Board games are a great social activity that brings people together by disconnecting everyone from their screens. But what if your favorite stories and worlds from the screen could be a part of board game night too? With these ten great board games based on video games, it’s now possible to enjoy your favorite digital titles in an exciting new tabletop setting.

1. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim- The Adventure Game

The iconic adventures and exploration of Skyrim await you in the game’s excellent tabletop adaption. As opposed to the classic video game, Skyrim- The Adventure Game is a cooperative experience for up to four players, which affects both the combat and dungeon loot systems. Each player’s character is suitably unique, and the strategic decisions you make throughout the game’s two campaigns can trigger exclusive story outcomes as well.

2. Fallout: The Board Game

The Fallout Board Game does just about everything right in adapting this classic video game franchise. An unknown post-apocalyptic world awaits you outside your vault, along with deadly enemies and warring factions. The art style is most faithful to the series’ more recent adaptions, and the storylines are appropriately thematic and recognizable to anyone who’s played Fallout before. Interactions between players are semi-cooperative; while everyone has their own objectives, they also need to work together to prevent any one of the non-player factions from taking over the wasteland.

3. Kingdom Rush: Rift in Time

Kingdom Rush is a classic tower defense game in which you place archers and other troops to defend against waves of oncoming enemies. Whereas the original video game is a fast-paced race, Rift in Time instead features more calculated, strategic gameplay. The game comes with a booklet of scenarios that you can play against, which makes it easy to adjust the difficulty. In addition, the miniatures look great and are fun to paint.

4. Civilization: A New Dawn

Establish your kingdom, expand your territories, and build the great monuments of man in Civilization: A New Dawn, the most recent tabletop adaption of Sid Meier's Civilization. Though the original video game draws its roots back to a 1980s board game, the video games that followed have evolved significantly. A New Dawn utilizes many of the newer technology and city upgrade options from the most recent titles. Playtime is thankfully shorter than the 2010 edition of the board game, and to top it all off, the game tiles are gorgeous.

5. Small World of Warcraft

Small World of Warcraft is a WoW-themed adaption of the popular board game Small World. Players take control of the major races in Azeroth, including everything from Orcs to Worgen, and attempt to conquer as much territory as possible on the game’s various islands. Once one of the races you control is overextended, you can take charge of another to continue the conquest and hopefully have the most points by the end of the final round.

6. Slay the Spire: The Board Game

With its outstanding deck-building and strategy elements, Slay the Spire feels like the perfect video game to bring to the tabletop environment. Contention Games has done just that via Kickstarter, with the recently released adaption gathering nearly four million dollars worth of pledges. All the best elements of the original title are here, including, of course, the absolutely iconic six-eyed whale Neow. The biggest change here is the cooperative multiplayer, but it's a welcome change that's more befitting a board game.

7. This War of Mine: The Board Game

Survival is the name of the game in This War of Mine: The Board Game, which does a fantastic job of bringing the war-torn surroundings and impactful storylines of the original video game to the table. During the day, you’ll build up your shelter and gather the resources you need to scrape by. During the night, you’ll have to fight off bandits to protect what little you have. The mechanics of exploring new locations work really well, with risks and rewards to be found in every corner of the war-torn city.

8. Dead by Daylight: The Board Game

Dead by Daylight: The Board Game leans heavily on hidden movement mechanics to represent the Killer’s stalking presence and the four Survivor’s attempts to escape. All the basic elements of the video game work surprisingly well in the tabletop environment, and there are also plenty of props and other tools that the Survivors can use as they work to stay alive. Most importantly, the competitive thrill of the original remains.

9. Stardew Valley: The Board Game

The cozy confines of Stardew Valley come to the table with immersive, cooperative gameplay and faithful attention to detail, though the board game does have some key differences from its source material. The players have a set number of turns in which they can complete their goal cards and rebuild the community center, but if the season cards run out, the players lose. Thankfully there’s still lots of farming, fishing, and mining fun to be had, along with plenty of interaction with the Valley’s most recognizable inhabitants.

10. God of War: The Card Game

God of War’s most iconic characters come to the table in style in the God of War card game. You’ll need to complete a series of scenes and quest cards to survive Ragnarok and win. It’s primarily a deck-building game, though you’ll be up against a set of randomly selected monsters and bosses rather than the other players at the table. It’s a must-have collectible for fans of the God of War franchise. We're also looking forward to finding out if the upcoming God of War Gamefound project will be an even better tabletop adaption than this one. 

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The shifting sands of Arrakis are home to the most precious substance in the universe: spice. As the leader of one of the Great Houses in Dune Imperium: The Board Game, you’ll need to conquer the desert planet, win skirmishes, and expand your influence with factions like the Bene Gesserit and the Fremen if you hope to claim victory. In this article, we’ll be looking at the different editions and expansions of the game and answering some of the most common questions about this modern tabletop classic. Let’s start by looking at the two core versions of the game. 

Dune Imperium vs. Uprising: What’s the Difference?

The Dune Imperium board game essentially has two different versions of its core game: Dune Imperium and Dune Imperium Uprising. The gameplay in the two editions is largely the same, with each centering around deck building, agent placement, and desert combat. However, there are several key differences between the original Imperium release and Uprising. To start, Uprising features an all-new set of Dune Imperium leaders, with characters like Feyd-Rautha, Lady Margot Fenring, and Princess Irulan all entering the fray. In addition, many of the board spaces have new functions. To top it all off, there is also a new six-player mode in which the players will be divided into opposing teams.

Gameplay Changes in Dune Imperium Uprising

In terms of new game mechanics, Dune Imperium: Uprising has a lot to show for itself. It drops the Mentat token from Imperium, which originally allowed you to purchase an additional agent for a turn. It also drops the foldspace cards, which made it much easier to level up your standing on the game’s four influence tracks. In exchange, Uprising adds spy tokens that you can place between board spaces in order to draw cards or unlock adjacent locations that are already occupied by enemy players. 

The newer edition of the game also adds sandworms to combat, which doubles the rewards you earn for winning a round’s conflict. This mechanic makes fighting more important than ever and might change up your favorite Dune Imperium strategy, though all of the combat cards have been edited appropriately to make the game less swingy. Uprising also adds contracts, which essentially function as single-use board spaces that give substantial rewards when you send an agent to them. The intrigue cards are also altered to match the new gameplay mechanics.

Should You Buy Dune Imperium or Dune Imperium Uprising?

If you’re just getting started with Dune Imperium, then Uprising is a great place to start. However, there are no bad options here. If you already own and enjoy Dune Imperium, Uprising can still be a great pickup if you’re a big fan of the game. However, you might want to prioritize expansion content first since it adds even more mechanics than the changes from Uprising.  

Dune Imperium Expansions

Each Dune Imperium expansion adds more cards and dramatic new gameplay elements, along with additional board space actions that open up new pathways towards conquering Arrakis and claiming victory. Below you’ll find details about each addition to the game, listed in our suggested purchasing order.

1. Dune Imperium: Rise of Ix

The Rise of Ix Expansion for Dune Imperium expands the game board with new game-changing board spaces that allow you to purchase technology, boost your shipping and smuggling efforts, and obtain the coveted dreadnought units. The dreadnoughts add three combat power to your side and can temporarily hold territory in your name, which ups the stakes in each conflict. There is also a new selection of powerful yet difficult to master house leaders that are perfect for more experienced players. If you’re going to get one of the expansions, Rise of Ix is definitely the best choice.

2. Dune Imperium: Immortality

The Dune Imperium: Immortality expansion adds an additional board to the play space that represents the players’ interactions with the Bene Tleilax and their genetic advancements. The expansion also adds graft cards, which allow you to combine the cards in your hand into a single action for more powerful effects. These cards are definitely fun to use, though not as much of a game-changer as the Bene Tleilax board or the components of the Rise of Ix expansion. Immortality also includes a family atomic token for each player, which is an underrated addition that allows you to clear out the cards available for purchase from the Imperium deck and draw new ones. 

3. Dune Imperium: Deluxe Upgrade Pack

If you love Dune Imperium and just can’t get enough, you can upgrade your game experience with a beautiful selection of miniatures that replace approximately sixty of the game’s more basic-looking tokens. Unlike the other two expansions, this pack is entirely cosmetic. However, the visual upgrade it provides is substantial, especially if you enjoy painting the miniatures. There’s also a Rise of Ix Dreadnought Upgrade Pack available through the Dire Wolf store that offers similar cosmetic benefits but for the expansion’s components.

Can You Play the Dune Imperium Expansions With Uprising?

Every Dune Imperium expansion is compatible with both the original release of the game and Dune Imperium: Uprising. However, when adding the expansions to Uprising, there are a few cards you might need to remove, such as the Rise of Ix conflict cards, in order to maintain a balanced game. Further directions on these changes are available at the back of the Uprising rulebook. 

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Life is Strange: Double Exposure is putting players back in the shoes of Max Caulfield, the iconic protagonist of the original Life is Strange. And as if that’s not exciting enough, this time she’ll be armed with an all-new power: the ability to enter alternate timelines in which certain characters are still alive. 

From the trailers and teasers that Deck Nine has given us, we know that Max will use her new power to solve the mysterious murder of her friend Safi. However, the ability to enter alternate timelines opens up seemingly infinite possibilities for other Life is Strange characters to return. It also leads us to ask the all-important question- will Chloe be in Double Exposure? We’re pretty sure Deck Nine is playing their cards close to the chest and has some exciting surprises in store for us.

10. Joyce Price

Even if you chose the Bae over Bay ending to the first Life is Strange, the powers that Max has in Double Exposure could theoretically allow for key characters from her past to make a return. Though Joyce is Chloe’s mom and not Max’s, she is still an important figure in Max’s childhood. A few texts, emails, or postcards from Joyce could be a good way to link the new game with the classic one. 

9. Chris Eriksen

Chris is the imaginative main character of The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit who also plays a key role in Life is Strange 2. We don’t have any confirmation on exactly when Double Exposure takes place, but he might now be about the right age to be a college student at Caledon University, where Max is a photographer-in-residence.

8. Skip Matthews

Skip Matthews is a security guard at Blackwell Academy in Before the Storm who makes music on the side. Hopefully, his band PissHead made it big, and Max will hear their tunes on the radio. It would certainly bring back some of that classic Life Is Strange spirit and would be a nice lighthearted touch.

7. Max’s Parents

We don’t know much about Max’s family; they only appear in the original Life is Strange via text messages. But Double Exposure has the opportunity to open up the mystery of their characters a bit more, as it might give Max an even more complex backstory. Regardless of the choices you made and the ending you selected, it seems most reasonable for them to still be in contact with Max and want the best for her.

6. Alex Chen

The main character of Life is Strange: True Colors is a deeply empathetic, caring person who has a personality that would blend well with Max’s. It would be nice to find out more about what’s happened to her since the events of True Colors, and even if her appearance is just in the background, it would likely aid in establishing a more fully intertwined Life is Strange timeline.

5. William Price

Chloe’s dad William is a key figure in the Arcadia Bay chapters of Life is Strange, despite the fact that he passed away before the games began. If we’re opening up alternate timelines, we’d love to see one in which Chloe and William are both present together- though maybe that’s just wishful thinking. If we do see William again, Deck Nine has to be careful to ensure that his return doesn’t retract the importance of the original game’s story.

4. Hawt Dog Man

Hawt Dog Man is an icon of the Life is Strange franchise who’s in every game and timeline. There’s no way his mustard-loving self won’t return in some form or another, and no way he wasn't going to nab a spot on this list.

3. Rachel Amber

Major spoilers for the first game ahead- no matter how you play the original Life is Strange, you can’t save Rachel Amber. Her presence, however, hangs over the entire game to the point where Max can almost feel it, despite never having met her. In the Life is Strange comics, Max is able to meet Rachel in an alternate reality. What if a similar scenario was possible with Max’s new power? I’d love to see how the two would interact.

2. Kate Marsh

Kate Marsh is a fellow student that Max cares deeply about in the first game, and so it would, of course, be great to see her or hear from her again in Double Exposure. Her storyline is also the first to truly show players just how powerful Max’s rewind powers are and how much of a difference your choices make in the Life is Strange universe.

1. Chloe Price

And now for the question we all want answered- will Chloe be in Double Exposure? In one of the preview scenes for Double Exposure, we find out that Max is keeping a photo of Chloe close but that her friend Safi doesn’t know Chloe. This implies that Max might be keeping her past a secret or that she hopes to escape it. Perhaps the latter is more likely since we now find Max on the other side of the country from where she grew up. Years have passed since the first game, and I think it’s fair to say that Double Exposure's Chloe, if she appears, will have to be a very different character than the one we saw in Arcadia Bay. 

We’re excited to see what Square Enix and Deck Nine have in store for us when Double Exposure releases on October 29th, 2024.

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