With the release for Fallout 4 drawing nearer, anticipation for the upcoming installment in Bethesda's popular post-apocalyptic franchise is sure to reach a fever pitch soon. In the meantime, many fans of the RPG are whiling away the hours until the game drops by crafting their own Fallout-related material or by revisiting older titles in the series. One fan decided to share his affinity for the title by building a homemade Pip-Boy using a 3D printer that utilizes smartphones for its display screen. And just recently, one seriously hardcore gamer took it upon himself to play through Fallout: New Vegas in its entirety and beat it without healing.
It goes without saying that Fallout's unique qualities and quirky sensibilities are what draw people to the series, and in turn, they're what spark the fans' ingenuity. The irradiated title has even appeared as an incredibly detailed Minecraft mod. Now, over the course of about a week, a Reddit user going by the handle KongoBoom is getting closer to completing a rather elaborate version of Monopoly inspired by Fallout: New Vegas.
The aesthetics of the New Vegas-themed board game are extremely well done, for it appears weathered and worn with a sepia hue washing away most of the bright colors, as most items would look in the Wasteland's desert setting. Also, the high and low-rent property prices are impeccably chosen, as the fan-made tabletop game pays close attention to the narrative of New Vegas, and perfectly ascribes the monetary value of each habitat and location. As one would expect, Camp Searchlight – AKA "City of the Dead" due to its high levels of radiation – is Baltic Avenue, while The Strip is Boardwalk.
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The most clever aspect might be that the Chance and Community Chest cards have been relabeled Luck (a Fallout character's SPECIAL attribute) and Lockpick, respectively. The nod to Poseidon Energy taking the place of the Electric Company square and Lake Mead replacing the Water Works utility are also pretty ingenious. Not to mention, the leap from shacks to a casino listed on the properties' renovation selections is quite funny. And while bottle caps would be apropos currency, for the sake of keeping it as true to Monopoly standards as possible, KongoBoom explains in the Reddit thread that NCR money, pre-war money, and Legion Denarius and Aureus will be used instead.
Fans making their own custom Monopoly boards based on video games is not a new concept. Several years ago, an artist made a meticulously detailed Mass Effect Monopoly tabletop. Having said that, the above Fallout: New Vegas creation is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Maybe KongoBoom can pitch this to Hasbro and Bethesda to have it added as an included feature into some sort of ultimate collector's edition of Fallout Anthology after it releases this September.
Fallout: New Vegas is available for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.