Review of Elden Ring: The Board Game

Over the past ten years, few video games have stirred up as much excitement as FromSoftware’s “Elden Ring.” In an era where it’s common to see popular video games transformed into board games, it was almost inevitable that this giant would find its place on the tabletop. Enter Steamforged Games, who have previously turned titles like “Resident Evil,” “Monster Hunter World,” and FromSoftware’s own “Dark Souls” into board games. They have now taken on the task of bringing “Elden Ring” to life outside of the gaming console. After a phenomenally successful crowdfunding campaign in 2022, “Elden Ring: The Board Game” is nearly ready to reach its backers and is available for preorder for everyone else eager to dive in. Prepare yourself, Tarnished. The battle awaits once again.

“Elden Ring” is designed as a campaign board game, inviting you and your friends to journey through a series of scenarios where you can level up and enhance your characters as the story unfolds. Steamforged Games has crafted three distinct campaigns for players to embark on: Realm of the Grafted King, The Weeping Peninsula, and Stormveil Castle. The Grafted King acts as the main game, while the other two can stand alone as expansions. These expansions allow players to continue their adventures using the same characters, providing a seamless growth experience. Depending on which set you choose, different character classes like the Vagabond, Samurai, Astrologer, and Prophet await you in the Grafted King box. Meanwhile, the Weeping Peninsula offers the Hero, Prophet, Astrologer, and Bandit, and Stormveil Castle presents the Confessor, Prisoner, Samurai, and Vagabond.

When you bring this game home, you’ll be greeted with large boxes filled with intricate monster miniatures, a multitude of cards, cardboard tokens, tiles, and multiple rule and scenario guides. It’s a daunting presence in my collection, even though I currently own only one of the campaigns. I haven’t yet gotten my hands on the other two expansions or the additional boss sets available. Steamforged has truly excelled in the production quality of “Elden Ring,” ensuring the miniatures are extraordinarily detailed, and the cards and cardboard components feel durable and well-made.

The game features a variety of scenarios, each ensuring a fresh experience so you’re not playing the same things continuously. Not all scenario types, however, hit the mark equally. Narrative scenarios, for instance, involve reading story paragraphs and making choices that may require skill checks, leading you to different outcomes based on your decisions. While these scenarios are well-composed and involve interesting skill checks, they didn’t really appeal to me – if I wanted extensive reading, I’d pick up a book or play a role-playing game like Dungeons & Dragons.

Personally, I’m most captivated by the Exploration scenarios, which capture the thrill of discovery reminiscent of the original game. In these scenarios, players navigate a region by randomly revealing tiles while chasing quests. You might encounter enemies, uncover items, or stumble upon Sites of Grace along the way. The random tile placement keeps the game feeling fresh and adds an element of surprise, enhancing the replay value and mimicking the unpredictability found in games such as “Betrayal at House on the Hill” and “Clank! Catacombs.” These scenarios offer a balanced mix of combat, storytelling, and exploration without getting overwhelming.

Besides Exploration, three other scenario types are heavily centered around combat: Gauntlet, Dungeon, and Boss scenarios. Gauntlet scenarios are intense battles against waves of enemies, each one with special rules to keep you on your toes. Dungeons follow a similar pattern but end with a challenging boss fight. The pinnacle of combat is seen in Boss scenarios, where you and your party face the gravest threats head-on. While exploring, you’ll also encounter various opponents, making combat a core part of the experience. But don’t worry; the combat system is impressively robust and enjoyable.

Combat scenarios unfold on grid maps found in ring-bound notebooks that come with the game. Battles can spread across multiple pages, creating a large battlefield where strategic movement becomes crucial. Each attack, whether by spell or weapon, has a specific range with potential bonuses depending on your positioning. My friends and I constantly strategized on movement to withstand enemy attacks, though our careful plans often ended in defeat, as the foes are incredibly formidable.

Every enemy has its card that lists their actions, with icons indicating attack types, movement options, and other mechanics. Although it takes a bit to understand the icons, it’s manageable. Once an enemy executes its actions or chooses to pass, its turn ends neatly. Boss battles, however, are in a league of their own. Their decks dictate stunning and unpredictable sequences of moves, meaning you never quite know when—or how—they’ll strike. Despite their daunting presence, the thrill of battling them never feels punishingly unfair, as their health scales with the number of players involved. The tension and excitement of these confrontations create unforgettable moments.

Surprisingly, “Elden Ring” eschews dice rolls altogether, leaning instead on a card-driven deck-building mechanic. Players create decks defined by their equipped weapons, skills, and gear, while damage and special effects come from a separate Attribute deck. This approach, drawing on familiar RPG stats such as Strength and Dexterity, adds depth to the combat system.

A crucial element of any campaign board game is character development, and “Elden Ring” doesn’t disappoint. As in the video game, players can level up their class, swap gear, tweak Attribute cards, and increase stats with Trait cards during the campaign. A Rune system manages this progress, acting like an equipment load limit, but I found the card method to track Runes a bit cumbersome. Steamforged’s provision is rather limited here, adding to card clutter. A more streamlined tracker could have been more user-friendly, but for now, jotting Runes down on paper works, albeit clunkily. Perhaps, down the line, Steamforged or dedicated fans might devise a more effective tracking solution.

Despite the game’s many upsides, my first playthrough was marred by confusion not from the game itself but because I mistakenly started with the Stormveil Castle campaign. While an independent expansion, it assumes you’ve completed previous quests, requiring some set-up adjustments for new players. I genuinely recommend starting with Realm of the Grafted King for a smoother introduction into the “Elden Ring” board game universe.