The Fugitive Game from Ideal (1964)

Company: Ideal | Release date: 1964 | # of players: 2-4 | Where to purchase: eBay

Released in 1964 by Ideal, The Fugitive Game brought the suspense of the popular television series to the tabletop.

The Fugitive aired on ABC for four seasons from 1963 to 1967. The drama followed Dr Richard Kimble, a physician wrongfully accused of killing his wife, as he evaded authorities while searching for the real killer, identified as the “one-armed man”. The series inspired a 1993 feature film starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, as well as several television revivals.

GAMEPLAY

The objective of the spin-and-move board game was to be the first player to assemble a four-card illustration of the elusive one-armed man, with a background colour matching their pawn.

The game board featured a winding path connecting 32 American cities, including Atlanta, Des Moines, Detroit, and Tulsa. Each city space held a face-down fugitive card, that could reveal either an instruction, such as “lose one turn” or “take one card from board,” or a segment of the picture needed to complete the one-armed man illustration.

Players raced from city to city, in search of the four matching picture cards. The first player to assemble the complete image with the correct background colour won the game.

IN THE BOX

A complete game included the game board, four pawns (red, blue, yellow, and green), 32 Fugitive cards, and a spinner. Instructions were printed on the underside of the box top.

COLLECTOR CONSIDERATIONS

Ideal licensed quite a few television series for its board games. Examples include Dr. Kildare, The Twilight Zone Game, Mission: Impossible, The Hollywood Squares TV Game, and others.

Collectors should check that The Fugitive Game retains all 32 cards, four pawns, and the spinner, while also examining the game board and box for wear. Read How to Tell if a Vintage Board Game is Complete for additional guidelines on evaluating a vintage game before purchase.

Note: If you buy something using the eBay link in this story, we may earn a small commission. Thank you for supporting independent toy journalism!