Combining open world exploration and challenging combat, the Tarnished can rise and take on Elden Ring the Board Game: Realm of the Grafted King. But does it capture the feel of the lauded video game? We enter the Lands Between to find out.
Elden Ring is probbbaly one of the greatest video games of all time, and for the last few years, Steamforged Games have been capturing the feel of video game IPs on the tabletop, including Resident Evil, Monster Hunter, and Dark Souls, which got a board game, and a card game (which is still one of my favorite games of all time). The Dark Souls video game is developed by FromSoftware, also the creators of the Elden Ring video game, so it was only natural that Steamforged Games picked that up, and after a successful Kickstarter, it’s now heading to retail.
Opening A Monster
The first thing you’ll notice about Elden Ring the Board Game: Realm of the Grafted King is the size of the box (other smaller sets are available, and we discuss those below). Realm of the Grafted King is a mammoth box, and not just because of the number of miniatures it contains (which is substantial in number, 54, and the size of some of them), but the wealth of paper material that’s also inside, including 1227 cards, and 6 books (1 rulebook, 1 scenario book and 4 encounter books).
Despite the scale of the box, getting into your first game isn’t as daunting as it appears, which for new players is considerable (but there’s a better entry point if you’re brand new to board games, and we discuss below). Opening the box for the first time, there are several card decks to sort and the rulebook to read, but the actual setup simply involves gathering the components for each player’s chosen character (in RofGL there are 4 choices) and then you open the scenario book at the Stranded Graveyard and the game begins.
Welcome To The Lands Between
Elden Ring the Board Game: Realm of the Grafted King, and all the other sets have 5 different types of gameplay. The game starts with the narrative, where players read through the scenario book and make decisions. Those familiar with the Fighting Fantasy books of old will feel nostalgic, but this also takes the place of a Games Master who usually controls the narrative in roleplaying games (or app, as so many digital hybrid board games are starting to take on).
The bulk of Elden Ring the Board Game gameplay is split between exploration, where players slowly build a map made up of hex pieces where they can interact with non-player characters, narrative elements, and enter combat areas, which make up the rest of the gameplay. Combat is split between dungeons, where the Tarnished work their way through enemies until they face a boss, gauntlet, where players face waves of enemies and also boss battles, where players take on powerful enemies.
The combat in Elden Ring the Board Game is entirely diceless, and instead uses cards to randomise combat (and other tests). Attribute cards contain symbols from 5 attributes, and when a test is required, it will detail how many points each attribute is worth, or the effect gained on a combat card. During combat, players also use an individual combat deck, which is made up of cards indicated by their Tarnished’s equipped weapons. This allows you to tailor your combat deck to suit your play style with the weapons and items that you find.
All combat takes place on battlefield grids made up of 1 or more of the Encounter Books (my first fight using all 4 books was a very exciting moment). These grids have combat lanes, which, depending on the position of your miniature, can target specific areas in the enemy grid. There are also 3 different rows for the player characters, with different effects depending on where they are positioned. Right at the front of the grid, head-on to the enemy, allows players to draw 2 cards from their attribute deck when making attacks, choosing which they use for maximum attack potential. The centre lane allows them to move their initiative card, gaining an element of control on when they act during the turn, and the furthest lane back allows you to draw 2 cards when making a defensive action, choosing the card with the best attributes for your defense.
Enemy attacks are also handled by cards, and each enemy has a unique card, unique even between those of the same type, which lists their behaviors for movement and attacks. Bosses have their own deck of attacks and attack multiple times each turn.
Rise Tarnished
Each Elden Ring The Board Game core set has different Tarnished characters to play (we discuss the different sets below), and Elden Ring the Board Game: Realm of the Grafted King includes the following:
- Astrologer – This class likes to chain attacks together for combination bonuses
- Prophet – Has healing abilities, but also starts with the highest damage-dealing card out of the starting characters
- Samurai – An agile fighter, most cards allow them to move and strike
- Vagabond – A defensive fighter who can shove enemies to reposition them for effective attacks
Each character starts with a weapon and shield, which have their own combat decks, their own unique attributes deck, a class feature, and a unique quest to set them off on their campaign.
During the campaign, after each scenario, players can buy new weapons, armor, talismans, trait, and attribute cards (buying and equipping new weapons and armor also changes the combat deck), or they can upgrade weapons and attach memories to cards, which add spell cards to your combat deck.
Guiding Light
As you might have guessed from the contents of Elden Ring the Board Game: Realm of the Grafted King, it offers a significant playtime out of this box. Each scenario takes around an hour, with some stretching a little longer depending on player choices while they’re exploring, which sets you up for over 50 hours to finish the campaign. There’s replayability out of the box as well, with the 4 different characters to explore, different builds for them to make, and the exploration map will look different each time too.
Realm of the Grafted King can also be combined with other sets. There are 2 other core sets, Weeping Peninsula and Stormveil Castle, which have smaller campaigns, but still contain 4 player classes to choose from. Both of these boxes include 2 new classes, and 2 that are already included in Realm of the Grafted King. Those duplicates contain a unique sculpt, and come with different class quests and starting decks for a different experience.
All 3 of the core sets can be combined, or played independently, but there are also additional add-on sets, Limgrave Depths, Erdtree Avatar, and Flying Dragon Agheel that add new rules and enemies to your games, but they can only be added to the Realm of the Grafted King set.
Elden Ring: Weeping Peninsula is the ideal starting point for anyone who’s new to board games and is looking to pick this up because they’re an Elden Ring video game fan. Which can then be combined with Realm of the Grafted King, reviewed here, and additional sets for extra content. If you like what you’ve read here, and want to just get straight into the longest campaign, then Realm of the Grafted King won’t disappoint.
Elden Ring the Board Game: Realm of the Grafted King Final Thoughts?
Elden Ring the Board Game: Realm of the Grafted King is a monster of a game in size and depth. It opts for sheer volume of content over the app control that many games are starting to take on. The blending of narrative and exploration is done well, and while combat is challenging (bosses are very challenging), it feels rewarding, and the combat and attribute deck that you can customise over the game are particularly well done. This box, RotGK, will be quite daunting for a brand-new tabletop player, and they should probably look to start their Elden Ring tabletop journey with Weeping Peninsula instead.
Each of the 4 player classes feels unique and offers a different experience, and the game plays well solo, or up to 4 players, I had the best experience playing solo, with 2 characters (samurai of course and astrologer) to get the blending of abilities, but being able to play through the game and experience the campaign my way. Despite the huge box size, there does feel like there’s a lot more to explore in the Lands Between. We’re only touching the surface in terms of weapons, class builds, enemies, and areas in Elden Ring the Board Game, and I hope that we get more.
The copy of Elden Ring the Board Game: Realm of the Grafted King used to produce this review was provided by Steamforged Games.
