Have I mentioned that I love board games? I’m sure I must have, and if I didn’t, my constant poverty level and board game reviews might have given it away. There is just something about sitting around a table with friends and foes alike and sharing a few hours either battling through a campaign together, trying to race each other for points or just marvelling at how terrible our dice throws are that’s hard to beat.
But while most of the content I write focuses on games that have already been released and found their way into my board game room, and yes, I do have a board game room, I thought today I’d mix it up a little and take you with me on a journey through five board games that haven’t yet released, but that will almost definitely result in me spending money when they do.
So go make some coffee, come back, sit down and let’s go through five upcoming board games set to release sometime in 2023 that I feel shouldn’t be missed:
Septima
Septima is a board game that’s been on my radar for a long while now, ever since an early prototype edition of the game got sent out to various board game YouTubers to play and review.
One of the first things that grabbed me was the game’s table presence, thanks to its fantastic pencil drawing-type art style. The game is based on the concept of a coven of witches living in secret within a small village.
In Septima, players will attempt to replace their leader after she announces her retirement. To do so, players will need to gain the respect of their retired leader and fellow witches by performing all sorts of witch-like tasks, such as collecting ingredients, brewing potions and healing the sick.
There is also a system in the game where witches will be placed on trial, and players can send loyal people to vote on the outcome in favour of the witches. Whenever a witch is judged innocent, they will join a player’s group, which comes with its own risk. Performing the same actions as other players will attract witch-hunters seeking to kill the player’s coven.
Septima is compelling because its gameplay mechanic requires players to strike a perfect balance between playing competitively and cooperatively to make it through.
Septima is set to arrive sometime in May, and it’s one game that I won’t hesitate to pick up.
The Last of Us: Escape the Dark
There is just something about board game adaptions of video games that makes me insanely happy. Sure, there’s a lot to be said for it just being a cash grab from the developers, but there’s more to say about it being two loves of mine brought together into one box.
The Last of Us: Escape the Dark is based on the beloved Escape the Dark gameplay system that has already seen games such as Escape the Dark Castle and Escape the Dark Sector make their mark on the board game world.
At its simplest, The Last of Us tells a story about a cynical man called Joel and a young girl, filled with hope, called Ellie, who is the only living person to be immune to the fungal parasites that have destroyed the world as we know it.
The Last of Us: Escape the Dark plans to translate this to tabletop by letting players explore an open-world map to prepare for a final journey to their ultimate destination, Jackson. Each location will offer players the chance to gain supplies needed for crafting. Still, they also have the potential to unlock terrifying nightmares, such as hordes of clickers, to human ambushes.
The board game follows a risk/reward system where players must unlock locations to prepare. Still, by doing so, they leave themselves vulnerable to the unknown terrors that await. The game is set for a December release, and I hope it turns out to be as good as it promises to be.
Fit to Print
Fit to Print is a game I heard about while browsing through Kickstarter. Thanks to its novel concept, theme and art, I fell in love with it quickly.
At its core, Fit to Print is a board game all about running your own newspaper; from a gameplay perspective, it sounds charmingly simple.
Players will use various tiles to construct their newspapers’ front page to score the most points possible. This tableau-building game will see players competing over three rounds to collect the most points by obtaining and placing tiles on their board.
At the start of each round, players will choose between tiles from a shared pool. The crux of the game comes in that tiles of the same type cannot touch on a player’s board, meaning that players will need to think carefully about placement.
Fit to Print is expected to start arriving in October, and I can’t wait to see how it all pulls together.
Slay the Spire: The Board Game
Slay the Spire is an indie video game that was released way back in 2017, and when I reviewed it here on NAG, I had this to say:
“Slay the Spire has all the elements that make card-based games great. You get the joy of building your deck to optimize your hand as much as possible. You get the satisfaction of layering damage into some devastating avalanche provided you have the right cards, which is then mixed with the joy of roguelike video games.”
So when I heard the game was coming to tabletop, I was excited. One of the biggest downfalls to the video game for me was that it was a single-player experience, something the board game version changes by giving players a chance to climb the tower alongside friends.
From what I’ve seen so far, Slay the Spire: The Board Game looks to be a pretty faithful adaptation of the video game and will see players choosing between a selection of four different characters, with each one offering a unique playstyle.
Each character will start the game with their starter deck, with various opportunities to acquire more cards found along the way up the tower. As with the original, Slay the Spire: The Board Game is a roguelike experience: whenever players fail, they’ll need to start the game from the very beginning, so players will need to carefully manage their hand of cards to avoid this by all means necessary.
Slay the Spire: The Board Game is set to release in December, and I couldn’t be more excited to dive into it with my friends at long last.
The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Order
Ever wanted to explore the entire continent of Tamriel but in board game format? You’ll soon be able to, thanks to this upcoming RPG video game series adaptation.
The Elder Scrolls/board game fans will remember that there has already been an Elder Scrolls-themed board game, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – The Adventure Board Game, but that game focused entirely on a single region of the vast video game universe.
The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era aims to change that by opening the entire continent of Tamriel for players to explore. The game is set during the Planemeld and will have players investigating the necromantic Order of the Black Worm.
Much like the video games the board game is based on, players can create their own characters by choosing from a selection of different classes and character species native to Tamriel. Players can also pick from a selection of skills they’ll upgrade and improve throughout the game.
Little more is known about The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Order. From what’s been promised, it is a must-have for my collection, but almost certainly not for my bank account.
That concludes our list of five upcoming board games set to release sometime in 2023 and are worth keeping an eye on. Now we want to know from you, what board games you’re excited about this year? Let us know in the comments, and let’s all be broke together – because what’s the point of having money if not to buy board games… right… right?