The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – The Adventure Game Review
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been ported to just about every platform imagineable, so it was only a matter of time before it became a board game. This cardboard version acts as a prequel to the video game. It puts forth a new plotline in which players are the last surviving members of the legendary Blades — a group of warriors dedicated to protecting the Empire of Tamriel. Members of your company are being assassinated and time is short, so you’re thrust into an initial investigation spanning the length of the empire. This is the first campaign of two, each campaign offering a short multi-session arc divided into story chapters. The second campaign juts off the first narrative with outcomes tumbling forward and affecting future plays.
This structure is actually pretty enticing. You grab a basic character archetype such as a sneaky Khajit or a formidable Nord, outfit yourself with starting equipment, and then dive right into exploring Skyrim. You can swap characters and players between chapters in the campaign if you desire, and it’s all relatively flexible as the overarching framework is light and malleable. You can go it alone and play it as a solo board game, or grab up to three friends and all share in the adventure.
It’s also pleasing to see a story arc that is able to be completed in just a session or two, as opposed to the massive campaign board games that have grown in popularity and require months of dedication. Skyrim is comparatively breezy, which works in its favor.
The downside of this airy approach is that the main campaign narrative is undernourished and not particularly compelling. Thankfully, just like in the video game, the majority of play time is spent ignoring the prescribed storyline and instead focusing on the multitude of side quests frantically popping up all over the board. This is where Skyrim – The Adventure Game finds its spark.
World events, town encounters, and wilderness exploration all poke you with optional jobs like the most zealous of online employment recruiters. Players head to these locations by moving point to point on the game’s large board. Cleverly, all movement is carried out simultaneously, cutting down on idle-time and allowing players to discuss the group’s strategic pursuits in order to cooperatively accomplish the main goals. Then each character alternates drawing their encounter from a deck and assessing their options.
While occasionally you will need to perform dice-based tests and possibly battle a foe, typically you’re offered a personal quest. These side-missions function as travel tasks mostly, such as “head to Morthal and deliver a message to my cousin.” You typically have several quests active with multiple options, firmly establishing the board game’s link to the video game.
The most interesting quests feature multiple steps, utilizing the large card library to provide a string of objectives revealed one after another. There are neat surprises at times that are filled with ingenuity and wit. Sometimes the board and world may change as you can be barred from locations or find allies and safety behind the walls of a town. Completing these tasks is also relatively easy and the rewards come in bundles. They provide you with resources to craft new gear or possibly experience to level up and increase your skills.
Disappointingly, the truly special moments are somewhat uncommon. The quest system is strong enough that even the mundane activities prove worthwhile due to the benefits attained, but the intriguing mechanical twists and entertaining stories are a little more infrequent than I’d like.
In totality, however, there are always things to do and new gear or currency waiting to be earned. Tasks are also resolved quickly enough that there’s a constant internal pressure of pushing yourself to keep going and take just one more turn. Another 15 minutes turns into half the evening, and it’s a simple and direct drip feed of joy that’s difficult to turn down.
The various other systems get the job done, but none evoke awe or fascination. Combat and dungeons are abstract with little drama. The advancement system is workmanlike and you never earn truly world-shaking abilities. Everything folds into the blandness of the main storyline and ultimately feels somewhat hollow.
There is also a fragility in player scaling. With a full complement of four participants, it’s far too easy of a co-operative game. There is no real tension as the increasing threat is effortlessly kept at bay, allowing ample time to wander around and complete quests. As the player count is reduced, you are afforded less time and pushed to be more efficient with each of your actions. In truth, Skyrim the board game performs best with a single player as you’re kept under proper pressure and forced into more difficult strategic decisions.
Another odd quirk is the physical production. It’s a big box but the innards consist almost entirely of the oversized board and a whole swathe of cards. The included miniatures are serviceable, but the cardboard tokens are rather inferior when compared to the majority of hobby board game releases. From wandering monster tokens that are far too small, to resource chits that are accidentally flipped over revealing a different number to track their amount, it all feels somewhat paltry. These details sit in sharp contrast to the beautiful and enormous board, which accurately conveys the sense of scope found in the setting.
The end result of all of this is a tabletop release that is somewhat of a heartbreaker. While it still manages to offer enough entertaining quests to keep me invested and trudging through the muck, it never really elevates itself beyond that. It captures the essence of the Skyrim video game in broad strokes, but it ultimately stumbles when reaching for anything beyond that bar. It’s worthy of some attention, particularly if you’re a fan of its source material, but so are dozens and dozens of other games, many of which offer something truly special.
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