There’s something oddly satisfying about seeing a favorite video game turned into a board game, like meeting an old friend in a new outfit. But not all adaptations are created equal. Some capture the exact mechanics, tone, and little quirks that made the digital version great, while others feel like they just slapped a logo on the box.
I’ve played my way through both ends of that spectrum, and it’s always fascinating to see what makes the leap successfully. Here’s how the best of them stack up when it comes to staying true to their source material.
10 Fallout: The Board Game
Fallout’s tabletop version nails the retro-future wasteland aesthetic: the cards, tokens, and map tiles all feel like they came straight from a Pip-Boy screen. The open-world exploration works, too, with branching story cards echoing the game’s side-quest chaos.
But while it captures the vibe, the pacing can drag, and the factions don’t always feel as menacing as they do digitally. It’s still a fun journey through irradiated America, especially if you want to wander and argue over who gets the Nuka-Cola without a controller in hand.
9 Resident Evil 2: The Board Game
This one feels like it was built for players who remember every zombie placement from the original game. The modular tile layout mirrors Raccoon City’s claustrophobic corridors, and the ammo scarcity will make you sweat just like the PlayStation classic.
This game’s complexity is a double-edged sword. If you’re a newcomer to both the video game and tabletop worlds, start with a simpler game before diving into this one. It’s a love letter to fans, but it doesn’t hold your hand.
The campaign structure works well, but the dice-based combat can sometimes undercut that classic survival horror tension. Still, when you’re down to your last bullet, the door swings open, and the T-Virus threat lumbers into view. It’s as close as cardboard gets to that digital dread.
8 Stardew Valley: The Board Game
It’s hard to bottle Stardew Valley’s charm, but this board game gets surprisingly close. You still grow crops, fish, mine, and befriend villagers, all while balancing seasonal goals. It’s slower-paced than the video game (turns take planning rather than frantic clicking), but that actually works in its favor.
It becomes more about careful collaboration than racing the clock. The art and components radiate the same cozy, wholesome energy, and there’s something wonderful about turning over a heart token when you’ve made a new ‘friend’ in town.
7 The War Of Mine: The Board Game
If you thought the video game was bleak, the board game might actually hit harder. It keeps the resource scarcity and unpredictable events that make survival feel fragile. The journal system is brilliant, letting you pass the responsibility of reading story passages between players, so everyone feels the weight of decisions.
This game is an emotional experience, not just a strategic one. The journal system is a brilliant mechanic that ensures everyone at the table feels the weight of the moral choices you’re forced to make. Be prepared for a heavy, but deeply rewarding, game night.
The pacing can feel heavy (it’s not a casual game night pick), but in terms of accuracy to tone and message, it’s one of the most faithful adaptations out there. You don’t win so much as endure together.
6 The Witcher: Old World
Old World takes a slightly broader view than The Witcher 3, focusing on monster-hunting in the Continent before Geralt’s time. The deck-building combat system feels true to the game’s tactical fights, and the side quests and tavern brawls are exactly the kind of distractions you’d expect from this universe.
It’s not quite as morally gray as the video games (the board game leans more into straightforward adventuring), but the setting, lore, and monster encounters still feel authentically Witcher. Plus, any game that lets you fight a Leshen at the table is doing something right.
5 Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Of Venice
Brotherhood of Venice drops you right into the Assassin’s Creed sweet spot: stealth missions and rooftop chases. The co-op campaign unfolds across multiple ‘memories,’ with branching objectives and the freedom to choose how you approach them, just like in the video games.
It’s less about frantically climbing towers and more about careful planning, but the tactical stealth works well here. The miniatures and historical settings nail the atmosphere, and when a mission comes together perfectly, it feels exactly like pulling off an in-game assassination.
4 Bloodborne: The Board Game
Bloodborne fans will feel right at home in this grim, monster-filled nightmare. The game leans heavily into fast, aggressive combat, forcing you to press the attack rather than turtle up, just like the digital version.
Just like the video game, this tabletop version is punishingly difficult. Don’t expect to win your first few attempts against a boss. The game is designed to challenge you and your group, so embrace the grind and be ready to learn from your mistakes.
The campaign’s chapter system mirrors the sense of uncovering lore piece by piece, and the grotesque miniatures make every enemy encounter feel personal. It’s slightly more streamlined than the PlayStation game, but the spirit is still there: punishing difficulty, high stakes, and that sweet relief when you finally take down a boss on your last sliver of health.
XCOM’s board game version doesn’t just copy the look; it captures the stress. The app-driven timer forces you to make snap decisions about troop deployment and alien defense. That constant pressure mirrors the video game’s tension perfectly, where every second counts and one bad choice can ruin a mission.
The co-op roles (Commander, Central Officer, etc.) keep everyone engaged, and you’ll get that same mix of triumph and despair when you scrape through a mission with barely any resources left. It’s a masterclass in translating tone into tabletop form.
2 Dark Souls: The Board Game
This adaptation leans all the way into Dark Souls’ core identity: methodical combat, punishing difficulty, and the joy of finally mastering a boss’s pattern. Every encounter feels deliberate, with movement and stamina management playing huge roles.
It can be grindy, yes, but so is the source material, and that’s part of the point. The boss fights, in particular, feel incredibly true to the games, forcing you to read attack patterns and adapt on the fly. It’s not a casual evening, but for Souls fans, it’s a brutally accurate pilgrimage.
1 Doom: The Board Game
This isn’t just Doom with dice. It’s Doom in cardboard form. The asymmetric gameplay pits one player as the demons against a squad of heavily armed marines, creating that relentless back-and-forth chaos the video game thrives on.
The action is fast and unapologetically violent, with missions that encourage reckless heroics and messy firefights. It captures Doom’s ‘run and gun’ adrenaline better than you’d think a board game could. The best part? When you manage to survive by the skin of your teeth, it feels exactly like blasting your way through Hell itself.
