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The board game hobby has become increasingly popular in recent years. Board game YouTube channels such as Shut Up & Sit Down and the more recent Dicebreaker are making it easier for players to get into the hobby and introducing other games to a wider audience monopoly And effigy.
However, video game fans may not see any point in the tabletop experience. Finally, computers can offer players a much more emotional and immersive atmosphere without the hassle of building or packing away components. However, the social and tactile experience of tabletop gaming cannot be lacking, and several board games feature similar mechanics and themes to video games, making them the perfect entry point for digital gamers looking to immerse themselves in the hobby.
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8th Pandemic
For fans of the hit game Plague Inc, Pandemic is a great choice. This modern classic is responsible for popularizing legacy games Pandemic Legacythat somehow managed to surpass its creator for creativity and cooperative fun. Pandemic challenges players to stop the spread of a dangerous virus and find a cure before it’s too late.
Although Pandemic Legacy arguably looks more like a video game than the original Pandemic, it is also less accessible. For video game fans looking for a smaller entry into the world of board games, you can hardly go wrong with the original.
7 Kingdom Death: Monsters
This notoriously large, long, and complex cooperative horror fantasy experience isn’t for everyone, not only because of its overwhelming size, but also because of its overwhelming price.
Kingdom Death: Monsterslets the players play through a long and arduous campaign in which they develop their characters and collect different gears and items to fight through each scenario and defeat the different bosses in the game. It’s not accessible to any imagination (it has a “complexity rating” of 4.26/5 on Board Game Geek), but it can evoke the same emotions found in horror fantasy games like Dark Souls. Both the setting, RPG elements, and boss-centric looping gameplay make it worthwhile for anyone on a big budget looking for an immersive and long-lasting experience.
6 zombicide
The original zombicide offers a streamlined and condensed zombie-killing and dice-playing experience that’s both easy to learn and fun to play. The game evokes a similar feeling to this left 4 Dead franchise with its fast-growing hordes of zombies, cooperative action, and various weapons to find.
zombicide is ideal for players looking for a simple game with lots of miniatures, who love to roll the dice and enjoy moment-to-moment action instead of slow, strategic gameplay. in a sense zombicide captures the action hero feel a player might feel in a hero shooter and translates it into tabletop format.
5 Arkham Horror: The Card Game
For fans of deck building card games like Kill the towerIn this cooperative Lovecraft game, there are three scenarios that players find difficult to master. This game is tough and gritty, creating a very gritty atmosphere with its challenging gameplay and desolate Lovecraftian environment.
Before starting the game, each player has assembled their very own deck, which represents their inspector. That’s not surprising Arkham Horror: The Card GamePlays very similar to some popular indie card games since card games are primarily a tabletop format and the concept of deck building comes from classic games like domination and TCG’s like Magic the Gathering.
4 Nemesis
fans of Alien: Isolation and other survival horror games should look no further Nemesisa semi-cooperative sci-fi game in which each player controls a crew member equipped with their own deck of cards, starting gear, and abilities.
Besides avoiding the invaders (malicious aliens who are ready to tear players apart if they make too much noise), each player must focus on their individual goals in order to win the game. Players must work together to fend off the invaders, but their goals and plans often result in interesting and climatic moments of conflict. In a way, this creates a similar atmosphere to games like Between usbut there is no doubt about it Nemesis is a great choice for survival horror fans.
3 Unsurpassed
Unsurpassed takes both unknown and well-known IPs, as well as public domain characters like Sinbad the Sailor, Robin Hood, and even Marvel heroes like Luke Cage and Ghost Rider, and pits them against each other in a card-based fighting game.
Players take control of a character through their unique deck, stats, and passive abilities. Each deck contains different gimmicks and strategies, and the game uses a unique combination of melee and ranged combat to create unique back-and-forth scenarios. The game’s combat is a stripped down and simple card system that card game fans will surely love to master, and its strategic choices and psychological elements make it feel like a turn-based tactics game combined with fighting games like… play Mortal Kombat.
2 Gloomhaven
This notoriously great board game does actually have a digital version on Steam, but one could argue that nothing beats the tabletop experience, especially when playing the game with friends (yes, this game can even be played solo). The game’s emphasis is on tactical turn-based combat, playing various cards from a personalised, customizable and upgradeable deck. Each deck (and its RPG-like progression) is unique to each player’s character. The game even features secret unlockables, quests, and several other elements borrowed from video game tropes.
Combined with that Gloomhaven mobile app that greatly facilitates the handling of game logistics, Gloomhaven manages to convey the feeling of a cooperative dungeon crawler with the tabletop magic that comes from playing directly with friends. There’s plenty of mechanical depth, a well thought out narrative, and plenty of enemies, items, and scenarios that help keep the game fresh. It’s unlikely that many players will ever finish Gloomhavenbut for fans of big board games and video games alike, this is a must-have.
1 Twilight Empire
Ever wanted to experience the slow-moving tactics of a grand strategy game in tabletop form? At the time of writing this article Twilight Empire It has had four editions since its initial release in 1997, and its strategic sci-fi gameplay with diplomatic elements has made it a staple of the board game hobby.
Twilight Empire sees players choose a unique alien race with their own passive abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. There is a tech tree to follow, resources to manage, and huge fleets of plastic spaceships to build. In each game, players compete around randomly drawn targets to score points, racing as fast as they can to the finish line. The game features extremely simple combat, based largely on dice rolls and the occasional “action card.” However, the actual strategy relies on diplomacy (or lack thereof) between players as well as the positioning of player fleets.
For fans of 4X games, grand strategy and science fiction: Twilight Empire cannot be missed. While it’s notoriously long to play, especially at higher player counts, it really is an experience like no other that’s sure to please fans of big strategy video games.