Board Game Spotlight - Fallout The Board Game

War... War never changes!

Board Game Spotlight where we take a brief look at games that have come across our table. Today we're taking a look at Fallout the Board Game from Fantasy Flight Games

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Fallout the Board Game intro
1-4 player game
120-180 minute playtime
14+ age recommendation
Fantasy Flight Games
Designer Andrew Fischer and Nathan I. Hajek
Artists: Andrew Fischer, Nathan I Hajek, Brian Schomburg, Evan Simonet, Ben Zweifel.

Set in the universe of the Fallout video game series Fallout the Board Game from Fantasy Flight is a scenario-driven game. In the base game players are competing to push their factions to the most power. In the new California expansion, it introduces one scenario that makes the game cooperative. Each player starts as a survivor on the edge of unexplored territory. Each turn players will explore the board, interact with creatures, and go on quests to unlock the stories of the wasteland.

This game is a doozy for time. With solo play, I can get it done in under 2 hours. With 2 players, It averages around 3 hours. With 4 players it can take the better part of an afternoon. The game also takes up a lot of space at the table. Our little table barely holds the map and two-player boards. I have an organizer being 3D printed but I’m not sure how that will help with the table organization. It’s mostly for the box organization.

I really enjoy the stories in the game. Being able to play through the same scenario multiple times and get multiple elements of new stories coming through depending on what the cards give you. I played the game through 3 or 4 times before I finally hit a quest line that gave us a vault quest line where we could explore the vaults.

Another issue with the game is the rule book is complicated when you get going. It took me a lot of plays before I got the hang of the different nuances of the rules. When certain things trigger was another big thing. The game didn’t get a lot of play when it was just the base game. Folks I played with just weren’t interested in the competitive modes available. The New California expansion gave us a single cooperative mode which helped to bring the game to the table more often.
From the Fantasy Flight website, it shows that a new expansion is coming later in 2020 that gives us more cooperative game modes.

This game has it’s quirks. For myself, it makes up for those with the story elements. Presenting the story to you in such a way that keeps you going forward. As I mentioned before I enjoyed getting different story elements even with the same scenario. To be honest I could see this mechanic of presenting a story being used without the game board and figures. Just telling a story. I enjoy the figures that are well crafted. The S.P.E.C.I.A.L. tokens and the leveling system are fun.
For me, this game is always a fun one to bring to the table. For others, it has the glitches that folks playing didn’t enjoy it as much.

Joe DeMarco a single father, freelance writer, game designer, quality assurance software tester, and business analyst. I am a big-time gamer, and really enjoy checking out all kinds of games available. Putting my curiosity to the app store I find random games to check out.
If you have a game you'd like me to review, contact me and let us see how we can work together.