5 Best Video Game-Inspired Board Games You Can Play Right Now

Portal: The Uncooperative Cake Acquisition Game

Best Video Game-Inspired Board Games

You’ve been told most of your life that the cake is a lie, but what if we told you that wasn’t the case. In this board game created by the folks who designed the original Portal video game, you are tasked with collecting as much cake as possible to win.

You’ll be tasked with conducting experience for Aperture Laboratories once again. You and your loyal test subjects will make their way through this grueling and ever-changing test labs to try and acquire the most amount of cake.

Using portals, Companion Cubes, and turrets, you’ll try to outlive the other players and their test subjects. Beware because death lurks around every corner and you might lose all of your test subjects in the name of scientific progress.

In this procedurally generated board game, it’s all about solving puzzles for the greater good of science and getting rewarded with cake. Do you have what it takes to outthink your opponents?

Portal: The Uncooperative Cake Acquisition Game supports 2-4 players and has a run time of about 45 minutes. Which makes it great for a small gathering of friends and family.

XCOM: The Board Game

Best Video Game-Inspired Board Games

Fans of the XCOM series are no strangers to thinking critically or analyzing every possible outcome of a given situation. In fact, XCOM already plays like a virtual board game so when a board game was announced it made total sense.

Players are tasked with eliminating aliens that are attacking the planet. Working together to protect their own lives and the lives of others. Each player takes on a different role of Commander, Chief Scientist, Central Officer, or Squad Leader, which gives a lot of variety for multiple playthroughs.

However, the most significant change comes from the free companion app you must download to play this game. On a tablet or smartphone, this companion app will give you intel on the alien invasion and their progression. Randomly selecting one of five different invasion plans your team will go up against.

The app responds to your failure or success in real time and expects you to react to the aliens the same way. The app will give you accurate information based on how well you are progressing and is a unique tool to add a layer of tension to each game.

From the comfort of your living room surrounded by friends, you will fight and research the aliens to then start your push back against the invasion.

XCOM: The Board Game supports 1-4 players and has a run time of about 2 hours. 

Gears of War: The Board Game

Best Video Game-Inspired Board Games

If you’re looking to take the carnage of Gears of War to the kitchen table look no further because Gears of War: The Board Game retains what you love about the series and translates it to a tabletop format.

Randomly arranging modular tiles, you’ll fight your way through the Locust horde as Dom, Marcus, Cole or Baird by using the cards in your hand to complete actions like active reload, running, or taking cover.

Players will team up to try and complete one of seven randomly constructed mission the game has to offer. So gather up your all your Gears of War friends and go head to head with the horde for non-stop action that the series is known for.

Gears of War: The Board Game is 1-4 players and has an average run time of about an hour and a half. 

Resident Evil 2: The Board Game

Best Video Game-Inspired Board Games

Bring the infamous Raccoon City Police Department with all of its horrors to your table with the Resident Evil 2 board game. With the recent release of the Resident Evil 2 Remake fans are hungry for more Resident Evil content and what better way to consume it then with your friends and family gathered around the table?

You can play as Claire, Leon, or even Tofu, which is an excellent addition to the roster of zombie killers. Fight your way through the police department against zombies, dogs, and even Lickers. For any fan of Resident Evil or horror in general, this is an easy recommendation.

The scenarios in the game closely match their PlayStation counterparts. So much in fact that Leon and Claire don’t even start in the same location even when playing together. Having to meetup and escape together is part of the challenge offered.

Collect items and ammunition to make sure you’re well equipped for whatever lurks around the corner because this game will keep you on your toes at all times.

Resident Evil 2: The Board Game is for 1-4 players and has an average run time of an hour and a half. 

Borderlands: Tiny Tina’s Robot Party

Best Video Game-Inspired Board Games

Revealed just a few weeks ago at Pax East 2019 is a light card game set in the Borderlands universe. You’ll be in the shoes of a vault hunter attending one of Tiny Tina’s infamous tea parties.

At the party, you’re tasked with building the best Claptrap robot before the other players, which consists of using the cards you’ll draw from the deck to add arms, legs, and hats to your Claptrap. You can sabotage other players robots with unwanted parts or remove sabotages from your own.

You can also deck your Claptrap out in different skins like a wizard, pirate, sheriff, or gentlemen to name a few. This is great for both new and old Borderlands fans, and its rapid playtime makes for a great time killer.

Tiny Tina’s Robot Party has an average playtime of 20 minutes and accommodates 2-5 players.