The Game Where You Could Get Rich By Accident: Have You Ever Played “13 Dead End Drive”?

The fun’s alive with this board game…and the conclusion of Board Game Month!

Previously, On Allison’s Written Words

We started off the month guessing the identity of a person on our card holder.  Later, we went on a shopping spree with our fake credit cards (which never produced real bills, certainly a fantasy 100% of us have, wouldn’t you agree?).  Then, we were strategically guessing where your giant sea-faring vessel is parked, so we could do away with it in an updated for the 80s-90s crowd version of a classic.  And last week, we frantically tried to beat the clock in another popular 1980s-1990s board game that required “perfection.”

This week, we’re wrapping up Board Game Month at Allison’s Written Words by going spooky with our board game selection, from our very 1990s childhood.  Perhaps you’ve played this one?

The House That People Are Dying To Get Into!

Yeah yeah.  *Eye roll* and such.

Anyway, the game…

Screenshot (144)

“13 Dead End Drive” is a game not at all unlike a pretty well-known who/where/with what-dun-it board game, created in 1993 by Milton Bradley.  An elderly woman’s death triggers a feud over who will inherit her fortune, but it is survival of the fittest among this dysfunctional group, as players attempt to kill off each person with a series of traps.

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Image: eBay

If “Clue” and “Mouse Trap” had a baby, “13 Dead End Drive” would be it.

The game was produced beginning in 1992, and received an update in 2002, called “1313 Dead End Drive.”  The noted differences in gameplay are that players steal moneybags by killing rivals, slightly different booby traps, and the addition of a super sudden end to the game: drawing the “Clock Strikes Midnight” card from the deck.  There is also an increase in heirs fighting it out in the mansion – sixteen, as opposed to twelve in the original version.

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Image: The Internet Antique Shop

Aunt Agatha is the dearly departed individual whose fortunes everyone is trying to get their hands on, and everyone from the lover (Beauregard III) to the hired help (Smothers, Dusty, Charity, Parker, Pierre, and Hickory), to friends (Lulu), people who provided services (Spritzy, Clay, and Madame Astra), right down to Agatha’s cat (Poopsie) are after the fortune!

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Image: Tumblr

If this were more like “Clue,” you’d suspect the cat did it.

The way to win the game is have your picture on the wall when the detective arrives (or escape the mansion while your photo is displayed),  or be the last character standing after all the traps have done away with the other characters.

I wonder how many people can say “the cat got the inheritance.”

Allow Board Game Museum to show you the game and all its workings/trappings!

They also covered the sequel game, which I never knew existed until I started doing research on the original game.

So, the question of course remains…

Did Allison Play “13 Dead End Drive”?

The real fun of this game, much like “Mouse Trap,” is the setting of traps and then unleashing them on the dysfunctional group.  I remember the setup being particularly arduous, like “Mouse Trap” always was.  Setting off the traps was the most fun of the whole thing, and almost made up for how long it took to set up.  I don’t remember playing this often, but when we did, it was alot of fun!

The Game of Relative Danger Came Complete with Commercials!

Here’s the commercial for the original version of the game (from 1994), complete with puppets!

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And the commercial for the sequel…sans puppets!

Upload via that90sguy

And Now, You!

Have you ever played the game of relative danger before, either in its original form, or its sequel?  Did Aunt Agatha bequeath her fortune to your player?  And did Poopsie ever get the fortune in your experience?  Sound off in the comments below, or be social on social media!

I seriously would love to know if anyone else had this game, since I always felt like we were the only kids in the class to own it!

Board Game Month is over, but November is right around the corner.  Of course that means new theme!  Come by the blog’s Facebook page on Monday night at 10 pm EST for an unveiling of the next theme!

Have a great day, and be suspicious of both chandeliers and white fluffy cats.

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Image: Tumblr

I wish I were kidding.

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