Home > News > Helldivers 2 Board Game: Exclusive Hands-On Preview

Helldivers 2 Board Game: Exclusive Hands-On Preview

Author : George

Apr 10,2025

Last year, Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 became a standout success in the multiplayer gaming world, captivating players with its mission to spread democracy across the stars through intense battles against aliens and robots. Now, following their acclaimed adaptation of Elden Ring into a board game, Steamforged Games is bringing the fast-paced, frenetic action of Helldivers 2 to the tabletop. The board game is currently available for backing on Gamefound. IGN had the opportunity to play a prototype and discuss the project with designers Jamie Perkins, Derek Funkhouser, and Nicholas Yu.

Helldivers 2: The Board Game

17 ImagesDevelopment of Helldivers 2: The Board Game began shortly after the video game's launch, successfully capturing the essence of what made the original so thrilling. The board game replicates the tense firefights, chaotic surprises, and cooperative gameplay that fans love, while introducing unique tweaks to enhance the experience.

Helldivers 2 remains a cooperative, objective-based skirmish game, playable with one to four players. The designers suggest solo players use two characters. Each player assumes the role of a different Helldiver class, equipped with unique perks, action cards, and a one-time "Act of Valor" ability. The demo featured the Heavy, Sniper, Pyro, and Captain classes. Players customize their kits with primary, secondary, and support weapons, grenades, and three strategems, with recommended loadouts provided on class cards, though experienced players can choose their own.

Gameplay unfolds on grid-based boards that expand as players explore, revealing sub-objectives and primary mission locations, such as Terminid hatcheries in the prototype. As the mission progresses, increasingly difficult enemies spawn, and a round-limit timer adds urgency, maintaining the game's frenetic pace.

The prototype focused on destroying Terminid hatcheries, but the final release will offer multiple objectives. The base game includes two main factions, Terminids and Automatons, each with 10 unit types. While not confirmed, expansions might introduce the Illuminate faction, a common practice for Steamforged Games.

A key aspect of the adaptation is how it handles the feeling of being overwhelmed. Unlike games like Zombicide, which rely on sheer numbers, Helldivers 2 opts for fewer, stronger enemies, fostering a more tactical combat experience.

Turns involve players and enemies adding action cards to a pool, which are shuffled and placed on an initiative tracker, similar to Steamforged's Elden Ring game. Combat is resolved through dice rolls, with every four action cards triggering a random event that can disrupt plans, adding to the game's excitement.

Combat for Helldivers is straightforward, with each weapon determining the type and number of dice rolled. Damage is calculated based on the total roll, with every five points inflicting a wound on enemies. This system simplifies combat, focusing on the impact of attacks rather than complex modifiers.

A new feature, the 'Massed Fire' mechanic, enhances teamwork by allowing players to focus fire on a single target if within range of another Helldiver's weapon. This encourages group play and reduces downtime between turns, making the game more engaging.

"In the video game, teamwork is crucial," Nic explained. "When facing heavily armored enemies, you need to flank and target weak points. We wanted to replicate this in the board game without complex mechanics, so we introduced 'massed fire,' which rewards players for working together."

While players can explore solo, the 'Massed Fire' mechanic promotes cooperative play and keeps everyone involved. Enemy attacks, however, are more straightforward, with set damage or effects causing players to draw wound cards. Three wounds result in death, but players can respawn based on the chosen difficulty level, returning with full resources.

One notable omission from the board game is the galactic war feature from the video game. The designers chose to focus on creating a unique experience, positioning the board game as a training simulation for Helldivers.

Jamie shared an amusing piece of lore: "We're positioning it as a training simulation for Helldivers to improve their skills." This adds a fun narrative layer to the game.

The designers, Nic, Jamie, and Derek, have ensured that despite the new medium, the game retains the essence of Helldivers. "We wanted to keep the unexpected events, the potential for stratagems to go awry, and the dwindling reinforcements, all of which are uniquely Helldivers," Nic said.

Derek added, "We focused on maintaining the core loop of mission objectives and the thrill of uncovering new challenges while battling enemies."

Currently, the game's core mechanics are about 75-80% finalized, allowing for community feedback and potential adjustments. Despite recent concerns about tariffs affecting the board gaming industry, Jamie confirmed that Steamforged Games is moving forward as planned, with contingencies in place if needed.

After playing the prototype, the systems in place, such as random events and the 'Massed Fire' mechanic, create memorable moments. However, while the tactical focus with stronger enemies is appreciated, I personally missed the thrill of mowing down hordes of smaller enemies, a staple of the video game. Additionally, enemy attacks could benefit from more variability to match the game's overall chaos.

I'm excited to see what other surprises Steamforged Games has in store for Helldivers 2. The prototype has left me eager to explore new classes, game types, and combinations with different enemies and biomes. My friends and I are already planning our next mission.