Parsons, KS. – November 24, 2009
-- Spectrum Games announces new card game, Urban Manhunt.

Spectrum Games is pleased to announce the imminent release of Urban Manhunt, a non-collectible card game that brings to life a violent death sport of the early 22nd century.

This death sport is, as you might have guessed, Urban Manhunt. Following a terrorist attack on Chicago in 2021, the government has been using the city as a prison for the absolute lowest dregs of humanity, reserving prisons for the more mundane manner of criminals. It wasn't long before the entertainment world devised a way to take advantage of the situation. The idea was a simple one: highly-trained mercenaries would be dropped into the city and would then compete against each other to see who could "eliminate" the most criminals. The sport exploded onto the scene and has since become a mainstay in pop culture, with the Hunters being treated as national celebrities.
 
According to Spectrum President, Cynthia Celeste Miller, "This game is definitely an homage to the near-future movies of the 1970s and '80s – The Running Man, Escape From New York, The Warriors, etc. I wanted it to be bleak and dystopian, but also a bit on the campy side. It has a strong satirical edge to it."

In Urban Manhunt, each player takes on the role of a Hunter. The one who eliminates the largest amount of criminals (called crims) before time runs out will stand victorious. This is accomplished by moving to different areas of the desolate concrete jungle and tracking down crims using your wits and cunning. Then, it's only a matter of subduing or killing them. But the city is huge and it's no easy task to locate crims. Danger lurks around every corner and from within every nook and cranny.
 
Says Miller: "The gameplay is fast, yet strategic, and offers numerous options for tactics. It creates a unique dynamic in that the players don't directly confront one another. They're all running around the city, trying to eliminate as many crims as possible. Of course, the cards make it so that they can affect the other players, but there's no direct combat between them. The crims are primarily controlled by the game system itself, which adds yet another intriguing level of gameplay."

Urban Manhunt will be available in PDF format in December 2009, allowing the customer to print the cards out and play. If a card gets damaged, it's not a big deal, as it can easily be printed out again. Spectrum plans to release actual cards separately in the near future.

Miller elaborates, "The cost of printing cards is beyond our budget at this point. One print-on-demand company offers card printing, but at this point, it's not feasible for us."  

A low-resolution version of the rulebook can be downloaded here: http://spectrum-games.com/Documents/UrbanManhuntRulebook_low-rez.pdf.

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Spectrum Games was founded in 2001 and has since published many products, including Cartoon Action Hour, Omlevex, Tomorrow Knights, Slasher Flick, Midway City and Cartoon Action Hour: Season 2, some of which have been nominated for various awards. Visit us on the web at //www.spectrum-games.com.

Awesome news.

Quote from: CynthiaCM;344782Urban Manhunt will be available in PDF format in December 2009, allowing the customer to print the cards out and play. If a card gets damaged, it's not a big deal, as it can easily be printed out again. Spectrum plans to release actual cards separately in the near future.

Miller elaborates, "The cost of printing cards is beyond our budget at this point. One print-on-demand company offers card printing, but at this point, it's not feasible for us."  

I'm not sure I get the idea here. It's too expensive for the publisher to print cards on demand, but players should print from the pdf files in order to play? Why is it going to be more feasible for players than for the company? Something doesn't make sense.

CCM: I know it's a copy/paste of an official announcement but it's a bit weird that you quote yourself using the third person...

Quote from: boulet;344882I'm not sure I get the idea here. It's too expensive for the publisher to print cards on demand, but players should print from the pdf files in order to play? Why is it going to be more feasible for players than for the company? Something doesn't make sense.

Because the customer can print them on regular paper or cheap card stock and put them in card protectors. The company has to have professional card printing done. I would have to charge at least $30 to make it a viable product to produce in that way, as it has 120 cards.

It's also of importance that we're also including a printer-friendly version of the cards for those needing to conserve on ink.

QuoteCCM: I know it's a copy/paste of an official announcement but it's a bit weird that you quote yourself using the third person...

I agree, but I'm afraid it's kind of unavoidable.