Valheim: The board game was built on the success of Deep Rock Galactic: the board game, another tabletop version of a popular video game that aims to keep the same atmosphere as the original. Of Deep Galactic Rock, it is easier to create a one-on-one experience: a video game match is a round of the board game. But Valheim is an expansive experience that is more difficult to describe. Valheim: The Board Game coming to crowdfunding on Gamefound later this year.
Play on one Valheim server with a cohort of friends is a big experience, consisting of weeks and months of farming, building, adventuring, boss battles and general Viking antics. So how does the board game adaptation bring all that together into a two-hour session? It’s not an easy task, but the designers have looked at it Valheim‘s biomes and the altars that summon bosses like Bonemass or The Elder.
“The video game is extensive. Not only is it a typical adventure, but you start with nothing. You also have to create a home. I see it as an adult version of it Minecraft,” says Ole Steiness, chief designer of Valheim: The Board Game. “What we’ve done is taken the same core concept and then broken it down into scenarios for a larger campaign.”
Each session of the board game represents a bigger picture scenario Valheim living in the 10th realm. “You have to develop yourself and your home to meet this challenge,” says Steiness. “You will explore the map, which will consist of tiles on the board, and events will occur and creatures will appear to challenge you. As you fight your way through, you’ll collect resources so you and your friends can build a cool character and a cool house, until you take on the big boss battle at the end of the game.
Image: Iron Gate/Mood Publishing
Several sessions of Valheim: The Board Game will have different layouts and scenarios that play out over a two-hour gaming session. Not all scenarios will be a test of martial arts skills. “It was important to both us and Iron Gate (the developer of Valheim) that it’s not just about killing things – it’s about developing other properties and making other parts work. Some people like to build a house, other people like to explore. We have a 3D model of your house in the game, and it’s an empty house that you have to fill in.”
In Valheim, new furniture and farm workbenches increase your comfort level and allow you to make new stuff. That’s true Valheim: The Board Game also, allowing players to stick around at home to upgrade their gear and build armor, while others head into the Black Forest to slay monsters. To refine these roles, there are character archetypes: the Ranger is likely off exploring and fighting trolls, while the Sailor focuses on securing sea routes, and the Gatherer gathers everything needed for a nutritious stew. Anyone can do anything, but these roles allow players to specialize in a way similar to the original game.
The board will also change depending on the boss you fight. For example, Bonemas will ensure that the board is filled with more swamp biomes and poison tiles. When the endgame begins, players flip the board over, revealing a boss arena for the final showdown.
Valheim: The Board Game will be available on Gamefound later in 2024. More details will be released on Valheim‘S X power supply and community Disagreement as soon as they become available.