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Star Rating:
I recently played Fallout: The Board Game, so here’s my review after my first attempt. The board game is literally a board game version of the video game. Although I haven’t played any of the Fallout video games, I was playing the game with someone who had, and he said it was as close to the video game as a board game could get.
The game has a lot of content and is very detailed. There are main quests, side quests, fighting different Fallout series beings, exploring the land, encounters where you must choose which action to take, and even shopping for equipment and companions. Characters from the game, such as Piper and Dogmeat, serve as companions.
The main goal of the game is to gain a certain amount of influence before the other players. However, depending on which scenario you choose, how you do this and other aspects of the game will change. In the scenario we chose, for example, we had to compete against two different factions. We gained influence, as did a certain faction at times, depending on how we completed certain quests.
Hexagon tiles make up the board, some of which you initially place face down, and you must “explore” them, or reveal them, before you can enter that section of the board. Various enemies are scattered across the board. Depending on the cards you draw when it’s the enemies’ turn, certain types of enemies will gradually approach you and attack you.
You can also explore vaults for side quests or experience encounters in settlements or the wastelands in which you draw a card. The card will present you with a situation, and you must choose between two or three options, each of which will result in different outcomes and rewards.
Because there is so much more to do in this game, I haven’t covered every aspect of it. However, all of this detail makes it a time-consuming game to set up and play. We spent over an hour setting up the game for the first time and several hours playing the entire game. You punch out a large number of cardboard pieces and arrange some cards in a specific order.
Honestly, because it took a lot longer than we expected, by the end, we were helping each other to get one of us to win so we could finish the game rather than competing against each other. So, expect to spend several hours playing this game. However, just because it is long does not make it any less fun. It’s actually quite enjoyable to play, and some of the encounters and flavor text on the cards are very amusing.
You play against each other as well as the game, though there is an expansion pack that allows you to play cooperatively. We have the expansion, but we decided not to use it on our first play through because we wanted to get used to how the game works before adding more.
It will take some time to understand all of the rules, and you will need to refer to the books during your first play through and possibly after that. However, this does not necessarily imply that it is difficult to understand. It’s just that the game has a lot of content that is very specific and detailed.
There are a few rules that don’t entirely make sense, but that doesn’t mean you can’t interpret them however you want. If you’re playing a board game with your family or friends, you can always change things. No one’s stopping you from changing any detail of the game except yourselves.
I enjoyed playing Fallout: The Board Game, despite it taking a long time to set up and play. With all of the details in this game, the first play can be a little intimidating, but it’s worth playing. The attention to detail adds to the enjoyment, and it’s almost as if you’re playing a board game version of a rpg video game. You’ll enjoy this board game if you like the Fallout series, but it’s also a fun game to play if you don’t know the series and you can play it without any knowledge of the video games.
You can get Fallout: The Board Game on Amazon.
What do you think of Fallout: The Board Game? Do you plan to play the game? Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.