Two Bushwick Artists launched a Kickstarter this morning to raise funds for a satirical board game, Escape from Hell, inspired by the impending L Train Shutdown. Players start in East New York and advance by rolling dice to move their piece past many familiar locations in North Brooklyn. To win, you must be the first player to successfully reach Manhattan.
The game’s creators, Hunter Fine and Gil Arevalo both work as advertising copywriters, but have a passion for projects outside of work. Fine is known for his tongue and cheek projects including Squeakeasy instillations, Hipster Traps, and the web-series, Hikea, where people take drugs and put together complicated Ikea furniture.
The project’s inspiration comes from a place that many of us can understand—coping with the uncertainty of the L Train Shutdown in February.
Fine said, “Both of us live off the L train and have no idea what’s going to happen after the shutdown this year. We thought coming up with a project that explored the possibilities would be fun to do. At first, we were going to make an escape room simulating the shutdown but that was too hard to pull off, so we came up with the idea for the board game.”
“The morning commute struggle will be real and this coping mechanism will help you find the humor in the pain,” said Fine. “We both like to create projects outside of work and thought this one was very timely.”
Players of the game choose a token and roll dice to move their player down a winding path from East New York to Williamsburg, where they must cross the river into the city. If they land on a “Draw Card” space they’ll have to pick up a card that gives them some Hell.
“Each card gives a comical reason why the person has to move back,” the creator explained. “Whether their ex shows up in their carshare, the ferry accidentally took them to the Rockaways, their bike got stuck in gridlock on the Williamsburg Bridge, and many others.”
The board itself is colorfully illustrated and features many familiar landmarks including Domino Sugar Factory and House of Yes.
The two artists hope to raise $2,500, which is enough to make the 100-game minimum order and will reduce their cost of production.
“We hope that people will play the game before the L shuts down and realize just how f**cked we all are,” Fine said. “There are so many things that can go wrong!”
As if any of us need a reminder…
Cover Image Provided by Hunter Fine