In recent years, few games have captured the gaming world’s attention quite like FromSoftware’s Elden Ring. Given the current trend of turning video games into board games, it was inevitable that this juggernaut would eventually make the leap to tabletops everywhere. Steamforged Games, known for adapting massive titles like Resident Evil, Monster Hunter World, and the iconic Dark Souls, accepted the challenge to bring Elden Ring to life in a new format. Following a successful crowdfunding campaign back in 2022, Elden Ring: The Board Game is now about to land in the hands of backers, with preorders open for everyone else. Calling all Tarnished—it’s time to rise and fight once more.
This board game takes you and your companions on a campaign journey, where you level up and enhance your characters as you unravel the story. Steamforged has crafted three distinct “campaigns” for players to dive into: Realm of the Grafted King, The Weeping Peninsula, and Stormveil Castle. The Grafted King serves as the broader “base game,” while the other two are standalone expansions. You can either tackle these expansions individually or continue the adventure from Grafted King, enhancing your characters as you progress. Each campaign offers a selection of unique classes—such as the Vagabond and Samurai among others—and depending on which set you choose, different adventure paths await.
Unboxing the game reveals a treasure trove of contents: fearsome miniatures, a plethora of cards, colorful cardboard tokens, diverse tiles, and several books packed with rules and scenario guides. Owning just one campaign already feels like a massive endeavor, leaving me both in awe of the detailed craftsmanship and eager to complete the set. Steamforged truly spared no expense in production quality—the miniatures exude detail, and the components are robust and satisfying to handle.
The scenarios within the game vary, providing a fresh experience each time you play. While not every scenario hits the mark perfectly, each one offers something unique. Narrative scenarios unfold the story, requiring you to make decisions and potentially perform skill checks. While these storytelling elements are well-executed, they don’t quite capture the same thrill for me as other aspects—I’d rather immerse myself in a book or dive into a Dungeons & Dragons campaign if I wanted a more narrative-driven experience.
Among the different types, Exploration scenarios are my personal standout. They capture the essence of discovery inherent in the source material, challenging players to reveal random tiles on the map as they complete quests. You might find enemies, hidden items, or other surprises waiting to be uncovered, enhancing the game’s replayability. This method, which mirrors other tile-revealing games, keeps the sense of exploration alive and engaging.
The game also includes three scenario types focused strictly on combat: Gauntlet, Dungeon, and Boss scenarios. These plunge players into intense battles with unique rules and culminate in formidable boss fights, testing your skills and strategy. Elden Ring emphasizes its combat-heavy nature with solid mechanics that never fail to thrill.
Combat unfolds on battlegrounds formed using ring-bound notebooks, with battles occasionally requiring multiple pages to create expansive fields. Positioning becomes crucial as players maneuver to optimize attacks while minimizing damage. The mechanic where strategic placement on the grid affects turn bonuses and damage modifiers often led to intense discussions among my friends and me as we planned our next moves against relentless foes.
The enemies come with their action cards, each detailing unique attacks and movements, which adds depth. Bosses carry their decks, switching up the combat dynamics entirely. The strategic layer these cards add—along with the nail-biting unpredictability of boss actions—keeps players on their toes, ensuring every encounter is an exciting challenge.
Breaking away from traditional dice, Elden Ring incorporates a card-driven system for combat. This unique approach aligns players’ decks with their character’s equipped gear, using additional decks to manage attributes and special effects. As expected from a campaign game, character progression features prominently, mirroring the video game’s class customization and upgrades. However, I found the Rune card tracking system a bit cumbersome; an alternate tracking method would greatly improve this aspect.
Starting out with the Stormveil Castle campaign proved daunting for first-timers like me, despite it being a standalone expansion. It’s structured with the assumption that players have completed earlier campaigns, which adds complexity for newcomers. The best place to start is with Realm of the Grafted King to ease into the world of Elden Ring.
For those intrigued by how video games translate into tactile experiences, Elden Ring: The Board Game is a noteworthy addition to the growing library of game adaptations. Whether you’re a seasoned tabletop enthusiast or stepping into this world for the first time, Elden Ring offers a compelling journey worth undertaking.
