The gaming industry is becoming more and more popular with each passing day. In 2021, the Video Games Industry generated more than £152.9 billion ($180 billion) in revenue. During the same period, the tabletop board game space grew by more than 13%. By 2026, experts project that the Table Top Gaming Industry will generate more than £11.04 billion ($13 billion) in revenue.

This is all thanks to the incredible new ideas AND tabletop board game adaptations of video games. Why you may ask? Tabletop board games can help build a sense of community and bring a new audience to the gaming style. Interested in exploring the world beyond the screen?

The beauty of these games is that it takes already well established worlds, throws in some interesting details and creates a whole new experience for you the player to immerse yourself in the much loved games. Some of these games re-create portions of the games themselves and others have created a whole new challenge for you to tackle using the characters, locations and items from within that game.

Be warned however, these games come with so much packed in to one box, a single game can easily last onwards of 2 hours! They depth and replayability of these games are just as, if not more exciting than the original games themselves!

In this post, we look at board games based on video games that are definitely worth a shot!

1. Resident Evil 2: The Board Game

Players: 1 to 4

Age: 14+

Set in the immersive Resident Evil universe, the Resident Evil 2: The Board Game is a survival horror board game that features new mechanics for the tabeltop setting. Players get to venture into the zombie-infested buildings and streets of Raccoon city as they fight to escape the many horrors that await them!

Designed by Sherwin Matthews, Richard Loxam and Mat Hart, the game features the undead crashing through windows, chasing you down hallways and obviously puzzles to solve. Players will play one-off scenarios or even full campaigns to uncover the truth behind the deadly outbreak in Raccoon city.

For every successful scenario completed, you will dive deeper into the horror but a step closer to freedom and escape. There are four characters to choose from. Claire Redfield is the Protector, and she came to Raccoon city in search of her brother but got trapped in the outbreak. She is resourceful and has a strong protective streak.

Next is Leon Kennedy, the Rookie, an officer right out of training who is also pretty resourceful and stays cool under fire.

Ada Wong, the Mystery, is a character with a shadowy past. While she can be unpredictable and reckless, she takes up several roles and supports other survivors.

Lastly, we have Robert Kendo, the one-man army. An excellent marksman, Kendo can gun down anything in his path and he is good with a grenade launcher. On the map, there are several items to collect and use such as first aid sprays, keys, ammo and weapons. You can pick an item token by drawing a card from Deck A or B. However, the most important items are in Deck B so think carefully before you choose!

To move onto a tile, you’ve to roll the encounter die then check the table in the scenario book. The game’s playtime is between 90 to 120 minutes. Remember, to survive, you’ve to work together or you die!

2. The Witcher Adventure Game

Players: 2 to 4

Age: 16+

Next, we have The Witcher Adventure Game, an adaptation of CD Projekt Red’s board game. Set in the fantasy universe of Geralt of Rivia, players have the opportunity of slaying monsters and much more.

As players traverse the Witcher’s world, they get to solve ancient mysteries, hunt deadly monsters and more. Players will assume the roles of four distinct characters from the video games and books. They are:

• Geralt of Rivia – monster slayer
• Triss Merigold – cunnin sorceress
• Yarpen Zigrin – dwarven warrior
• Dandelion – roguish bard

Every character has unique skills and different ways to overcome obstacles in the game. For example, if you choose to play as Geralt, you can develop the character by utilizing combat elixirs or casting powerful Witcher signs.

Basically, you can choose to fight your way to victory or try your hand at diplomacy. Either way, the wild ride begins when you sit down to play The Witcher Adventure Game.

The game has intuitive mechanics and simple rules. With the available quest cards, players can tell a new tale each time they play the game. Quests in the game range from exposing a traitor in the royal court to earning gold and hunting monsters.

Easy to play right out of the box, the game will hook you from the moment you start. As you continue to play, it becomes more engaging as you immerse and expand on the Witcher experience.

Designed by Ignacy Trzewiczek and published by Fantasy Flight Games and more, the game’s playtime is 120 minutes. As you enjoy playing the game and working your way towards victory, keep an eye on the progress of your friends. So what are you waiting for? Toss a coin to your Witcher and start playing today!

3. Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate

Players: 3 to 6

Age: 12+

Based on the Betrayal at House on the Hill game, Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate is a cooperative exploration game which plays in 60 minutes. Players have the opportunity to explore the city’s deadly catacombs and alleys as they survive the horrors in the game. This is until some terror turns you against each other.

The game returns you to Baldur’s gate again and again where you and your party need to survive the madness or succumb to the mayhem. Baldur’s Gate is cursed as the shadow of Bhaal covers the city. The shadow’s dark presence makes monsters and other horrors crawl out of dark alleys and sewers looking for prey on the streets.

As a player, you’ll join forces with other adventurers to enter Baldur’s Gate to banish Bhaal and his followers. Each adventurer will investigate the city of Baldur’s Gate, and as you do so, you’ll discover new buildings, catacombs, streets and much more. Every time you enter a new tile, you’ll find something interesting for your team to overcome!

There are two city levels – The catacombs and the city. The city level consists of street and building tiles, while the catacombs include catacomb tiles. Some of the street tiles also hold sewer grates which allow players to make a one-way movement to the catacomb level allowing the team to explore in a variety of ways.

At some point during the game, a player may trigger the haunt where the player becomes a traitor bent on defeating his companions. So, from here onwards, the game is a fight between the other players against the traitor. There are 50 haunts in the game, and each tells a different story. This one really does stand out as an immersive masterpiece for fans of the series!

4. Sid Meier’s Civilization: A New Dawn

Players: 2 to 4

Age: 14+

If you loved Clash of Cultures, then you’ll surely enjoy playing Sid Meier’s Civilization: A New Dawn. Sid Meier’s Civilization is a strategy tabletop board game based on the popular video game series. Designed by James Kniffen, this turn-based game allows players to become history’s greatest leaders. In the game, they will build, trade, battle and pursue different agendas in their quest to become a world power.

The core of the gameplay is currently centred on the focus bar, a set of five slots in a row. Each slot has a numerical value and terrain types such as grassland, hills, mountain, desert, and forests. Every slot is a focus card representing the following elements:

• Culture
• Science
• Military
• Economy
• Industry

Once a card gets played, it returns to Slot 1 on the bar while the cards beneath it move up.

In this fast-paced board game, players will guide their nations in a race for game-changing wonders, and territory. They will do so by pursuing cultural developments, scientific advancements and military production. You’ll also build wonders to rise above other territories and shape the world in your vision.

Each game allows you to grow your civilization from a single city into an empire. However, this will not be easy as other players and barbarians will threaten your cities and civilization. But, with your military, you can battle rival cities as well as claim an enemy’s loot. Remember, on each victory, there are two agendas. If you complete one of the two agendas before other players, you win the game. The playing time is 1 to 2 hours but don’t be surprised if diplomacy and backstabbing makes the game last much, much more!

5. Street Fighter Deck-building Game

Players: 2 and up

Age: 12+

Street Fighter Deck-building Game is a fast-paced game where players travel to exotic locales seeking new challenges. Players have the opportunity of taking the role of M. Bison, Balrog, Chun-Li, Ken and Ryu. As the game starts, you’ll only have basic combat manoeuvres. But as the game continues, you’ll add new powerful cards to your deck giving your characters advanced combat manoeuvres.

Each player usually starts with a basic ten-deck card, and in every turn, the player draws five cards. They include Locations, Super Powers, Equipment, Heroes and Villains. Every turn brings new surprises and options for the players.

The goal of the game is to collect more victory points and you can do this by using the base punch cards. This will allow you to obtain better cards that will earn you victory points and more useful actions. To gain a large sum of victory points, you need to beat a stage. Each stage has a Boss and when attacked, the Stage Boss will retaliate against the attacker. Planning for this is vital!

Players can defend themselves using Defense cards such as Electric Thunder or Chun Li’s Bracelets. Every player has access to a special Ultra card which lets them unleashe their character’s signature manoeuvres “HADOUKEN!” Once you beat all stages, you’ll tally who has the most victory points which declares the winner.

6. This War of Mine: The Board Game

Players: 1 to 6

Age: 18+

Another tabletop board game that you’ll love is – This War of Mine: The Board Game. Adapted from an award-winning video game, the board game is about surviving in a war-ravaged city. Designed by Michal Oracz and Jakub Wisniewski, it’s based on the video game – This War of Mine developed by 11bit Studios.

You’ll play as a group of civilians trapped in a city torn by war. At night, you’ll go out to scavenge and search for parts, weapons, food and medication. During the day, you’ll try to make the best use of these resources. Besides gathering resources, you’ll engage in deadly combat, trading, building and other events.

Every playthrough is exciting and unique. In fact, the game adjusts the events you face according to time, your location and situation. There are over 1,000 unique adventures written to evoke different emotions.

Some of the adventures have direct emotion in the gameplay, while others do not. All in all, these adventures will surely raise your level of immersion. This will allow you to feel what a group of people would go through while trapped in a war-torn city.

The game comes with a Journal that walks you through the different phases of the game. To start playing, simply open the Journal. Play time is between 45 to 120 minutes, and during this time, your goal is to survive until the cessation of the war activities.

7. Doom: The Board Game

Players: 2 to 5

Age: 14+

Inspired by Bethesda’s award-winning video game, Doom: The Board Game is a strategy board game that pits players against Hell’s demons. In fact, the asymmetrical gameplay pits elite marines and monsters from Hell.

The marines are each equipped with intimidating weapons, numerous lives, and armour. Players will descend into the hellish landscape of Doom where they will join the struggle between marines and demons.

Every mission has a unique map, objectives for marines and invaders, items for retrieval and specific rules. Players have the choice of taking the role of a respawning marine or a demonic invader. The game is fast-paced, and the struggle to adapt and survive the battle conditions.

Players can experience the game as both marines and invaders. For example, if you choose to play as the invader, you can summon your host of demons to wipe out the marines. Basically, you can call upon a ferocious Revenant or a swarm of imps.

If you choose to play as a marine, you can equip your character with an arsenal of brutal weapons. These weapons will help your characters keep the horde of demons at bay. As such, you can protect the earthly dimension from the demons.

Whichever role you take, you’ll need to carefully plan all your moves to achieve your objectives. The average playtime for this thrilling combat game is 2 to 3 hours and we INSIST you play some of the tracks by Mick Gordon as you play for the full DOOM experience!

8. Portal: The Uncooperative Cake Acquisition Game

Player: 2 to 4

Age: 15+

“THE CAKE IS A LIE!”

Portal is one of the most successful video games, and it makes sense for the developers to create a tabletop board game version. The Portal: The Uncooperative Cake Acquisition Game is a strategy tabletop board game based on the Portal video game series. Developed by Cryptozoic Entertainment, each player receives 8 slices of cake, 8 test subjects and a portal gun card.

On the table, you’ll find a turret miniature, a companion cube miniature, 18 board pieces, a small deck of cards and a GlasDOS standee.

The game begins by connecting 15 test chamber pieces together. Each player must place 4 test subjects onto the left of the board, then play an Aperture Card and move one or more test subjects. By doing so, the player activates a test chamber on the right side of the board by placing the GlaDOS token. If you remove, flip or put the token on the new side, you deactivate it.

When the cardboard test chamber gets flipped, test subjects receive rewards. When it’s deactivated, then all test subjects die. Your test subjects need to move around the lab to activate their properties. You can also gain more subjects, more cake or enable the Turret or Cube by moving your test subjects. There are many strategies to try out!

At the end of each player’s turn, one of the chambers in the lab gives way, and the test subjects plunge into oblivion. However, if your test subjects number more than all others, then you’ll earn several parting gifts. Remember, to ensure your cake does not fall into oblivion, store them in the lab. Failure to do so will enable your opponents to pick your cake and then move it closer to oblivion.

9. Fallout

Players: 1 to 4

Age: 14+

Fight ferocious enemies in a post-nuclear world on Fallout, a board game for 1 to 4 players. Based on the award-winning game series by the same name, Fallout scenarios are all inspired by a familiar story from the video game series.

As a player, you can choose to play as a super mutant, human or ghoul. The game begins on the edge of an unfamiliar world where the objective is to guide the survivors. As you explore the hidden map, you build the skills of each survivor and fight enemies. While doing so, you’ll complete challenging quests and balance feuding groups.

As you advance in the game, you’ll come across new targets and quests then lead them to gain influence. Players have the choice of four scenarios that take place in Far Harbor, the Commonwealth, Capital Wasteland and the Pitt.

As players explore the tiles, they will gain special cards that will help advance their characters. The game’s playing time is 2 to 3 hours.

10. XCOM: The Board Game

Players: 1 to 4

Age: 14+

Become part of the XCOM elite military and turn back an alien invasion. XCOM: The Board Game is a cooperative board game that challenges you to defend your base from a full-scale alien invasion.

As part of XCOM, you command the best soldiers equipped with state-of-the-art weapons. Together, you uncover the alien invasion plan, strategize to defend your base and destroy UFOs and aliens.

To succeed, you must use the available resources wisely. For example, launch interceptors to shoot down UFOs, and research alien technology. Then use the technology to defend your base from the alien invasion. While doing so, you must keep the world from collapsing as you plan your final mission to repel the aliens for good.

The XCOM: The Board Game incorporates a free and innovative mobile app available as a downloadable app and online tool. Using the app, you can coordinate the alien invasion by selecting one of five invasion plans. The app also heightens the game’s tension by allowing you to respond in real-time. Based on the results, the app will then launch the next strikes. Should you fail, the aliens will win.