When it’s time to unplug, shut off the TV and reduce screen time, board games always have your back when it comes to scratching that lingering escapist itch and drive to continue playing. Luckily, there exist countless board game tie-ins to some of the most popular video games around, and we’ve collected some of our favorites here. Whether you’re looking for a long-term campaign or a quick to setup party game, these board games will let you continue living in these worlds when you need a break from technology.
TL;DR – These Are the Best Video Game Board Games
- Sniper Elite
- Slay the Spire
- Bloodborne
- Resident Evil 2
- Dorfromantik
- Tetris
- Dark Souls the Board Game: The Sunless City
- Stardew Valley
- This War of Mine
- Elden Ring: The Board Game
- Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game
- Divinity: Original Sin the Board Game
Sniper Elite: The Board Game
Stealth games are a surprisingly good fit for a tabletop adaptation, thanks to the under-utilised genre of hidden movement, where one player records their board position secretly and only reveals themselves when they're visible to other players. As we discussed in our Sniper Elite: The Board Game review this is leveraged brilliantly here, as one player takes a lone sniper against the remainder who control squads of German soliders. Super production and tight timescales on each of the included scenarios elevates the tension magnificently as the sniper races to complete objectives while his hunters relentlessly scour the map to corner him.
Slay the Spire: The Board Game
Probably the one video game on this list most deserving of a board game tie-in, Slay the Spire takes after its digital roots by having players take on the role of one of the provided heroes and go on a Roguelike deck-building climb through the Spire. Like the video game, players will choose from a number of different rooms each with their own characteristics that will affect their game; encounters, where you’ll fight regular enemies, elites, where you’ll fight even stronger ones, events, campfires, treasure, the merchant, and finally the boss. By the nature of Roguelikes, Slay the Spire is sure to give players hours of enjoyment as they try different characters, builds, and items each time.
You can read our Slay the Spire: The Board Game review for more about this game.
Bloodborne: The Board Game
The Bloodborne board game sees players take on the role of Hunter as they fight to vanquish the evil stirring within Yharnam. As a campaign board game, Bloodborne offers players endless replay value, as no two sessions should be too alike with its modular map tiles. Featuring hundreds of various cards, tokens, and game pieces, this macabre adventure will test players’ skill and decision making as they uncover the secret to the unyielding plague and fight to stop it. Immersion is at the forefront here, and the game’s highly detailed miniatures ensure that you truly feel in their shoes.
Resident Evil 2: The Board Game
The success of the Resident Evil 2 tabletop adaptation paved the way for Steamforged Games to create similar experiences covering both the original Resident Evil and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis’ stories. However, much like the video games, Resident Evil 2 is arguably its best entry. Faithful to the source material, the game has players work cooperatively as they take control of either Leon S. Kennedy or Claire Redfield as they fight their way through hordes of zombies to make their escape in multiple available scenarios. Collect weapons, healing items, and keys as you navigate the environment, evade the undead, and solve puzzles. You can even use the iconic ink ribbons and typewriters to affect your sessions!
Dorfromantik: The Board Game
Not only is this delightfully cosy adaptation of a delightfully cost video game worth playing, it scooped the highly prestigious Spiel des Jahres award in 2023, after which we gave it a full review. Played co-operatively, players take one random hex at a time and find the best place to fit it into the growing landscape to satisfy a range of scoring conditions. While initially simple, it's surprisingly enthralling and the fantastic campaign system slowly unveils more and more new content to keep things entertaining without upping the smooth accessibility and visual appeal of the game.
Tetris Board Game
Also made by Buffalo Games, Tetris is a competitive head-to-head game where players maneuver, rotate, and drop their tetriminos to get the highest score. Just like the video game, the next up piece is on full display, represented by a card, so players can plan their strategy accordingly. You earn points by completing lines, matching pieces to symbols on their tower, and completing specific achievements. Quick setup and play time makes this a great pick for parties and younger players.
Dark Souls The Board Game: The Sunless City
Originally envisioned as content for the original Dark Souls board game Kickstarter campaign, the Sunless City core set is a standalone adventure that’s great for newer players, and got its namesake from the infamous location familiar to players of the video games. Each player starts the game by choosing a class and gear, then starts navigating the catacombs, taking on skeleton archers, or resting at the bonfire. Actions are limited, so choose wisely. This game is very faithful to its source material, with its punishing combat and RPG elements that shine from the level up system. The Sunless City also features new playable characters and over a hundred new cards, all compatible with existing Dark Souls board game products.
Stardew Valley: The Board Game
Life sims like Stardew Valley make great board games, as you're essentially building up and optimising an engine to move on to bigger and better things, which reflects an entire mechanical genre on tabletop. So this version lets you do all the stuff from the video game that you love best like farming crops, making friends and fixing your local community centre. But don't be fooled by the cutesy objectives: this is actually pretty tough cooperative affair that will challenge your groups strategic chops if you want to succeed and return the valley to glory, which we delved into in more detail in our Stardew Valley: The Board Game review.
This War of Mine: The Board Game
While the original won plaudits for its successful re-creation of the horrors of living under wartime occupation, those kinds of feelings are much harder for a tabletop game to evoke. Ares Games proved equal to the task, however, with this stunning cooperative mixture of strategic resource management and narrative heft. Players must venture out in the dangers of the city to scavenge for the food, resources and medical supplies they need to stay alive while violence unfolds all around them, bought to life by tying in the group's descisions and actions to a superbly-written book of narrative paragraphs, through which the morally questionable choices required to survive may come back to haunt you.
Elden Ring: The Board Game
With Elden Ring Nightreign around the corner, what better way to prepare for FromSoftware's newest multiplayer outing than to dive into the offical Elden Ring Board game by Steamforged Games? This is a typical co-operative campaign board game, where you and up to three other players once again traverse the Lands Between, choose from a handful of familiar classes, take on deadly foes, and ultimately come out on top in a roughly 50 hour campaign. There are multiple playstyles available if that timeframe is daunting, and you can even play it solo. In our review, we gave it an 8, saying the game "captures the spirit of exploration, intense combat, and character progression, while maintaining the challenge fans expect."
Metal Gear Solid The Board Game
After a tumultous development caused some delays, the Metal Gear Solid board game is finally here and is a great time. Another campaign-style experience, it retells the events of the original 1998 PlayStation video game, taking players through up to 14 different scenarios and giving them control of fan favorite characters like Solid Snake and Otacon. Each player gets fours actions per turn, and each character has unique skills to pick from. You'll unlock gear throughout your campaign like new weapons, equipment, and of course, Snake's iconic cardboard box. Difficulty throughout the different campaigns fluctuates, making this a great game for both board game veterans and newcomers alike.
Divinity: Original Sin the Board Game
Larian Studios captured lightning in a bottle once again with their tabletop adaptation of Divinity: Original Sin. While intimidating at first due to the amount of various cards, game pieces, and figures included (and the enormous box it all comes in), Divinity: Originial Sin is actually quite approachable for new players. Instead of traditional, clunky game boards, here they've included a hefty ringed book that details every scenario available to you and your party. Set up is quick and easy, and building your character is fun, intuitive, and in-depth - you'll pick from among four premade classes or you can build your own. You'll build out your characters, fight various bosses, grab weapons, and manage skills throughout a handful of different scenarios, as we outlined in our 8/10 review.
For deeper dives into specific board games, check out our Aeon's End buying guide, as well as our surprisingly huge buying guide for Carcassonne, one of the earlier board games to bring serious gaming depth to the populace.
Myles Obenza is a freelance commerce writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter @Myles Obenza.
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