The art of Simon Stålenhag, whose striking images of Scandinavia in the 80s and 90s have inspired a series of tabletop RPGs and Amazon Prime in two narrative art books,

Tales From the Loop - The Board Game is the latest in a long line of board game titles that have been published in the past.

Tales From the Loop - The Board Game once again juxtaposes the mundane with the bizarre, putting players in the shoes of a typical suburban teenager investigating unusual events caused by the "loop," a particle accelerator built beneath the town.

The game seems to retain many RPG elements from previous titles. Teens have special skills, weaknesses, and unique items, and more can be found by digging into their roots. Perhaps you will find a robotic glove somewhere in the woods. Depending on the scenario, different rumors may need to be investigated, and eventually a major threat must be uncovered and stopped.

Along with the weirdness created by the loops, there are also plenty of autonomous machines in this other 80s. They have their own AI routines and react differently to the player depending on their state and role. There are Workers, Wardens, Watchers, and Warriors, and fortunately they can all be hacked.

The mundane aspects of Stålenhag's world are reflected in the teenagers' school and home life. They have families and friends and relationships that the game tracks. They may break curfews or ignore chores, but there are consequences for not following the rules.

It is difficult to get people to commit to tabletop RPGs, so I have made little use of them. Thankfully, this is not all bad, as the book is also a great art book. But it would probably be much easier to convince people to devote a few hours to a board game.

You can see how it all comes together in the demo below.

Tales From the Loop launched its Kickstarter campaign today and has already reached its goal in just a few hours. The launch is scheduled for May 2021, but you don't have to wait or pledge. A print-and-play version is available now that includes everything you need to play, including board, cards, markers, and rules, as long as you have a printer.

You'll have to wait until next year to get a miniature of the wonderful machine. I love it.