Comic fans these days know the potential of their favorite characters, especially when it comes to feature films and video games. Movies like Marvel’s Winter Solider and Guardians of the Galaxy showed what they’re capable of on the big screen, and games like Arkham Asylum and X-Men Origins: Wolverine showed it could be done on the video game stage. That even extends to TV with Netflix’s Marvel shows and The Walking Dead.
Now it’s time to take over the tabletop space, and while both companies are moving further into the industry, gamers already have a few stellar gaming experiences to choose from. Whether you’re a fan of miniatures and tactical gameplay or like quick and simple card games, there’s most likely something for you on store shelves.
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All of the games on this list are readily available, and most of them also have the benefit of numerous expansions that only serve to enhance your gaming experience. Not only that, but all of these will not cripple your bank account, so you can add to your board game collection without skipping any meals.
If you’re a player who prefers traditional competitive gaming, there’s something for you. If you prefer cooperative, that’s here too. Some of these even allow you to play against the game itself, so if you’re bored one night and just want to game alone, have at it! Just don’t get any ketchup on the cards, people frown on that.
Also worthy of note is that most of these have been out for awhile, so you should be able to find a community of players ready to answer any questions you might have. Plus, if you’ve got a local game store near you, you probably already know a few people who are down for a game or two. In that case, that whole no ketchup thing becomes extremely important. No one will want to use Batman if his symbol is covered up with day old chili.
Hit the next slide to check out the top 5 tabletop games you need to try!
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Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game
Marvel’s Legendary is one of the more popular comic book offerings in the board game space, which takes classic Marvel characters like Captain America, Hulk, and Wolverine and pits them against notable villains like Dr. Doom, Magneto, and more.
1 to 5 players work cooperatively to defeat the villains before they escape, but as more villains join the board the odds of that increase substantially. Every time a villain gets away the heroes are penalized in some form, and you will need to build your deck with new heroes and new abilities to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Publisher Upper Deck Entertainment has made sure to keep supporting the game with new expansions, including the popular Dark City, which brings X-Men favorites like Domino and Cable to the game.
You can buy Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game for around $50.00.
DC Deck Building Game
Cryptozoic has released a few titles based on DC characters, but it’s the best use of the license has been the DC Deck Building Game. Like Legendary, this game is also card based, but this game doesn’t require a board or a mat to start playing.
2 to 5 players will take up arms against a Supervillain cooperatively, or can go head to head with each other in seeing who can take down the most and score the most points by the end of the game. The art is based on modern era DC comics, and fans will pick their favorite Justice League hero to go to battle with. Locations and Weakness cards add variances throughout the game, and numerous expansions extend the heroes, villains, and game mechanics considerably, and even include crossovers like Arrow and Watchmen.
You can grab the DC Deck Building Game for around $30.00.
The Walking Dead All Out War
The Walking Dead is one of the most popular properties out there at the moment, but while there are several games out on the market, few of them have been well received by fans. Publisher Mantic Games has finally given those fans a game they can rally around though called The Walking Dead: All Out War.
The game is a tactical miniature based affair, where each player controls a group of survivors that is focused on outwitting the opponent (it’s a head to head versus game) and the Zombie hordes as you hunt for resources. You’ll comb the streets of Atlanta for resources, but you’ll need to also raid enemy camps and take out the other team’s survivors. The horde operates on their own A.I. system, and if you make too much noise they’ll flock to the sound.
You’ll have access to all of your favorites, including Rick, Michonne, and more, so if you’re up for a competitive game you’ll definitely want to give this a look. The game is currently available for around $40.00.
HeroClix
While DC and Marvel are just now expanding int he Tabletop industry, they’ve both been active in Wizkids popular HeroClix game for years, and the game is still going strong.
In fact, it’s celebrating it’s 15th anniversary soon, and the company is offering sets specifically designed to help usher in new players. HeroClix offers a streamlined miniature based combat experience based around superheroes. Each figure sports a rotating dial with all of the stats you need to start playing, and the sculpts are relatively good quality for their size.
The game has only grown in size and roster since debuting in 2002, with new sets arriving all the time. Wizkids is introducing a rule overhaul as well later this year, so it’s as good a time as any to get started. The Marvel HeroClix 15th Anniversary What If? and the DC HeroClix 15th Anniversary Elseworlds starter sets will release in June and July respectively, and will cost $24.99.
Sentinels Of The Multiverse
Nowadays DC and Marvel are getting into the tabletop scene, but for awhile that was not the case, as both really only participated in the aforementioned HeroClix. Greater Than Games decided to fill in this gap with a card based cooperative title called Sentinels of the Multiverse, and as you can tell from the game’s cover, it readily embraces its comic book roots.
The game is playable from 1 to 5 players and typically averages from 30 to 60 minutes for one play session. The premise is quite simple. You pick from several heroes, each with their own distinct deck and power set, and you battle it out with one of the several supervillains, who each have their own distinct deck as well. You’ll also have to deal with the constant changes provided by the location deck, and of course, each villain has their victory parameters.
It’s straightforward, but the if you’re looking for some comic based action the game is immensely easy to get into, and there are plenty of expansions that you can grab to add on to the experience. Plus it’s relatively cheap, going for around $30.00.
