There’s An Official Fallout Board Game Now

Guaranteed to be less glitchy and run at a better frame rate, Fantasy Flight Games has announced that a board game adaptation of Fallout will go on sale in the last quarter of this year.

Inspired by both Fallout 3 and Fallout 4, Fantasy Flight Games – the company responsible for Star Wars miniatures games, distributors for Android: Netrunner, Elder Sign and Mansions of Madness – announced that the Fallout board game would be a cooperative affair for up to 4 players.

Designed by Nathan Hajek and Andrew Fischer, the Fallout board game will concentrate on decision making around quests and random encounters. “One to four players (solo play is an option) select one of five playable explorers, from a savvy Wastelander to a stout member of the Brotherhood of Steel. Players range out across a modular, hex-based board that matches with one of several scenarios and settings – all of which are drawn from Bethesda’s core Fallout games or their expansions.”

Fantasy Flight notes that players will gain XP that can be used to increase abilities or perks, with players earning that XP by exploring regions and vaults on the hexagonal board, collecting loot and companions, and either helping or squaring off against the various factions in the nuclear wasteland.

Here’s what the character card looks like:

The board game will come with four scenarios, featuring Far Harbor, The Commonwealth, The Pitt and The Capital Wasteland. The rest of the map will vary from game to game, however, and there are five separate characters with their own armor, attribute values, S.P.E.C.I.A.L. tokens and weaponry.

The main kicker will be the predetermined scenarios, which decide which factions will be warring in the game while also providing players with a main quest to follow. “Welcome to the Commonwealth is the first card in the scenario depicted … completing one of the actions on this card will cause the noted effects, move the story forward, and reveal even more quests,” Fantasy Flight’s blog notes. “While the main quest cards will more often than not impact the factions, side quests will allow you and the other survivors to explore other stories within the game without pushing that primary narrative too far ahead.”

Image: Fantasy Flight Games

You can read more about the game’s mechanics on the Fantasy Flight website, although chances are if you’re a diehard Fallout fan you’ll probably be looking to pick this up already. The listed price is $US59.99, with a playtime running from approximately two to three hours. There’s no mention of whether Fantasy Flight will produce a companion app for the Fallout game, as they have done with some of their recent releases.