The landscape of tabletop gaming is incredibly diverse, with games taking a myriad of forms ranging from RPGs, card games, or more traditional board games. While nothing could truly replace the original tabletop experience, we've seen through tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons and The Call of Cthulhu as well as through card games like Magic: the Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh, that great things can happen when tabletop games are adapted into video games.
Never truly a full-on replacement of the original tabletop game, video game adaptations of these types of game can explore new types of territory in game design that isn't possible with a tabletop experience, while also able to introduce new players to given franchises. Video game adaptations have also allowed for tabletop games to be adapted into video games of varying genres, such as how D&D has been adapted into several types of RPGs and even Beat Em' Ups. So today we're going to explore great tabletop games in need of video game adaptations!
8 Oath
Released earlier this year, Oath is an incredibly underrated tabletop board game in which players vie for control of the game's kingdom, with one player starting as the land's ruler, and the other players starting the game as exiles. Over the course of the game, players manage resources and gain control of various lands, as power dynamics shift and players plot. Distinctly, the game is structured in a way that allows every game a group plays of Oath to be interconnected and contained within the same narrative. Were the game to receive a digital adaptation, very few changes would be required, simply using digital means of quality of life improvements, while distinguishing itself through interconnected games.
7 Deadlands
Another highly underrated tabletop game, Deadlands is an RPG that takes place within an alternate history, distinguishing itself through its mix of western flair and horror. This game distinctly not only uses dice like many other tabletop RPGs, but it also truly embraces its setting, implementing playing cards into the gameplay. Deadlands is a perfect example of a game so rich that could be taken in numerous adaptations were it to be adapted, potentially working well as a multiplayer or singleplayer RPG or even a survival horror game.
6 Flesh And Blood
Something that nearly every major trading card game currently has in common is the ability to play a version of the game digitally. Digital versions of a trading card game allow players in remote areas or those with no local players a means of still playing the game, while also serving a great means of featuring an interactive tutorial of how a game works.
Flesh and Blood is a fresh, new TCG that was first released in 2019, characterized by its highly interactive gameplay structure that allows players to frequently respond to an opponent's plays. While the game is steadily growing in popularity, it is still a paper-exclusive card game, lacking the previously mentioned benefits of a digital version.
5 Kids On Bikes
Released in 2018, Kids on Bikes is a fresh tabletop RPG set in a modern, suburban setting. Inspired by the likes of Stranger Things, It, and other similar franchises, Kids on Bikes blends the modern and mundane with supernatural elements, putting a larger focus on roleplaying, storytelling, and horror than things like combat. While the game is quite smaller than other tabletop RPGs on this list, a video game adaptation has great potential to be a very unique experience.
4 Blades In The Dark
Like Deadlands, Blades in the Dark is a tabletop RPG that totes a particular setting and flavor that could make for a great video game adaptation. In the case of Blades in the Dark, the game takes the form of a crime-heavy roleplaying game with many gothic and victorian influences, shaping an exceptional aesthetic.
A potential video game adaptation would have the flexibility of being able to take the form of a more traditional RPG or one with a heavy emphasis on stealth and heists.
3 Fire Emblem Cipher
One of the more obscure entries on this list, Fire Emblem Cipher is a Japan-exclusive card game spin-off of the Fire Emblem tactical RPG series. The game features gameplay that functions as a mix of traditional Fire Emblem elements alongside those one would expect to find in a game like Magic: the Gathering. A video game adaptation of Cipher would allow western audiences to be able to experience the game without the need of reprinting an entire card game outside of Japan. While doing so would essentially be an adaptation of an adaptation, Pokemon Trading Card Game video games have been received quite well in the past.
2 Warcry
Between Warhammer 40K, Warhammer Fantasy, and Warhammer Age Of Sigmar, countless video games have been based on this massive wargaming franchise. However, one of the more recent ways of playing of Warhammer has yet to be adapted into a video game. Warcry is a skirmish-based variant of Age of Sigmar, in which rather than controlling entire armies, a player controls a small squad of specialized units, much like Warhammer 40K's Kill Team. A Warcry video game would have the potential of being a change of pace from the other Fantasy and Age of Sigmar games of the past, putting a much larger focus on individual units and characters.
1 Keyforge
First released in 2018, Keyforge is a card game created by the father of Magic: the Gathering, Richard Garfield. One of the most distinct elements of Keyforge is that rather than have players construct their decks like in most TCGs, Keyforge decks come prebuilt and are randomly generated, even having randomly generated card backings so that cards can't be interchanged between decks. A video game adaptation of the game feels like a perfect progression for the game, as random deck generation could be achieved quite easily this way.