As was announced at PDXCON 2018 this weekend, Paradox Interactive is branching out into making board games. And for you grand strategy fans this is good news, because the company is turning their most popular video games into really deep and complex board games. The plan was announced via a press release that discusses the first game in the series.
In case you’re wondering the first set of games getting the treatment is Crusader Kings, Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron, and Cities: Skylines. The plan is to produce Crusader Kings first, then follow with the other titles in the list.
Side note, please for the love of all that is holy, make a Stellaris board game. I’ve wanted a decent space opera board game since I managed to finally play the EVE Online tabletop version, EVE: Conquests. That was pretty disappointing, I hope that if there are plans for such a project, Paradox can do it better.
The developer is working alongside tabletop publisher Free League, who developed award-winning RPGs Tales from the Loop, Coriolis – The Third Horizon, and Mutant: Year Zero.
The “four core pillars” of the game are listed as:
- Character Focus. The game brings characters and dynasties to the forefront, using traits and events to develop the characters and the story.
- Grand Strategy. Crusader Kings is a grand strategy game at heart, and so is the board game. To win, you will need to plan decades ahead and outwit your opponents.
- Emergent Storytelling. Like the computer game, the board game has an events system (using cards) that interacts with the game mechanics to create unexpected and memorable story twists.
- Steeped in History. The board game is based on historical characters and events of the Middle Ages, letting you relive – and change – the course of actual history.
If it sounds like it might be up your street, you can pledge your support here.
As of writing, the goal has already been surpassed, so stretch goals are on the way. This is something to keep an eye on if really complex strategy and tabletop games being married together sounds like your kind of bag.
Paradox even released a cheeky little teaser trailer for the announcement that you can see below. If you want to check out the rest of the PDXCON announcements, check out our coverage.
