Strange Girl Gaming

You know what I love to see when I get a new miniature board game the words “YOU DIED” before I’ve even had the chance to play it! granted I have died (a lot!) since actually getting it all set up, ready for me to once again immerse myself in the world of Dark Souls but come on, at least give me a chance don’t be so presumptuous…even though they were correct. My total death count for the board game is more than my entire run of Dark Souls 3 (2 deaths and no defeats in PVP), so it’s not too surprising but death count is a lot higher in DS2 yet I feel the board game could be closing in on that total, couldn’t tell you what it is though.

The Dark Souls board game created by Steamforge Games is fun experience and every bit as challenging as its video game counter parts. As soon as I heard about the Dark Souls board game at the start of last year I just knew that I had to have it, I’ve been a huge Dark Souls fan for a few years no, being able to have new adventures in the form of a board and some miniatures makes for a fun, interesting alternative. However since I got the game upon its release last August I haven’t had as many adventures as I would have liked but I am determined to change that, especially since the 2 main bosses available right now happen to be 2 of my personal favourite fights across the entire series. The Dancer of The Boreal Valley and of course the legendary Ornstein & Smough. With the impending release of many expansion packs bring in more enemies, bosses and even NPCs is more than enough to keep me interested.

I’m not usually a big miniature game fan, I can always make an exception when it involves an already established world that I absolutely love. The game itself surprised me with how fun it actually is, I was so involved in the game that time flew by as me and my friend played it, I found myself desperately rolling the dice wanting to survive, wanting to defeat my enemies. Just like when I play the video games, the only true difference is my chances in the game comes down to my skill, whereas with the board game it comes down to the luck with my roll of the dice, though I might add my luck with the dice is usually awful until I have the higher-level gear.

There are 4 different classes that you may choose from, knight, herald, warrior and assassin, meaning you can have up to 4 players in this game, kind of like you can have a maximum of 4 players working together online to fight through an area to ultimately unite in an attempt to take down the area boss. In a similar manner to the video game the more players you have the more considerably easier the game may become, there is a slight catch however in that as a team you only have 2 lives so essentially only 3 deaths may occur before the game is over. I have beaten the board game with 2 players and to be honest it was quite challenging, I never would have imagined that a board game could possess such a challenge, it was a breath of fresh air from the other board games that I play such as monopoly and chess.

My favourite class isn’t available yet (the pyromancer) but there is an expansion due out this year giving all the classes that were not included with the main game, including the I’m intrigued as to how well the pyromancer will perform when restricted to what the board game will allow the class to do. There are some considerable differences between the board game and the video game, that’s understandable though, after all it would be impossible to move all mechanics from a video game to a board game. The most important mechanics that make a souls game what it is can be found within the board game, the enemies in it are from the games, the silver knights have the same difficulty that they pose in Anor Londo (frustratingly so at times), then there are the normal undead enemies that can be downed quite easily in a single hit.

You do need to have a good amount of time spare before you dive on in to take on this game, it is a time consuming process to prepare yourself to take down the mini boss which is then followed by the main boss. The farming aspect of the game is still very much there, meaning you will need to clear the rooms leading to the boss fights multiple times in order to increase your attributes and get more equipment, powerful equipment. If you are under levelled, still using the starting sets for each class then I’m sorry to say that much like the video game the boss is going to tear you apart, the dice you receive for physical and magical defence depends entirely upon your gear, if you have poor gear you will granted 2 or three black dice if you are lucky, which will ultimately lead to your demise. I tend to have a short attention span at times and board game while I do find them to be fun and entertaining are likely to make my mind go numb eventually, but with Dark Souls the Board Game I find myself almost enthralled, I can’t get enough of it. I am determined to defeat the boss, to get the victory and move on to my next target. You feel a certain sense of triumph, a familiar feeling from any souls game, the board game being no exception.

This is a must own for any true Dark Souls fan, grab a couple of friends and enjoy an evening of boss slaying together. Perhaps that is my favourite thing about the board game, being able to have my friends right there with me, we get to hang out together whilst taking down some of the best bosses the souls series has to offer. If you haven’t gotten around to owning this yet I would recommend jumping it up a few steps on your list of things to by. Though the trilogy has ended there is still work to be done dear chosen undead.

To link the fire is our purpose.