining perfect enlightenment as a Master of the Mystic Arts - or – falling into the grip of MADNESS and being locked away in an asylum!
See? FUN!

Here, let me allow Doctor Strange himself to explain it all in the accompanying comic strip (before and after the assorted game pieces).

*IMPORTANT: HIGH RESOLUTION SCANNED JPGS CAN BE DOWNLOADED BY CLICKING THE "DOWNLOAD PAGE" LINK, UNDER EACH PAGE.

THE IMAGES SHOWN HERE ARE LOW-RES MERELY FOR YOU TO VIEW.

REMEMBER: HIGH RESOLUTION SCANNED JPGS CAN BE DOWNLOADED BY CLICKING THE "DOWNLOAD PAGE" LINK, UNDER EACH PAGE.
(to download nice, quality scans to color and print)

OR
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE WHOLE BATCH AT ONCE
AT THIS LINK:
HERE




















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The ONLY part of assembling your very own version that MAY be even the slightest bit difficult is to align the FRONT and BACK of the playing cards (POWER CARDS, ASTRAL PLAYIN' CARDS, DISABILITY CARDS & TREATMENT CARDS). Your best bet is to print them out, cut out the BLOCK of cards (ignoring all the rest of the stuff on the page), and then make sure the edges line up. If the edges line up then the cards should line up, front-to-back (-or- hold them up to a light-source - on a window, or a lightbox, to see if they match up). Then use a glue stick or spray glue and reset together back-to-back. Then, cut them out on the dotted lines, and you'll have your cards!
If you're technically adept and want to align them on your computer and print out double-sided, well... aren't YOU fancy?!
And speaking of fancy... I'd highly recommend bringing the GAME BOARD file to your local copy shoppe to have them print it out on nice glossy stock (or even mount it onto some board)!

Anyway, the game is oodles of fun (if frustrating torture is your idea of a good time). I didn’t have anyone with whom to play this game when it first came out, so I pretty much had to play with myself (uh, wait…). It wasn’t until many years afterwards that I tested the love of my then-girlfriend by having her play with me (now WAIT a minute… I mean THE GAME! Perverts). She wasn’t all that excited by the game, but she seemed to still like ME enough to marry me a few years later. As I recall, I won the game and I won her heart.
So there ya have it! Play this game and find true love – guaranteed! (Note: Guarantee of love is not binding or in any way meant as a guarantee. Let’s face it, you’re about to slap together a home-made board game. No one is gonna find that sexy. Not even nerd-sexy. Good luck.)

So what’cha waiting for?

Begin YOUR exciting quest for ENLIGHTENMENT (or INSANITY)... NOW!

ENJOY!

7 comments:

Howard Hallis said...

This is why we have the internet.

Now to just get folks to sit and play the game with you!

Joe P said...

This is amazing! Thanks! Now, to find someone willing to play it with me....

Anonymous said...

I had this issue of Cracked when I was a kid! Swear to God! (Or should I say, I swear by the Vishanti) I'd completely forgotten about this. I never got the game up and going, since my friends were all illiterate anyway, but I loved the art. Hilarious!

Jason Shayer said...

That's pretty wild, even for the 1980s! I'm off to put away those sharp scissors...

Anonymous said...

This is awesome. Same problem: no one to play with me. (Maybe if I find my Master of Mystic Arts? What woman can resist a doctor?) Thanks for sharing! With stuff like this for Dr. Strange, I wonder how the heck he ever fell out of favor with Marvel.

Rohit Raj said...

This is very awesome game. This is the best strategy board games, i ever played. Thank you so much.

Jonty said...

This is one of the
best board games for kids. Kids can enjoy very much while playing this game. Thanks a lot.

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