Review of Elden Ring: The Board Game

Few games in the last ten years have stirred the public’s imagination quite like FromSoftware’s Elden Ring. Nowadays, it’s not unusual to see board games inspired by video games, so it was only a matter of time before this massive title from FromSoftware transitioned to a tabletop format. Steamforged Games, the team behind popular adaptations such as Resident Evil, Monster Hunter World, and Dark Souls, took on the ambitious task. Following a stellar crowdfunding campaign in 2022, Elden Ring: The Board Game is nearly ready to reach backers and is now available for preorder. So, prepare yourselves, Tarnished, as the battle awaits you once more.

Elden Ring, the board game, invites you and your companions to dive into a series of scenarios, advancing your characters as you weave through its narrative. Steamforged has crafted three campaigns for eager players: Realm of the Grafted King, The Weeping Peninsula, and Stormveil Castle. The Realm of the Grafted King acts as the heavyweight “base game,” while the others serve as standalone expansions. You have the choice to play these expansions separately or as continuations of the Grafted King campaign, letting your characters evolve further. Depending on your choice of campaigns, you’ll unlock various character classes—like the Vagabond, Samurai, Astrologer, and Prophet in the Grafted King box; the Hero, Prophet, Astrologer, and Bandit in Weeping Peninsula; and the Confessor, Prisoner, Samurai, and Vagabond in Stormveil Castle.

This game isn’t for the faint-hearted, arriving in hefty boxes packed with formidable-looking monster miniatures, heaps of cards, cardboard tokens, tiles, and a stack of guides teeming with rules, maps, and scenarios. It’s undoubtedly one of the most daunting games in my collection. Apart from owning just one campaign, I haven’t yet ventured into the additional boxes or boss sets available. On the bright side, Steamforged has surpassed expectations with their craftsmanship—featuring incredibly detailed miniatures, premium cards, and sturdy components.

Scenarios are varied enough to maintain interest, preventing the gameplay from becoming monotonous. Still, each type has its hits and misses. There are narrative scenarios where you’re invited to engage with the story, choose actions, make skill checks, and draw cards to see the results. While these envelop you in well-written tales and skill-testing decisions, they didn’t quite resonate with me. For story engagement, I’d prefer diving into a novel or a game like Dungeons & Dragons.

My top pick has to be the Exploration scenarios. These perfectly embody the essence of uncovering the unknown, a hallmark of the original game. Here, players uncover the map, flipping tiles as they embark on quests. Tiles might reveal enemies, items, or Sites of Grace and other exciting discoveries. The evolving map dynamic, seen in games like Betrayal at House on the Hill or Clank! Catacombs, enhances both discovery and replayability thanks to its randomness. These scenarios weave together Elden Ring’s combat, story, and exploration seamlessly, without feeling overwhelming.

The remaining three scenarios focus heavily on combat: Gauntlet, Dungeon, and Boss encounters. Gauntlets test players with tough challenges filled with enemies and unique rules. Dungeons follow a similar path but conclude with a boss confrontation. Boss scenarios heighten the stakes, putting your strategy and teamwork to the ultimate test. Given the robust nature of Elden Ring’s combat, this focus on combat is far from being a drawback.

Combat unfolds on grids formed from ring-bound notebooks supplied with the game. For some battles, multiple notebooks create expansive battlefields where you and the monsters maneuver for advantage. Each attack has specified ranges, influenced by your position on the grid—providing tactical elements like extra damage or improved defense. My friends and I often found ourselves strategizing feverishly, though our well-thought-out plans sometimes led to defeat against the game’s challenging foes.

Each basic enemy presents a card outlining their moves, complete with symbols dictating attacks, movement, and more. Familiarizing yourself with these symbols takes a bit of time, but becomes manageable. After enemies finish their actions—or opt to pass if unable to complete them—their turn ends. It’s straightforward and manageable. Bosses, however, are intimidating, wielding entire decks of actions within the initiative order. Luck sometimes has their attacks hit last, but at other times, they’ll pounce before you can blink. It’s harsh, yet thanks to scalable health that adjusts to player numbers, these fights maintain a just balance. Every boss fight brims with suspense, leaving us silently hoping for a stagger or a crucial dodge. The strategic depth and fast-paced nature of combat, despite its miniature format, truly stands out.

Unexpectedly, Elden Ring ditches dice for a card-driven, deck-building system. Players utilize cards from their weapon, skill, or gear-focused deck, while damage, defense, and special effects like Bleed depend on a separate Attribute deck. These cards feature symbols representing attributes such as Strength and Dexterity, influencing the effectiveness of your decks accordingly.

Character growth is vital in campaign board games, and Elden Ring embraces this staple. Much like its video game counterpart, you can level up your class for new abilities, swap equipment, and customize via Attribute and Trait cards. This system is powered by Runes, an equipment capacity measure that expands with campaign progress, opening up more customization options. However, Steamforged’s Rune tracking falls short—they provide small Rune cards, which quickly clutter play areas. A more streamlined system akin to health trackers would work much better. Until then, jotting Runes on paper, though cumbersome, remains the most practical approach.

Despite Elden Ring’s strengths, my initial experience with Stormveil Castle—technically an expansion—was pretty overwhelming. It assumes players have journeyed through prior quests, which makes it tricky for newcomers. If you’re just starting, I’d strongly encourage beginning with Realm of the Grafted King.