The best Nickelodeon cartoons from the ‘90s are coming back as board games

If you’re the right age to remember the golden age of kids’ cartoons on Nickelodeon in the 1990s, here’s some news that’s either going to make you smile with wistful reminiscence or grumble about the exploitation of your childhood nostalgia.

Some of the TV channel’s best-loved shows and characters are coming back in a series of board games created by IDW, which has been busy recently announcing tabletop versions of everything from The Legend of Korra and Planet of the Apes to retro video games from Atari.

The upcoming Nickelodeon games are described as harkening back to its output from two decades ago (Christ, we’re old), specifically naming Rugrats, Invader Zim, Spongebob SquarePants, The Wild Thornberrys, Hey Arnold!, CatDog, The Angry Beavers, Rocket Power, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, The Ren & Stimpy Show and Rocko’s Modern Life as among the characters joining the line-up.

Intriguingly, the games won’t just be based on each show separately – in fact, the first title out of the partnership will be Nickelodeon Splat Attack!, a team game that involves characters from various different cartoons having a food fight together. It’ll involve plastic miniatures of the characters, so get ready to seek out the brightest yellow you can for Spongebob Squarepants.

Due out in April next year, Splat Attack! is being designed by Michael Gray, co-creator of 1975 classic Dungeon!, and Daryl Andrews, half of the teams behind Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Showdown and Outpost: Siberia.

There’s not much more to go on, but IDW VP of new product development Jerry Bennington made no attempt to hide the heavy nostalgia factor that will be in play with the new games.

“There are very few properties that manage to induce nostalgia while also still being incredibly relevant,” he said.

“Nickelodeon has managed to curate and maintain a menagerie of properties that does just that; allow for the nostalgia of shows like Rugrats and Hey Arnold! while still being endlessly entertaining today.”