FFG: Your Vault-Tec Issued Survival Guide
Life in the Wasteland can be harsh. With these tips, you just might survive in FFG’s Fallout: The Board Game.
That’s right friends, it’s time to take your Rad-X, make sure your trusty laser pistol is charged, and double check your Pip-Boy, because Fallout the Board Game is coming soon, and FFG has a preview for you.
via FFG
For starters, it seems like the game will be set somewhere in the Northeastern Wastes, with familiar landmarks like Megaton and Diamond City being called out by name–which means Boston and DC can’t be too far off. And as we’ve seen previously, the Wasteland here consists of a series of hex tiles that are laid out and revealed over the course of the game as you explore it.
As you can see, the tiles come in two flavors, green–which is relatively safe, or a red shade for all those Kenny Loggins-esque zones on the map.
But these more dangerous types of zones will doubtless carry more rewards as well, for all that you might run into a super mutant or a deathclaw. Or both, if my previous experience with Fallout is anything to go by.
Speaking of which, we’ve got a whole lot to go on in terms of fighting. Exploring the Wasteland will inevitably lead to combat, which is handled by rolling special Vault-Tec Tactical Simulation Dice, which perfectly mirror the VATS system, and hoping that you get more hits than the enemy’s armor, with your own armor naturally negating the enemy’s respective hits.
Otherwise you might lose the fight, your hp, and probably a limb, which signifies that the status/condition monitor from the video games is probably gonna be at play here. Which makes sense, getting a limb crippled (or your head) is a staple of the Fallout games, so it’s good to see it echoed here.
Once all the fighting is over, you can deal with the inhabitants whom you’ve revealed–the Encounter phase of the game represents that most perilous of illusions: choice. In this phase, players get to shape the game to come by making choices that will impact future turns, which means that even in games you can’t escape the fact that your actions have consequences.
Similar to Encounters, you’ll also find Quests in this board game. Quests are events that move the story (and the game) forward. Sometimes quests will unlock rays, other times it’ll be more quests, but these also have a major impact on the game–immediately apparent to all players. Quests help set the stage for the activities of various factions in the game, which tells us that we’ll probably see a little bit of faction control mechanics in the game. I wouldn’t be surprised to see players being encouraged to join folks like the Brotherhood of Steel or a Merchant Company like the Crimson Caravan, and competing for resources and rewards.
We know there are at least two competing philosophies at play–security and freedom.
At any rate, all that questing, you’ll want to do some resting, which lets you and your companions (so it sounds like you’ll be exploring in a small group) heal up and refresh for the next foray into the Wastes. You’ll get a well rated token, which you can use to reroll later, and given what we know about the game, you’ll need it.
Vault-Tec is not liable for any injuries acquired in the course of this certified Wasteland Survival Simulation
