Chicago-based Transit Tees, a creative group that designs Chicago-focused products and games, announced the launch of its Target: Rats Game, the first board game inspired by the back-alley rat warning posters familiar to any Chicagoan. It’s also a timely coincidence that Chicago has once again been named the rat capital of the nation for the eighth year in a row. This game is perfect for adults who enjoy a challenging, eat-or-be-eaten strategy game peppered with references to Chicago culture and urban history. Players can use the simplified rules for a faster game and family-friendly play ideal for ages 8 and up.
In the Target: Rats Game each player is on a mission to multiply their rat family, build new nests, and be crowned Da Big Cheese - the rat ruler who sits atop a golden throne of Chicago deep dish pizza. To multiply, rats must scurry around the surface in search of Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, tamales and other delicacies left in the dumpster. But the wrong move could be disastrous if they cannot dodge the cats, hawks, and garbage trucks out to get them. Even worse, the dreaded exterminator may appear to destroy rats, nests, and food sources.
Underground, rats can escape from the exterminator and find legendary items like the Pigeon Call, which have special powers. But surprising dangers like sewer gators also lurk in the dark tunnels beneath Chicago’s streets. If the rats make it to Rat City at the center of the underground, one of them may be crowned Da Big Cheese and assume his powers over the rats of the city. Until Da Big Cheese secures his power by controlling three nests, other rat families may pick a fight and steal the throne.
Designed with a nostalgic graphic style, the game includes dozens of references to Chicago traditions. On the board, wooden rat pawns move between the rings of a target along three levels: the surface, the underground, and the bullseye center of Rat City where the rat ruler, Da Big Cheese, lives. A surface deck and event deck help determine what will happen to the rats, depending on their location on the board. The first player to build three nests and become Da Big Cheese wins!
“The Target: Rats board game was born from that universal Chicago experience of seeing the rat poster in your back alley. In this fast-paced strategy game with lots of references to Chicago foods and traditions, you build a rat family and try to capture control of Rat City,” said Tim Gillengerten, owner of Transit Tees. “We love making games and products with a Chicago focus that our friends, families and Chicago fans will not only enjoy for the holidays but also for years to come.”
The Transit Tees’ Target: Rats Game retails for $45 and is available for presale online and in retail locations on Thursday, November 17th. Find it at both Transit Tees locations in Wicker Park (1371 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago) and Andersonville (5226 N. Clark Street, Chicago).
To be among the first to play the new Target: Rats Game, Transit Tees invites the public to attend the FREE launch event on Thursday, November 17 from 6-10 p.m. at Emporium Logan Square, 2363 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. Guests can play while enjoying drink specials throughout the night, plus traditional Chicago bites and a cash bar. Visit the website to learn how to RSVP to get your free ticket or upgrade to one of the premium packages that feature the board game, posters, and other Target: Rat-inspired products.
The Target: Rats Game follows the release of three wildly successful Transit Tees games: the Chicago Handshake Drinking Card Game (2021) as well as two games inspired by Chicago transportation, LOOP: The Elevated Card Game (2018) and EL: The Chicago Transit Adventure Board Game (2019). All have become Chicago favorites and bestsellers. Transit Tees also sells a variety of Chicago-themed artwork, home goods and apparel starting at $25 that make great holiday gifts.
The Target: Rats Game was locally conceptualized and designed in Transit Tees’ creative studio based in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago. This soon-to-be classic strategy board game celebrates the urban realities that connect us and the deep culture of the Windy City.
About Transit Tees
Transit Tees, founded in 2001 by Tim Gillengerten, takes visuals from Chicago's metropolitan landscapes and transforms them into games, fashionable artwork, accessories, home goods and apparel. Their most recent hit, the Chicago Handshake Drinking Card Game, launched in fall 2021. An official manufacturer for the Chicago Transit Authority, two recent games, the LOOP Card Game and EL Board Game, were also runaway successes. Transit Tees locally designs, fabricates, and retails their signature brand online and at two storefronts in Wicker Park and Andersonville. Most store items are created in their design studio and produced on-site by in-house artists and craftsmen. For more information, visit www.transittees.com.