Scrabble Day: Video Games That Are Board Games Too! 

April 13th is Scrabble Day. We’re taking a look at our favourite AAA games that can be brought to the tabletop! 

We love a good crossover, and that includes crossing over to different mediums and formats. Seeing some of our favourite video games recreated for the tabletop just makes our little nerdy souls happy. From exploring how the game is translated to tabletop mechanics, to admiring the miniature version of the game heroes, there’s plenty to enjoy. Grab yourself a cuppa and come geek out over these video-game-based board games!

For Scrabble Day 2022, we explored the best way to play board games on your gaming PC.

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Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom 

Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is a beautiful JRPG and sequel to Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch that was made in collaboration with Studio Ghibli. Whilst they had no direct involvement with number two, this game still features that iconic Ghibli style, rich in detail, colour, and atmosphere. Instead of following the characters of the first game, Ni No Kuni II has us joining young King Evan Tildrum after his kingdom, Ding Dong Dell, was taken from him, by the evil Doloran. With the help of some friends and adorable Higgledies, he sets out to find a new kingdom and restore light to the land. 

Ni No Kuni II: The Board Game 

Based on a JRPG, there are a lot of elements to recreate. Try too many, and the game feels messy. Ni No Kuni II: The Board Game balances the important narrative features with co-operative, quest-driven mechanics. Set in King Evan’s new kingdom, Evermore, you need to gather resources to buy kingdom cards and build a strong community. You gain them by going on quests, which can only be achieved when you defeat the monster blocking them. You have four rounds to achieve this. The end goal? Build a thriving city with more influence points than Doloran and the remaining monsters on the board have. 

As a co-op board game, up to four players take on the roles of King Evan and his friends. Each has a balance of magic, melee, and ranged attack points, with a special skill, that makes them better suited to fighting certain monsters. It’s up to you how you best deploy them. Naturally, this game would not be complete without the help of Higgledies, which can be used to boost your attack and party number when taking on quests. Adding an element of luck (and chaos, in my humble opinion), your final attack damage is determined by dice rolls. To defeat a monster, you must roll a value that beats the fight value displayed on the card. 

Best of all, this board game has really captured the artistic essence of Ni No Kuni. Both the board and cards are beautifully detailed, giving off all the Ghibli vibes. The miniatures are excellent renderings of the characters. What’s more, they don’t come pre-painted so those that dabble in mini painting can bring them to life. The dice even feature a sun symbol in lieu of the traditional six pips. Every piece in the game is simply gorgeous. 

Dark Souls 

Dark Souls redefined the fantasy genre and spawned a whole new gameplay style, souls-like. This RPG is unforgivingly hard but that’s why we love it! Taking the role of a cursed human, you must explore the kingdom of Lordran whilst trying to discover just what fate will befall them as the undead. Rather than being spoon-fed the story, players must piece the narrative together, creating a refreshing spin on the RPG style. 

Dark Souls: The Board Game 

Dark Souls: The Board Game takes the elements we love best about the video game series and recreates them for the tabletop. In this board game, between one and four players take on a brutally hard dungeon crawl, with miniatures, a variety of classes to play as, and plenty of treasure to discover. Your end goal? To face down and defeat the final boss beyond the fog gate, who is controlled by a powerful and unpredictable AI. 

Choose to play as an Assassin, Knight, Warrior, or Herald, and upgrade your character as you venture deeper into the dungeon. Once again, this is a co-operative effort – Dark Souls is difficult enough without having to worry about your party sabotaging your efforts! As you successfully take down enemies, you are rewarded with souls, which serve as the currency within this game for upgrading your character and buying gear.  

Much like the video game, this version of Dark Souls requires you to use your noggin. To progress through the dungeon, you need to learn how these monsters work, what their weaknesses are, and identify any attack patterns they have. Inevitably, you will die, which will see the whole party respawning at the bonfire and the game resets. Souls are dropped and the bonfire loses a spark. Lose them all, and the game is over. 

PAC-MAN 

Wakka wakka. PAC-MAN is the classic arcade. It has lived rent-free in our collective consciousness since 1980. The game is simple: eat the dots, get the points, avoid the ghosts. So long as you have the skills, you can rack up some pretty impressive scores. The perfect score is 3,333,360, where you have to eat every dot, bonus fruit, and blue ghost possible in the game, until it crashes at level 256. TIL there is more than one level on PAC-MAN. 

PAC-MAN: The Card Game

With PAC-MAN: The Card Game, two to eight players can enjoy the retro arcade game in a new format. The basic premise is the same, master the levels, avoid the ghosts, and get the highest score. What’s different is the game mechanic. Rather than navigating a maze and running in a blind panic whenever you’re cornered by a ghost, you draw cards to build a deck of points. The deck is split into two, Level One and Level Two. These can be worthed through sequentially, or combined for a bonus level for eight players. 

Play is pretty simple. On your turn you either draw a card or choose to shut down. If you draw a card, you can push your luck by pulling more or choose between ending your turn or shutting down. “Shutting down” takes you out of the round. Your deck may be stacked with juicy points or you cannot risk getting another ghost card – three of those, and you’re out! 

There are two ways to win. First, you can be last player standing. In between the power-ups, PAC-DOT, and fruit cards, the latter two being worth points, there are ghost cards featuring the iconic quartet, Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde. If you get three or more ghosts in your hand, that’s it, you’re instantly out. (One of the cheeky beggars is worth two ghosts!) Therefore, you can win by all the other players being eliminated. Alternatively, if two or more of you shut down before getting got, then whoever has the most points in their deck wins!

Resident Evil 3 

With Resident Evil 4 Remaster released in 2023, we are all about finding new ways to experience this franchise.  Resident Evil 3 remains one of our favourites. Play as Jill Valentine, who is one of the last remaining witnesses to the atrocities performed by Umbrella. You must escape the city infested with the infected and avoid Umbrella’s ultimate secret weapon, Nemesis.  

Resident Evil 3: The Board Game 

Another co-operative game, Resident Evil 3: The Board Game is for one to four players. Following the basic plot of the video game, you must survive the night and escape Racoon City alive, with Nemesis hot on your tail. You and your fellow survivors are looking for parts to repair the cable car that will take you to safety. The four characters you play as are familiar faces from the video game, Jill Valentine, Nikolai Ginovaef, Carlos Oliveira, and Mikhail Viktor. Each has their own unique skill set based on their personality and background. 

In this game, you explore iconic locations from Racoon City, trying to find the necessary items you need to escape. But the danger level is rising throughout the game and random, unpredictable events will force you and your team to make some tough choices. Here’s the real kicker, every choice you make matters and will directly affect the game. No pressure.  

Enhancing replayability, the game is divided into nail-biting scenarios that can be played in any order and as stand-alone, self-contained solo adventures. If you’re feeling brave enough, that is. Just to make this game even more punishing, resources are finite, careful management is a must, and the tension desk is designed to keep you on your toes. This is a mechanic from Resident Evil 2: The Board Game, that has been tweaked to suit the ever-evolving nature of this game. 

Plus, with expansions and dedicated versions of other titles from the franchise, there is plenty of Resident Evil tabletopping to be done.

Horizon Zero Dawn 

Beautifully blending nature and machine, Horizon Zero Dawn takes us on a legendary adventure. Playing as Aloy, a shunned hunter, you explore this vast and stunning open-world RPG, trying to unravel the mysteries of this future Earth ruled by Machines. Take on mechanical monsters and rival tribes with devastating and tactical attacks, as you perfect your skills. 

Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game

Horizon Zero Dawn: The Board Game has been designed to mirror the depth and complexity of the video game. Semi-co-operative, one to four players are all vying for the same end goal. Making their name with the Hunters Lodge. Your fellow hunters are both allies and direct competition. Trade resources and help each other to level up, but only the best can rise to the ranks of eternal glory. A word of warning, however, if one hunter dies, all hunters fail. Hence the need to work together. 

You are tasked with taking down a dangerous quarry, deep within the lush, post-apocalyptic world that is populated with many more monsters. You have to venture out into these vibrant wilds, taking on plenty of foes to earn glory. How much glory you earn depends entirely on you and the actions you choose. At the end of the game when you’ve taken down the boss and returned to the campfire, glory will be measured. The player with the highest wins. 

There are four fearless hunters to play as, each with their own unique skills, weapons, and fighting styles. They represent different tribes from the Horizon Zero Dawn universe. The foes you face will be familiar enemies from the video game, such as Watchers and Scrappers. These present in varied and unpredictable combat, and can be stripped down to useful materials once defeated. This game is a wonderfully immersive experience, and can be played as either in a single session or over multiple game nights as episodic quests.  

There is plenty of crossover between tabletop and video gaming. Currently, we can’t get enough of video games based on the legendary TTRPG, Dungeons and Dragons. Check out our faves in this dedicated blog.

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Time to Play

Whether reading about the board game counters has got you excited to play the original game or to check them out on Tabletop Simulator, your gaming PC needs to be up to the task. Here’s a couple tasters from the Overclockers UK website if you’re in the market for something new. If these don’t fit your vibes, then you can explore our full range with just a click of a button!

Refract Gaming Celeste Pre-Built PC

Part of our pre-built gaming PC range, the Refract Celeste is the perfect game piece for mainstream gaming. Sporting an AMD Ryzen 7 7700X CPU and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, this PC will expertly bring all your gaming to life, from meeples to monsters. Plus, with high-speed DDR5 RAM and an ultra-fast M.2 SSD, you can wave goodbye to slow loading times. I can’t promise your opponent will think as quickly, though.

Even better, the Refract Celeste is full pre-built and tested, making it ready for next day delivery (stock allowing). The final cherry on top is each Refract Gaming PC comes with three years parts and labour warranty, for that extra peace of mind. 

Gigabyte AROUS 16X Gaming Laptop

If you prefer to take your gaming on-the-go, tabletop or otherwise, then the Gigabyte AORUS 16X Gaming Laptop is for you. This slimline machine is equipped with an Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU, boasting Intel’s innovative hybrid architecture and intelligent thread management. The 16.0” QHD+ screen beautifully displays the graphics rendered by the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GPU. With Ada Lovelace architecture and a refresh rate of 165Hz working in tandem, enjoy smooth frame rates and crisp detail. 

Temperatures are maintained by Gigabyte’s WINDFORCE Infinity cooling technology. Pairing highly conductive materials and efficient design, heat is effectively drawn away from vital components. Play on. 

Game Night!

What will you bring to the table to celebrate Scrabble Day? I shall be suggesting Azul at my regularly scheduled Thursday Night Game Night. Drop a comment with your go-to board game – bonus points if it’s based on a video game! 

PC specs are subject to change.