Resident Evil: Board Game Series - Your Definitive Guide

Steamforged Games' board game adaptations of popular video game franchises, including Monster Hunter, Devil May Cry, Sea of Thieves, Gears of War, and the upcoming Elden Ring, are highly anticipated. This review focuses on their Resident Evil trilogy: Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2, and Resident Evil 3.

Released in 2019, 2021, and 2023 respectively, these games share similar mechanics. Up to four players navigate perilous environments – dark corridors, burning streets, and sinister labs – recreating the storylines of the respective video games. Each game features meticulously detailed miniatures of both terrifying creatures and iconic survivor heroes.

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### Resident Evil: The Board Game

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0See it at Amazon### Resident Evil 2: The Board Game

0See it at Amazon### Resident Evil 2 The Board Game: B-Files Expansion

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0See it at Amazon### Resident Evil 2 The Board Game: Survival Horror Expansion

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0See it at Amazon### Resident Evil 3: The Board Game

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Gameplay unfolds across three phases: Action, Reaction, and Tension. Players have four actions per turn, including movement, door manipulation, item acquisition, trading, item use, and combat. Enemies act during the Reaction phase, potentially attacking or pursuing the active player, requiring dice rolls to evade danger. The Tension phase involves drawing cards that introduce varying levels of challenge. The game mechanics are intuitive, allowing players to quickly grasp the core gameplay and focus on survival strategies.

Combat involves dice rolls compared against weapon stats and abilities. Outcomes range from pushing enemies to kills or misses. Even basic zombies can prove challenging. Gunfire attracts enemies from adjacent rooms (if doors are open), creating tactical considerations. This system emphasizes strategic decision-making, enhancing the survival horror atmosphere.

Each game features multiple scenarios playable as standalone experiences or a connected campaign. Levels are built using tiles with tokens representing doors, items, and other elements. Player inventory, health, and other information carry over between scenarios in a campaign. Standalone scenarios offer pre-set starting equipment and information.

The series allows for crossover between games. Characters can be mixed and matched, and scenario tiles can be used across different games, despite thematic inconsistencies.

Resident Evil: The Board Game

### Resident Evil: The Board Game

1See it at AmazonMSRP: $114.99 USDPlayers: 1-4 (best with 2)Play Time: 60-90 minutes (per scenario)Ages: 14+See it at Amazon

This latest installment refines previous games' mechanics, adding new elements. Players explore the Spencer Mansion and surrounding areas as Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield, Rebecca Chambers, or Barry Burton. Support characters (Albert Wesker, Enrico Marini, Richard Aiken, and Brad Vickers) can be deployed on missions, offering benefits at the risk of their demise.

The narrative is flexible, allowing players to explore rooms in various orders, unlocking areas through item discovery and puzzle-solving. The game uses cards to represent locations, improving upon Resident Evil 3's paper map. Smaller areas are built and expanded dynamically, streamlining setup. Killed standard zombies remain on the board, becoming Red Zombies unless burned with Kerosene. This iteration enhances the threat level and resource management.

(Further details on Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3 and their expansions have been omitted to keep the response within reasonable length. The structure and style remain consistent with the original text.)