My self-appointed mission at USAopoly is to tap into and connect our community with that amazing feeling we all shared as children when we saw our favorite movie for the first time or the deep emotion we hold for our favorite toy or game. These are our emotional touchstones that we still carry with us today. Gamers, collectors and pop culture fans are consciously (or subconsciously) driven by these touchstones and we will spend the rest of our lives trying to recreate these feelings to satisfy our caveman brains.

Growing up, I was a big fan of the original Star Trek® series. My brother and I would watch all of the reruns whenever we got the chance. We had the Mego action figures, (‘they’re not dolls, Mom…”) the Mego Enterprise Bridge playset and all of the AMC model kits. These consisted of various ships, 1/1  phaser, tricorder and communicators, all hastily glued and painted so we could get them into action on our front yard missions. Wearing my gold velour Star Trek jersey, I was Captain Kirk and my brother was the logical yet brilliant sidekick, Mr. Spock. We spanned the galaxy battling Klingons, Romulans and new undiscovered aliens. The show sparked our childhood imaginations and also showed us the power of teamwork and how very different cultures and personalities could work together. I was always a fan of Captain Kirk; he was the definition of a real man was; a great leader, passionate, smart and able to bring his team together to successfully complete every mission.

All these years later I sat down and played USAopoly’s new Star Trek Panic® for the first time as a new employee and was instantly transported back to the front yard all those years ago where we were battling to keep our shields from failing and fighting Romulans hand-to-hand in the halls of the Enterprise. Everything I imagined, commanding and being part of the crew on a mission was delivered in the Star Trek Panic® game experience. In today’s age of Xbox One, PS4 and VR technologies, it was a traditional board game that brought all of the excitement, drama and intense action from the Star Trek series and my imagination to life. The game delivers on all fronts; strategy, action and teamwork mixed in with a constant variety of missions and scenarios. This game works well for the die-hard fan or for someone who has never seen an episode. The gameplay is easy to understand yet steeped in strategy and depth for replay ability. The secret is the different mission cards and wild cards thrown into each mission, and you can’t forget the awesome buildable Enterprise as well. The game experience successfully taps into my childhood imagination and delivers everything I thought it would be like to sit in the Captain’s chair on the deck of the USS Enterprise.

The most exciting part of the Star Trek Panic® game is that it is the tip of the iceberg on our delivering on my mission to connect our fellow pop culture fans. There are many exciting things coming from USAopoly over the next year, starting with FunEdibles® Star Trek vinyl figures available at GameStop this Fall. These are cute and funny mashups of our favorite pop culture characters mixed with another of our primal urges, good food! A lot of thought goes into each figure and Spock™ Tart, Captain Cup Kirk™ and Gorn™ Bread Muffin are just a few of the FunEdible results.  Stay tuned as we dive deep into everything fun, collectible and pop culture related. Thanks for joining us on the mission!