Cool Trek Stuff: Redshirts The Game, Redshirts The Novel + Actual Red Shirts

Star Trek’s ill-fated "red shirt" crewmen who were unfortunate enough to beam down to some hostile planet with Kirk, Spock and/or McCoy have inspired some new interesting (albeit unofficial) merchandise. Today we can share a new "Redshirts" card game, an upcoming "Redshirts" novel and (of course) a new Redshirts-inspired red shirt. Check out all the red shirt fun stuff below.

 

Redshirts – The Game

The goal of the new "Redshirts" card game (available now at ThinkGeek) is to "Kill ’em all . . . and win!" Here is the official description:

There are monsters out there so powerful, missions so insurmountable, and galaxies so vast that the only way to conquer them is to throw wave after wave of subordinates at the problem until their mangled bodies clog the gears and pave the way for your success! Also, if you’re heading down on a new planet, it’s best to take some cannon fodder – you know, just to get a nice buffer of targets between you and whatever it is you’re after. If you understood any of that, you’ll love the Redshirts Card Game!

The goal of the Redshirts Card Game is very simple: first person to kill off all their redshirts wins! It’s a fast-paced, screw-yer-friends sort of game. Full of tongue in cheek humor, Redshirts is just plain fun. Just look at the mission at hand . . . and then pick the people with the worst chance of succeeding! Only when all your redshirts have been eliminated will you be a happy captain. Kill ’em all first and you win! The Redshirts Card Game – "To boldly eliminate your crew like no captain has done before!"

And here is a look at the set:

Featuring art by StarTrek.com and Roddenberry.com’s David Reddick, Redshirts is for 2-7 players (ages 14 and up) and a game should take you about an hour (more or less). The set includes 108 cards and a rulebook. The set costs $19.99 at ThinkGeek.

Redshirts – The Book

The next bit of Red Shirt fun comes in the forum of the upcoming novel "Redshirts," from Hugo-nominee John Scazli (of the "Old Man’s War" series). The satirical novel is not set in the Star Trek universe, but neither was "Galaxy Quest." Here is the blurb for the book:

Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship’s Xenobiology laboratory.

Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the fact that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces, (2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations, and (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.

Not surprisingly, a great deal of energy below decks is expended on avoiding, at all costs, being assigned to an Away Mission. Then Andrew stumbles on information that completely transforms his and his colleagues’ understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is…and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives.

And here is the cover.

"Redshirts" comes out on June 5th. There will also be an audio version which will be voiced by Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Wil Wheaton (date: TBA). You can read an excerpt at Tor.com. You can pre-order the hardcover: Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas for $16.16 at Amazon.com
(or the Kindle version for $14.91).

Redshirts – The Shirts

Of course how can we talk about Redshirt merchandise without talking about actual shirts? FSC Tees is currently offering their "He’s Dead, Jim" Red Shirt-inspired Tee.

FSCTEES is one of those places that offers just one design at a time for a limited period. The deadline to order is midnight, Friday May 25th (PST). The shirt is available in men’s and women’s sizes for just $15 at www.fsctees.com.

Now if you miss out on the FSCTEES red shirt shirt, there is always the
"Expendible" Red Shirt
from ThinkGeek, which is available now and doesn’t have a time limit.  

The "Expendible" red shirt comes in various sizes for men and women and costs $19.99-$21.99 (depending on size).

And if you find yourself in a red shirt on an away mission with the senior bridge crew…duck.

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Love em.

Briliant

Looks like fun!

Yes brilliant!! Life as seen through red eyes!! :D

My favorite red shirt is the one that has “Red Shirt” on it.

Anyway, I might check out that novel.

The best RED SHIRT was the martini cocktail that you used to get at The Experience in Las Vegas. They had it on the menu when they first opened up for a few years. Matt or Darren or Jeef or Shannon, etc would still make it for you if you asked for it. I have to say that it was a bold drink, which explains why the Red Shirts were so calm when they got hit with a Klingon distrupter.

I think that FSCTEES Redshirt would be even better if it had femurs for nacelles, since it already looks like the artist made the top of the skull like the saucer section with the placement of NCC-1701.

Ah, the RED SHIRT. Made with Malibu, cranberry juice and Red Bull. A favorite of security guards. Helps them pass the time in their quarters trying to avoid landing party duty….

:-)

CBS lawyers are salivating….

Ordered 2 copies of the book, because it comes out on my dad’s birthday, and I ordered one of the shirts (which are now no longer available).

Red Shirt Trivia: To my knowledge, in original STAR TREK Scotty was the only redshirt to have died and not be the worse for it.