Milwaukee band Socially Suspect has been bending the rules since 2022. Take one listen to the group’s 2023 single “6 To 2” and you’ll understand: Is the song grungy pop punk? Poppy grunge? What’s with the jazzy guitar solos? The “Radar Love”-esque chorus? Well, who cares! It works, it’s catchy as hell, and it’s always great to hear a band fudge the conventions of style and genre.
One area where Socially Suspect won’t be bending the rules, however, is its card game. Yep, that’s right: Socially Suspect made its own card game! Socially Suspect: Band Battle is a two-player, 60-card, Munchin-esque game where players experience the glamorous life of a DIY band. “Whichever band ends the night with the most cash wins—usually a pretty realistic $25-$30,” the band explains. “Each song is worth a different amount of money and most have unique effects, while ‘performance cards’ like ‘Mosh Pit’ or ‘Douchey Sound Guy’ can do things like raise or reduce a song’s payout by $1 or cause a band to skip their current song.”
In an Instagram post, Socially Suspect (Don Richter, Jonathon Sadowski, Tyler Potter, Tera Willis) explains the inspiration behind the game:
We’re all big fans of games like Munchkin, D&D, and Magic, and we want our merch to both represent who we are as a band AND be something people actually want. We’ve spent the last few months designing and playtesting this game and you’ll have to believe us when we say it’s actually a lot of fun. We hope you enjoy it once it’s unleashed upon the world.
Want to get your hands on Socially Suspect: Band Battle? It’ll be available for $20 at the group’s next show, Thursday, April 11 at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn. (Lunar Moth, The Living Johnsons, and Superglue are also on the bill.) Only 25 copies have been made, so don’t delay!
Also, no need to play the “Douchey Sound Guy” card at the Linneman’s show, because Jim is the best.
View this post on Instagram
Want more Milwaukee Record? Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter and/or support us on Patreon.