Doom: The Boardgame
A board game adaptation of the Doom video game series.
Doom: The Boardgame is a tabletop adventure game for two to four players (or two to five in the 2016 version), created by Kevin Wilson and launched by Fantasy Flight Games in 2004. It draws from the Doom first-person shooter video game series, but its design leans closer to Doom 3 than the earlier four titles. An expansion, Doom: The Boardgame Expansion Set, came out in 2005. It introduced difficulty levels, new game pieces, rule updates, and additional modes like Deathmatch and Capture the Flag. In 2005, Fantasy Flight also released Descent: Journeys in the Dark, which was built on the same system as Doom, and soon after stopped making the Doom board game. A revised edition, matching the look of the 2016 video game DOOM, came out that same year. Players split into two teams: the Invaders and the Marines. One player controls all Invader pieces, while the others each handle a single Marine. Before starting, players pick a scenario; the base game includes a five-scenario campaign, and many more have been made with free scenario editors. The Invader player wins by collecting six frags (one frag per Marine death), while the Marines win by reaching the exit. When a Marine dies, they respawn eight to sixteen spaces from where they fell. A common criticism is that the game favors the Invaders, especially with four players, though designer Kevin Wilson claims he can win equally well on either side. As with many board games, players often create house rules—called “mods” to match the video game theme—to adjust the balance. Doom: The Boardgame was the best-selling board game of 2004.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Doom: The Board Game
- Publisher
- Id Software / Bethesda Softworks
- Genre
- Dark Fantasy / Dungeon
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Players in Doom: The Boardgame are on one of two teams: the Invaders, and the Marines. All of the Invader pieces are controlled by one player, and the rest of the players each control one marine piece. Before each game begins, the players must choose a scenario to play in. A campaign consisting of five scenarios is included with the game, and many more have been created using freeware scenario editors. The player controlling the Invaders must get six frags to win, whereas the Marines must reach the exit to win. A 'frag' is given to the Invaders if a Marine dies. When a Marine dies, it must respawn between eight and sixteen spaces from where it was killed.
An expansion was released for the game in 2005, called Doom: The Boardgame Expansion Set, which adds difficulty levels to the game, new game pieces and updates to some of the original rules, as well rules to play on Deathmatch and Capture the Flag. In 2005, Fantasy Flight released Descent: Journeys in the Dark, which is based on the Doom game. Soon after this, the company ceased production of Doom. An updated version was released by Fantasy Flight in 2016, resembling the newly released DOOM.
Reader's Guide
Doom: The Boardgame was the number one-selling board game in 2004, indicating strong commercial success at launch. A common opinion is that the game is biased in favor of the Invaders—especially with four players. The designer of the game, Kevin Wilson, claims that he can win equally well no matter which team he is playing. Like many board games, it is common to develop house rules (called 'mods' to fit the video game theme) to balance the game to players' liking. The game's influence extended to the creation of Descent: Journeys in the Dark, a fantasy-themed game built on the same system, which led to the discontinuation of Doom: The Boardgame. The 2016 updated version revived the title with a design resembling the then-new DOOM video game. The game's legacy includes a dedicated community that created additional scenarios using freeware editors, and its asymmetric team-based gameplay remains a notable example of video game-to-board game adaptation.
Did You Know?
- The game resembles Doom 3 more than it does the first four Doom video games.
- The expansion set added rules for Deathmatch and Capture the Flag modes.
- The 2016 updated version resembles the newly released DOOM video game.
More in Characters & Enemies
Elsewhere in Doom
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced