Last week, we learned that Steamforged Games and Bandai Namco would be teaming up to work on a Dark Souls board game. A Kickstarter for the project was promised and launched on April 19, 2016. Then, within three minutes of its debut on the crowdfunding site, the project reached its $70,832 goal. As of 10am CT on April 20, 2016, the Dark Souls board game Kickstarter has raised over $870,000 from over 7,300 backers.
The Dark Souls board game is a strategic game with places to explore, monsters to fight, treasures to collect, and intimidating bosses. Between one and four people can play cooperatively at once, with each session playing differently since there are no fixes scenarios. Player characters can equip items to their left and right hand, as well as have a spell and item prepared. The goal is to try and defeat the boss, all the while determining if it’s wisest to keep pressing forward, ensuring the dungeon doesn’t change, or if it’s best to regroup and power up at the bonfire, with the dungeon’s locations resetting while you’re gone.
Each game comes with Assassin, Herald, Knight, and Warrior player characters, three Armored Hollow, three Crossbow Hollow, three Hulking Hollow, three Sentinel, and Three Silver Knight Swordman grunts, the Frost Knight, Gargoyle, Invader, Titanite Demon, and Winged Knight mini-bosses, and the Dancer of the Boreal Valley, Dragon Slayer Ornstein, and Executioner Smough boss figures. There are also seven playing board tiles, four character boards, three boss dials, boss AI and encounter decks, equipment decks, treasure decks, effect tokens, and 15 dice. People can also increase their pledge amounts to purchase add-ons like the Black Dragon Kalameet, Gaping Dragon, and Guardian Dragon. These are an additional £28 (~$40) each. An optional The Four Kings add-on will be available as well, if £1,000,000 (~$1,440,355) is raised.
Steamforged Games has also prepared a Dark Souls board game boss fight demonstration.
The Dark Souls board game Kickstarter will end on May 16, 2016. The game is expected to ship in April 2017. The least amount of money someone can pledge to get the game is £80 (~$115).
