Home News Helldivers 2 Board Game: Exclusive Preview

Helldivers 2 Board Game: Exclusive Preview

Author: Savannah Apr 11,2025

Last year's breakout success in the multiplayer gaming world was Arrowhead's Helldivers 2, a game that aimed to spread democracy across the stars through intense combat against aliens and robots. Building on this success, Steamforged Games has now launched a board game adaptation of Helldivers 2, which is currently available for backing on Gamefound. IGN had the opportunity to play a prototype of the game and discuss it with the designers, Jamie Perkins, Derek Funkhouser, and Nicholas Yu, to understand their vision for this tabletop version.

Helldivers 2: The Board Game

17 ImagesDevelopment of Helldivers 2: The Board Game began shortly after the video game's launch last year. The board game successfully captures the essence of what made the video game so popular—intense firefights, chaotic surprises, and a cooperative experience—while introducing unique tweaks to the formula.

Helldivers 2 remains a cooperative, objective-based skirmish game that supports one to four players. The designers suggest solo players manage two characters. Players take on the roles of different Helldiver classes, each with unique perks, action cards, and a one-per-game "Act of Valor" ability. The demo featured the Heavy, Sniper, Pyro, and Captain classes. Players equip themselves with primary, secondary, and support weapons, grenades, and three strategems, with class cards providing recommended loadouts.

Gameplay occurs on grid-based boards that expand as players explore, revealing sub-objectives and primary objectives such as destroying Terminid hatcheries. As the mission progresses, increasingly difficult enemies spawn, and a mission timer adds urgency, keeping the gameplay tense and fast-paced.

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

One of the key aspects of the video game, the feeling of being overwhelmed, is recreated in the board game with fewer, stronger enemies rather than a horde of weaker ones. This approach fosters a more tactical, close-up combat style.

Turns involve players and enemies adding action cards to a pool, which are then shuffled and placed on an initiative tracker, similar to Steamforged's Elden Ring game. Combat is resolved through dice rolls, with weapons determining the type and number of dice used. Every four action cards played trigger a random event, adding unpredictability and excitement to the game.

Helldivers' combat mechanics ensure that players always hit their targets, with damage based on the total value of dice rolls. Every five points inflicts a wound on an enemy. However, friendly fire is a risk, especially with area attacks, adding a strategic layer to the game.

A new feature, the 'Massed Fire' mechanic, encourages teamwork by allowing players within range of a targeted enemy to join the attack, enhancing the cooperative aspect of the game. This mechanic also reduces player downtime and increases engagement during others' turns.

Enemy attacks are straightforward, causing players to draw wound cards with detrimental effects. A player's character dies after three wounds but can respawn based on the chosen difficulty level, fully replenishing their loadout.

One element not included in the board game is the galactic war from the video game. The designers opted for a unique experience, positioning the board game as a training simulation for Helldivers.

Despite the change in medium, the designers aimed to retain the core feel of Helldivers with unexpected events, stratagems that can misfire, and a dwindling pool of reinforcements. The game's core mechanics are about 75-80% finalized, leaving room for community feedback and further refinement. Steamforged Games remains undeterred by recent tariffs affecting the board gaming industry, continuing their plans as intended.

After playing the prototype, the game's systems, such as random events and the Massed Fire mechanic, promise epic moments. However, the wish for more smaller, weaker enemies to create a more chaotic atmosphere similar to the video game was noted. Additionally, the static nature of enemy attacks could benefit from more variability.

Excitement for the full release is high, with anticipation for new Helldiver classes, game types, and combinations with different enemies and biomes. The question on everyone's mind is: Where are we dropping next?