In case you don’t like to compete with your friends, and you do like to have nice cooperative gameplay, you found the right one. In many board games, you need to play against other people, but in this one, you can only exchange goods and talk to your co-players.
What’s interesting is that you can play the Fallout game alone if you prefer, it will be fun either way, and the maximum number of players is four. The point of the Fallout game is to complete quests, collect items as you go through the wasteland, fight against mutants, enormous bugs, and robots.
While playing Fallout, you won’t feel the pressure of your teammates, unlike in so many other games where players are raging if you are slow. However, if you play with your friends, and it is your first time, they might rush you to make your move, but once you get to know the Fallout board game rules, that will disappear. If you are not sure how to play the Fallout board game, we will explain the basics so you can partake the next time your friends suggest this game.
| Players | 1-4 |
| Age | 14+ |
| Duration | 2-3 hours |
| Difficulty | Medium |
Game Description
First thing you should know is that there are a number of decks of cards, that have numbers assigned to them, which you can use in the Fallout game. There are the ones that you don’t put on board, and few of them you need to place once you start playing.
Namely, those cards represent the quests you start with, and every card has two to three potential outcomes, which depends on how you use them. Depending on the result that you end up with, you have predetermined cards you can draw. That ensures that you always have a different story to create while playing this game.
This is a list of explained actions that players can do while playing:
- Exploring. This action lets you investigate one of the undiscovered territories, activating new locations and possibilities in the wasteland.
- Moving. The action of moving grants you to change the place of spaces across the board, depending on your item and character.
- Questing. Allows you to perform an action from a quest card. These are actions that you can do on specific occasions.
- Encountering. This permits you to have encounters in the wasteland, either in settlements or in the wild. This action unites other players and you in particular locations, which offer you options that can end with rewards or repercussions.
- Fighting. With this one, you can enter into a combat with enemies. It’s important to know that you cannot fight against other players, only against wasteland enemies.
- Resting. This option lets you rest with the goal of recovering lost health points, and possibly exchange goods if it happens that you are on the same tile.
Gameplay
In the game of Fallout, you can choose to be in one of the five fractions: Super Mutant, Vault Dweller, Wastelander, Brotherhood Outcast, or Ghoul. In the beginning, you are only equipped with starting items and skill, and you must travel to the wasteland with the goal of getting victory points.
While playing this game, you will have a lot of rounds, and with each round, a player has two actions that they can perform. Those actions consist of the following — exploring new tiles, moving, completing quests, battling enemies, and it is also possible to rest. When all players have had their turn the round ends. At that moment, a variety of monsters are looking to attack the first wanderer they encounter.
Combat part is operated by three dice. Each monster has a weak spot in certain areas that you must hit when throwing dice. By possessing a weapon and appropriate S.P.E.C.I.A.L skills will allow players to throw a dice again. If it happens that you beat the monster, you get experience, and on some occasions, loot.
There is an amazing leveling system through which players gain experience. With every point of experience, players are closer to fulfilling S.P.E.C.I.A.L. skills. When players complete everything for that skill, they can draw a new token for a new skill to join their stats. If it happens that you get the token for the skill you already have, you are approved to use a one-time ability or a bonus.
Players are doing quests by using decks of cards. Once a player has an encounter, a co-player will introduce the card to them and say the options, without revealing the outcomes. The player whose turn it is must decide which option they choose.
Now, the most important part, in order to win, players must obtain points from agenda cards. Approximately half of the cards are fixed to fractions, and in order to score the most points, you need to make progress with the agenda of your fraction. When you collect the necessary amount of agenda points, you win.
Pros
- An engaging leveling system for players
- Appealing quests that players need to embark on
- Each turn ends quickly
Cons
- Agendas of fractions make it difficult to win
- When it’s your first time playing Fallout, turns might be longer due to not knowing the rules
Verdict
We hope that we have answered some of your Fallout board game FAQ so that you can have smoother gameplay. Once you play it for the first time, you’ll for sure, memorize all the rules and possible outcomes. All in all, it is a very interesting game to play. You won’t regret it if you choose this one to play with your best buds. Again, we must point out that decision-making is momentous. That means you must make smart choices in order to win.
