Elden Ring’s New Board Game Explained

Developer FromSoftware’s Game of the Year 2022 IP has forayed into the tabletop format as Elden Ring: The Board Game. It has been crafted by Steamforged Games, an acclaimed board game creator with years of experience developing original content and adaptations. The title hopes to become one of the highest-rated board games based on video game adaptations, and it may have a shot. Between the sets and their detailed campaigns, the in-depth scenarios, cards, and detailed miniatures, there’s a lot that it has going for it.

What makes the Elden Ring board game one to watch is that it has been extensively workshopped throughout its Kickstarter journey over the past couple of years. The reception so far aligns with that of the video game: it’s complex, fun, and unerringly challenging.

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Elden Ring: The Board Game – Editions And Components Explained

All Sets And Expansions Of Elden Ring: The Board Game

Here’s a look at the Elden Ring board game’s sets, expansion packs, and cosmetics:

• Realm of the Grafted King core set
• Weeping Peninsula set
• Stormveil Castle set
• Flying Dragon Agheel expansion
• Erdtree Avatar expansion
• Limgrave Depths expansion
• Iron Fist Alexander model
• Spirit Ashes cosmetic upgrade
• Dual-Layer Player Board cosmetic upgrade

The Elden Ring board game’s Realm of the Grafted King core set is the biggest of the bunch, coming in with 50+ hours of campaign. Meanwhile, the latter two clock in 20+ hours of nuanced playtime. While all three are standalone sets, they can be played together for an extended campaign. The expansions have primarily been designed for the Realm of the Grafted King set. The cosmetic upgrades, on the other hand, work with all three sets.

Steamforged Games’ Elden Ring: The Board Game website mentions all the items listed above, but the product pages and prices aren’t available at the moment. The sets and expansions are available for preorder via stores such as Board Game Bliss, Cardhaus Games, and Zulu’s Board Game Cafe.

Pieces In Elden Ring: The Board Game

Steamforged Games’ Elden Ring board game comes with an exhaustive number of resources, meticulously designed for a complex, long-running campaign. There’s more than just cards and hex tiles here — players also get a bunch of character and enemy figurines. The level of detail makes them ripe for painters and collectors, and Margit, The Fell Omen’s character model from the Realm of the Grafted King core set is a particular highlight. The Elden Ring board game’s major parts include:

• Four player figurines (a couple of starting classes differ across the sets), and a bunch for enemies scaling through to a major boss
• Cards for player and boss items, NPCs, materials, etc.
• Hex tiles to form the map
• Encounter books, a rule book, and a scenario book
• Tokens for Elden Ring dungeons, Stake of Marika, HP and FP flasks, etc.
• Character sheets

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How Elden Ring: The Board Game Works

Overview of Elden Ring: The Board Game’s Gameplay

Steamforged Games has years of experience in creating original tabletop content and adapting video games, including the previous FromSoftware series, Dark Souls. Naturally, the Elden Ring board game’s gameplay can be difficult for newcomers, with a campaign that runs on for hours. Each playthrough is divided into five sections: Narrative, Exploration, Dungeon, Gauntlet, and Boss Fight.

Playing the game entails going through the scenario book to understand the narration, choosing which cards to pick, what makes up each scenario, how to approach everything there, and what to do on success or failure. Here’s what a typical Elden Ring board game session looks like:

1. Players begin a scenario alone or with a party of up to four.
2. They choose a class and draw the corresponding cards for armor, weapons, traits, and so on.
3. Each player draws a random map tile. They connect them to the existing hexes and go along the route.
4. Throughout the run, they engage with Hardships (encounters) and dungeons, meet with NPCs and merchants, activate Sites of Grace, etc.
5. The goal is to complete the specific scenario listed in the scenario book with all players alive. If anyone dies, and they don’t have a Stake of Marika token, the scenario fails and the party must restart.
6. Upon completing a scenario successfully, members can upgrade themselves and their equipment in exchange for Runes.

The Elden Ring board game’s gameplay can certainly be daunting; the huge number of cards (1000+) and items present are thoroughly detailed and need attention. Nevertheless, the experience neatly depicts a Soulslike adventure. It contains all the important aspects, such as risky decisions, bloody combat, and grim adventures. It’s something that fans of the biggest board games available should consider trying, even if they aren’t Elden Ring players.

Combat In Elden Ring: The Board Game

The combat in Elden Ring‘s board game is challenging. Given the tabletop genre, everything from turns in a fight to resources garnered earlier are randomized. Players do get a lot of choice — risky decisions can be rewarding — but resource management and strategy are key here as well. After all, the possible moves are still limited, no matter the extensive options available.

For starters, a player may engage an enemy alone while their teammates are still exploring the map. If someone does want to join in, they will need to use an Effigy of the Martyr token. If they don’t have one, they can’t be present. These low-level encounters are different from standard Elden Ring boss fights, dungeons, and gauntlets, which engage everyone as a group. The Elden Ring board game’s combat here is a bit different, but it still hits hard.

Here are a few salient features of the Elden Ring board game’s combat:

• The grids in the encounter books are marked as follows: Critical Hit (draw Attribute card and discard one), Reposition (change the order of attack), Stand Fast (draw and discard an Attribute card), Armoured (do -1 damage), and Critical Hit/Powerful Attack (cannot reduce damage taken).
• The order of moves is based on Initiative cards, and the bosses hit multiple times (dependent on the number of players in the party).
• Players can take only three moves each turn. They might choose from an Action card, reposition, summon Spirit Ashes, and more.
• They can augment their weapons to increase attack power and have additional effects. These come in clutch against the hardest Elden Ring bosses.

Naturally, just like the original game, the Elden Ring: The Board Game‘s combat requires good resource management and decisiveness. Players can freely discuss their moves, but the game’s inherent Soulslike nature means they will die often and quickly.

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Released

February 25, 2022

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence