Third Self-Published Wargame from YouTubers Saves the World from the Alien Menace

PRESS RELEASE

June 13, 2023 - MAJESTIC 13 is the third miniatures-agnostic wargaming ruleset from Snarling Badger Studios. Released on June 2, 2023, the game pits your team of five covert operatives against dangerous alien creatures trying to invade Earth. It’s available as a PDF or print-on-demand perfect bound softcover from www.majestic13game.com and fulfilled by Wargame Vault. There is also an optional card deck with stats for all the monsters and your base building information. The 50 cards are full color and tarot-sized and are printed on demand by DriveThruCards.

Using whatever modern or near-future miniatures they like, players can build their team of five covert operatives to fight against the alien menace that is threatening Earth. As members of one of the thirteen organizations of MAJESTIC 13, your soldiers will fight creatures from a list of more than two dozen Monstrosities, Ravagers, and Stalkers in procedurally generated missions and purpose-designed special missions. Players can engage in solo or co-op play with friends. Teams can also engage in military exercises against each other in adversarial skirmish mode.

There are 18 missions in the campaign for the solo and co-op game, giving MAJESTIC 13 extended replayability. Teams gain experience, equipment, and base expansions through battle, making them more adept over time, but the game can be punishing as well with random Bureaucracy and FUBAR events to contend with before and during encounters. It’s unlikely that team will make it through the game with no losses - but you have clones back at the base.

For over a decade, Adam Loper (Tabletop Minions) and Vince Venturella (Warhammer Weekly) have been talking about miniature wargaming on their YouTube channels. They started Snarling Badger Studios in late 2020 and released their first game - Reign in Hell - in May of 2021. Their second game - Space Station Zero - was released in August of 2022. To date, Reign in Hell and Space Station Zero have been bestsellers on Wargame Vault, each receiving an Adamantine sales badge and putting them in the top three games on the website, alongside Joseph A. McCullough’s Rangers of Shadow Deep.

“I’ve always been interested in UFO conspiracy theories and properties like X-Files and X-COM,” said Loper. “MAJESTIC 13 was a great chance to bring these themes and unique gameplay experiences to the wargaming space. It was also a great chance to use all the old typewriter fonts and redacted text and other conspiracy theory visual tropes in the book that I wanted to.”

"I grew up on shows like In Search Of with Leonard Nimoy and the X-Files," said Venturella. "This was a chance to really have fun with all the alien conspiracy theories while also integrating lots of unique mechanics into the game such as the focus on Bureaucracy as something to be overcome in the course of your missions. I wanted players to really feel like they were part of the world of MAJESTIC 13, so we built in elements like base building, heavy character advancement in the campaign mode, and of course, cool technology your team can eventually get their hands on to help them in their mission to defend the earth."

The game is available at www.majestic13game.com and through www.wargamevault.com - digitally in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) for $14 USD, and as a print-on-demand softcover book for $19 USD plus shipping. The game is 144 pages, the longest Snarling Badger Studios game yet. There’s also a 50-card tarot-sized deck as an optional accessory for the game with stats and abilities for all 26 alien creatures and cards for base building and expansion. The MAJESTIC 13 Add-on Deck is print-on-demand for $18 USD and at www.majestic13game.com and www.drivethrucards.com as well.

Snarling Badger Studios is the company started by Loper and Venturella to publish tabletop games. The website address is www.snarlingbadger.com and they’re also available at @snarlingbadgers on Twitter and Instagram.

Loper and Venturella can be reached for interviews, podcasts, and other inquiries at mail@snarlingbadger.com and media assets are available at www.snarlingbadger.com/media