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Helldivers 2 Board Game: Exclusive Hands-On Preview

By Sarah: May 17,2025

One of last year's standout successes in the multiplayer gaming world was Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2, which captivated players with its mission to spread democracy across the stars by battling aliens and robots. Now, following the release of their expansive Elden Ring board game adaptation, Steamforged Games is bringing the fast-paced, frenetic action of Helldivers 2 to the tabletop. The board game is currently available for backing on Gamefound. IGN had the opportunity to play a prototype and discuss the game with designers Jamie Perkins, Derek Funkhouser, and Nicholas Yu.

Helldivers 2: The Board Game

17 ImagesDevelopment of Helldivers 2: The Board Game began shortly after the video game's launch last year. It successfully captures the essence of what made the video game so popular, including tense firefights, chaotic surprises, and a focus on teamwork, while introducing unique tweaks to enhance the tabletop experience.

Helldivers 2 remains a cooperative, objective-based skirmish game where one to four players (the designers suggest solo players use two characters) collaborate to achieve their mission objectives while fending off waves of enemies and unexpected events. Each player assumes the role of a different Helldiver class, each equipped with a unique perk, a set of action cards, and a powerful one-per-game “Act of Valor” ability. The prototype featured the Heavy, Sniper, Pyro, and Captain classes. Players customize their kits with primary, secondary, and support weapons, grenades, and three strategems, guided by recommended loadouts on their class cards, but with the flexibility to choose once familiar with the game.

Gameplay unfolds on grid-based boards that expand as players explore, revealing sub-objectives and primary mission locations, such as Terminid hatcheries to destroy. As the mission progresses, more challenging enemies spawn, and a mission timer adds urgency, keeping the gameplay frenetic and tense.

The prototype focused on destroying Terminid hatcheries, but the full release will offer multiple objectives. Jamie explained that the base game includes two of the three main factions – Terminids and robotic Automatons – each with 10 unit types. While not confirmed, it's likely that the Illuminate faction may be introduced via an expansion, given Steamforged Games' history with stretch goals.

Curious about how the board game would handle the video game's sense of being overwhelmed, I wondered if it would follow Zombicide's approach of overwhelming players with sheer numbers or Nemesis's tactic of fewer but stronger enemies. Helldivers 2 opts for the latter, focusing on tactical, close-up combat with increasingly difficult enemies as the mission advances.

Turns involve players and enemies contributing action cards to a pool, which are shuffled and placed on an initiative tracker (similar to Steamforged's Elden Ring game). Combat relies on dice rolls, with a unique twist: every four action cards played trigger a random event, often disrupting plans and adding excitement to the game.

Helldivers' combat uses dice rolls, with each weapon determining the type and number of dice. Damage is calculated based on the total roll value, with every five points inflicting a wound on an enemy. This streamlined approach avoids the complexity of modifiers and defense values, focusing on the impact of your shots. Friendly fire is a risk, especially with area attacks, but reinforcements are available.

A standout feature of the board game is the 'Massed Fire' mechanic, designed to replicate the teamwork of the video game. Nic explained, “In the video game, you're encouraged to work together as a team. For heavily armored enemies, you need to flank and target weak points. We implemented 'massed fire,' allowing other Helldivers within range to join in on the attack, incentivizing group play.” This mechanic reduces player downtime and increases engagement during others' turns.

Enemy attacks are straightforward, with fixed damage or effects triggering wound cards. Each wound has a detrimental effect, and three wounds result in character death. However, players can respawn based on the chosen difficulty level, restoring their full loadout.

One element missing from the board game is the galactic war feature from the video game. The designers considered including it but decided to focus on creating a unique experience, positioning the board game as a training simulation for Helldivers.

Jamie shared a fun piece of lore: “We're positioning it as a training simulation for Helldivers to improve their skills.” I hope to see Helldivers in the video game playing this board game someday.

Thanks to Nic, Jamie, and Derek's expertise, Helldivers 2: The Board Game already feels authentic. Nic said, “We wanted to keep the Helldivers feel, with unexpected events, stratagems that can backfire, and dwindling reinforcements.” Derek added, “We aimed to maintain the core loop of mission objectives and the thrill of uncovering points of interest while battling enemies.”

Currently, the game's core mechanics are about 75-80% finalized, allowing room for community feedback and balance adjustments. Despite concerns about tariffs affecting the board gaming industry, Jamie assures that their plans remain on track, with adjustments handled by their team as needed.

My experience with the prototype was enjoyable, with the random events and Massed Fire mechanic creating memorable moments. While I appreciate the tactical focus with larger, tougher enemies, I missed the thrill of clearing out hordes of smaller foes, as in the video game. I also felt enemy attacks could benefit from more variability, perhaps through dice rolls for different outcomes.

I'm excited to see what other surprises Steamforged Games has in store for Helldivers 2. The prototype left me eager to explore new classes, game types, and combinations with different enemies and biomes. My friends and I are already planning our next mission.