RPG-style Board Games

[Clint_L]

The Arkhan Horror games are amazing; Eldritch Horror is probably my favourite boardgame. Cthulhu: Death May Die is also a good time, and so is Cthulhu Pandemic for that matter (though more of a striaght-up co-op game), so if you're into Lovecraftian horror, you're covered.

Betrayal at the House on the Hill is an all-time classic that still plays great.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I've played some (Mansions of Madness, others I don't remember) but I don't care for them. They are too close to RPGs without being RPGs. So I am very tempted to get into character, to roleplay, to do other RPG things but then I found it didn't really impact the game. Just my experience.

If you work at it any game can be an RPG. Though I do get some odd looks when I use funny voices in Monopoly.

 

[Clint_L]

If you work at it any game can be an RPG. Though I do get some odd looks when I use funny voices in Monopoly.

I play almost every game like an RPG, just to entertain myself. It's weird.

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

If you work at it any game can be an RPG. Though I do get some odd looks when I use funny voices in Monopoly.

Never trust a man who doesn't make a "vroom, vroom" noise while moving when they've got the race car. There's something not quite right there.

 

[sevenbastard]

I play almost every game like an RPG, just to entertain myself. It's weird.

We definitely give personalities to our Risk armies. Your are not alone.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Never trust a man who doesn't make a "vroom, vroom" noise while moving when they've got the race car. There's something not quite right there.

It's not my fault the Scottie dog pees on the other pieces as he goes past. It's just what my character would do.

 

[Jahydin]

I have an entire closet full of them. I've been fascinated/obsessed with them since I received my first copy of Heroquest as a kid.

My absolute favorite is Quest for the Pixel which I talked about in my thread here. Just a straight up, dice chucking dungeon crawler. Almost every dungeon crawler ends up being overly complex and fiddly, so appreciate the simplicity of this one. Shame it's so expensive since it's print-on-demand.

As for my favorite, more accessible options that haven't been mentioned:
Kingdom Death: Monster - Think Games Workshop level of miniatures, Monster Hunter like gameplay, set in the world of the anime Berserk. Very high price point, but worth every penny IMO.
Return to Dark Tower - Utilizes a gigantic electronic tower that spits skulls! Sees a lot of play at my house because it wraps up in a few hours and is a ton of fun.
Mage Knight - Best solo option of the bunch for sure. Lots of tactical decisions to be made on your epic journey.
Star Wars: Imperial Assault - Star Wars themed dungeon crawler!? Heck yeah! Cool SW loot and branching quest paths make this one of my favorites.
Catacombs - A dungeon crawler where you actually flick your character and spells around to do combat. Creative and fun.
Tomb - Ever wanted to play the old SSI Gold Box D&D games in boardgame form? Tomb is your game!
Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated - Deck building, Campaign based Legacy game based on the Penny Arcade IP.
Battlestar Galactica - Assume the roll of one of the many BG cast and work together to get to Kobol. Of course, some of your team members are actually evil Cylons secretly scheming to destroy you..

Oh boy, I could go on all night. Maybe I'll slowly keep adding more in the future?

 

[Evaniel]

I don't play as much as I used to since my board gaming friends moved a few hours away, but our jam was co-op dungeon board games.

We've played all of the D&D Adventure System board games except Saltmarsh. They're a mixed bag, and had a mixed reception at our table. I think the Undermountain one was probably the best, closely followed by the Elemental Evil game.

I LOVE the newest version of Mansions of Madness, but my more fantasy-leaning friends weren't feeling it quite as much. Great for groups, great solo. Just a lot of fun with nice components.

Gloomhaven probably saved my sanity during the pandemic. My wife, daughter, and I played through it in its entirety, and then my wife and I played it through again with our board game friends (who were also, thankfully, our "podmates"). It's sooooo good. Which set me up for a bummer in...

...Frosthaven. I was SO excited for this to come out, and after the first few sessions, we realized it wasn't for us. We spent far more time setting it up and tearing it down than actually playing. The crunch and character mechanics were far less intuitive than the original. The city building was onerous and not worth the pay offs. We gave up, and nearly $300 worth of board game and storage stuff now sits idle in my basement.

There's a really interesting board game quasi RPG in Dragonholt. From what little I understand, there was a falling out between the creator and the company, which is too bad as it's a fascinating board game-meets-RPG-meets-Choose-Your-Own-Adventure. Another weird adjacent game that I enjoyed was Escape From the Castle, a build-a-path-via-cards sort of game with simple mechanics, a grimdark (but humorous) tone, and a playfully ugly aesthetic.

Finally, I am a diehard HeroQuest fan, and fam: we're eating good right now. The HeroQuest Companion app lets you play without the need for a Zargon (though I DO love playing Zargon), and the minis are fantastic. The furniture is fantastic. The dice are fantastic. The cards are fantastic. This is objectively the best game ever created. Okay, that last part might be hyperbole, but I hope it sells the point: it's a relatively simple game with a deeply satisfying game loop.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I don't play as much as I used to since my board gaming friends moved a few hours away, but our jam was co-op dungeon board games.

There's a really interesting board game quasi RPG in Dragonholt.

Finally, I am a diehard HeroQuest fan, and fam: we're eating good right now. The HeroQuest Companion app lets you play without the need for a Zargon (though I DO love playing Zargon), and the minis are fantastic. The furniture is fantastic. The dice are fantastic. The cards are fantastic. This is objectively the best game ever created. Okay, that last part might be hyperbole, but I hope it sells the point: it's a relatively simple game with a deeply satisfying game loop.

Legacy of Dragonholt was fun and turned me on to Terrinoth as a setting. Who doesn't like cat people (besides dog people)? I'm playing an old copy of Runebound now. Kinda sad the RPG sourcebook for it is so expensive and hard to find.

And of course, HeroQuest is the best game ever made.

 

[Clint_L]

Hmmm...I've just never found much to HeroQuest. It's a pretty basic game. It's better than those miniatures-based D&D Games that basically ripped it off, for sure, but there isn't a lot to the basic system, and I kind of hate rolling the dice for your movement as a mechanic, both in a story sense and in a gameplay sense. And it's way too easy - Zargon almost never has much of a chance (your main job, if you draw the short straw and have to play him, is to place stuff on the board and roll dice for your typically overmatched minions).

To me, it's not complex enough, in strategy or story, to offer much immersion, and it feels less like an RPG than a board game simulator of a simple dungeon crawl video game. I can see it if I was introducing young kids to RPG concepts, though - it's probably super fun as a family game.