There are a lot of intellectual properties (IPs) that don’t have great board games. Some of it is because traditionally those IP’s have been sold to big companies that make games for the shelves of Wal-Mart and Target, or different versions of Monopoly and Clue. But now, other companies are starting to grab up those IP’s. Fantasy Flight has Star Wars, Marvel, Game of Thrones, and more that they’ve made games for before. CMON has Marvel, DC, and He-Man through Spinmaster Games. And Go On Board has made two Witcher board games.

But that is all great. There are still some IP’s that just don’t have good board games yet. And I think that some of them could have great board games if the right company got their hands on them. I think I could come up with more than three, but let’s pick my Top 3 IP’s that I want better board games for.

Top 3 IP’s

3. Tomb Raider

I think that there have been a few Tomb Raider games over time. But none of them have been that good. The one I that played was definitely very bad. That sad thing is that this was in 2019 at Gen Con and while I know bad games come out still, the hope is that if you’re showing off a new game there that isn’t out, you’ll make it better. They did not.

The issue with this game, and there were many, but the biggest is that everyone was Lara Croft. So it starts with something that makes zero sense. Then you try and move around a circle by playing out cards. All the cards were boring. Then you could also just mess with that other players were doing. In all, there is nothing that felt Tomb Raider like about it.

What I Want

This is clearly a narrative adventure game. And honestly a lot of IP games should be that. You have a pre-existing world, so how do you create something good for it. I think this could be perfect for Mansions of Madness style of game. Mansions of Madness does two things. It lets you have puzzles, and Tomb Raider could be way more creative with theirs. And you get to explore and build out locations.

Now, would I make this a campaign game. And honestly I’m a bit torn on it. I think that there are elements that would make sense from the franchise to be a campaign game. But a lot of the games are also pretty standalone in nature. So I almost lean towards standalone. But what I’m going to say is that I think there are game models you could use that offer both.

I like the idea of being able to get a box of the next series of missions in this case. All of those will be a connected arc. But like Fantasy Flight does with their LCG’s, and maybe that’d be a good Tomb Raider format anyways, have some stand alone packs. So you could get the core box, play as Lara and her friends, have some connected missions, and then get one off missions.

2. Sword Art Online

Now, the Sword Art Game is why I have a bit of an issue with Japanime Games. They tend to get a lot of IP’s and they don’t do well by them. The games aren’t balanced, the rules aren’t good, and it’s generally a bit of a mess. Sword Art Online: Sword of Fellows somehow manages to have a lot of rules written out but none of them explained. From when I’ve played it, and I still own it, it’s basically a Yahtzee style game of trying to roll dice and activate hits.

If you can activate all the dice, I believe it is, then you can switch with someone else not giving the bad guy a turn. That element is thematic to the show. But the issue with this game is that there’s not much of a game there. And there isn’t much that makes it feel like the show or light novels. It’s really that one thing, you can switch, and a very basic and boring leveling up.

What I Want

Sword Art Online in a Kingdom Death Monster system. I know really easily what I want. Or maybe Sword Art Online in a Frosthaven system. Finally, it could be Sword Art Online in a Oathsworn system. All of these have one thing in common. You go out to a boss battle or some scenario and then there is a town or settlement phase. I was already working on an idea for a game like this because Sword Art Online: Sword of Fellows was so sad.

But the basic idea is that you spend your time building up your guild, scouting, finding monsters, dealing with events, dealing with other players and NPC’s all leading up to a boss battle and going to the next level. And you need to balance everything, because in Sword Art Online there is no dying and loading it back up again. The whole point of it is a death game, so if you’re not careful your character might die. Of course, you can swap in other characters but obviously, it’s not the person who you were before.

This is just an idea that seems so obvious and it provides depth. But because the one game was made to make a game fast for an IP, we’re stuck with Sword Art Online: Sword of Fellows.

1. Dresden Files

Now my top IP that I’d like to see get a better board game, though this order is flexible, is The Dresden Files. This is a book series that I just love with great urban fantasy. And there is a board game out there that I own everything for the game. And unlike the other ones, I like The Dresden Files board game, but it could be better.

In the game you play through one of the books. And to do that you are either trying to take out more bad guys so that there are fewer of them left than cases you’ve solved. Or that there are more solved cases than bad guys left. And that’ll depend on the characters you play as. And then you are playing cards to beat up bad guys or solve cases, or to get back more action points to solve cases and beat up bad guys in future turns.

The game has some issues. It’s thematic, if you know the books. And the mechanisms are very inspired. It doesn’t feel like a Dresden story that way. It’s very mechanical and sometimes because of the shared action point pool you just discard cards. So you’re helping, but it isn’t exciting.

What I Want

This one I think I have the most specific thing that I want. Though Sword Art Online was pretty specific as well. I think there is more room to play with in that idea. I want the Vampire the Masquerade Chapter system with Dresden Files. It’s kind of choose your own adventure. It’s talking with people and monsters, it’s investigating crime scenes, and then it’s fighting. All of that is Dresden to a tee. You could maybe even mix in a city map and a blue beetle.

The only other option that I think could work, and it wouldn’t be as good would be a combination of TIME Stories and Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game. Both of them are about solving cases, which is what the Dresden Files ultimately are about. But there is more adventure to the Dresden Files that I don’t think that TIME Stories and Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game bring as much as what I’ve seen in Vampire the Masquerade Chapters.

So, Flyos Games, please get this IP or work with whomever has it, I want to see this game.

Other IP’s That Need Better Board Games

There are a lot of them out there. And I wanted to keep it to three so that I could dive into what I wanted to do as well. And there are some that have solid board games but could have better. Like Dungeons and Dragons has games people like, but do they feel like D&D to me? Or Harry Potter, Hogwarts Battle is a fun game, but does it feel like Harry Potter? Barely, and it’s not a game without it’s flaws.

If you could pick a few IP’s that have board games that you’d like to see get a better game, what would they be?

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