White Wolf is continuing to expand its board game line, with a second Exalted game, a Hunter game, and a game based on parent CCP’s Eve MMOG property all due before the end of the year.  Eve:  Conquests will be a big box board game with a $74.99 MSRP.  The board will be 30” x 32” and “there will be lots of very hefty pieces,” designer Petur Thorarinsson told us. The game will be for two to four players, and take two to four hours to play.

 

“It’s got a Euro-style mechanic to it,” Thorarinsson said.  “It’s very easy to learn, but has a very deep game play and a lot of strategy to it.”  Thorarinsson indicated that no knowledge of the Eve universe would be necessary to play the game, and that although Eve Online players would be a natural audience for it, some gamers would undoubtedly be introduced to the Eve universe for the first time by the board game.  

 

Exalted:  Legacy of the Unconquered Sun was available in limited quantities at Gen Con, but will now street in October. It too is a $74.99 big box game, with a fold-out board and hundreds of cards, counters, and playing pieces. It’s for two to five players, who will assume the roles of Solar Exalted who set forth on adventures to win the blessings of their celestial patron.

 

Exalted: War for the Throne shipped earlier this year and sold quickly.  

 

White Wolf has also been using its World of Darkness property as source material for board games.  Vampire:  Prince of the City, was released earlier this year, and Hunter:  Deadly Prey is slated for November.  The Hunter game is a $24.99 horror strategy game for three to five players.  It includes 12 monsters to choose from to defy hunters, 100 City Cards, 75 Arsenal and Influence Cards, and 25 Hardship Cards.  

 

Other White Wolf games in this category have not used existing IP.  Mwa Ha Ha Ha! and Monster Mayhem are both more lighthearted games at lower price points ($34.99 and $44.99, respectively).  

 

We asked Ken Cliffe, board game developer at White Wolf, why the company is pursuing board games as a way to grow.  “We just wanted to expand into all the aspects of gaming that fans would enjoy,” he told us.  “And it just seemed like a natural segue, especially for Exalted. It’s such a high-action game, it lends itself to the board game medium.”

 

We asked whether there were any common stylistic elements between the board games in White Wolf’s line, and Cliffe indicated there are not.  “We’re in kind of an unusual place because we have Icelanders and Americans working at our company, so we blend both just by virtue of the people working on staff,” he said.  “Each one has its own unique flavor.  I wouldn’t say that there’s a special theme among all our designs.  When I’m working on something I err toward fast play and fun, a light-hearted kind of game.  Then there are others who go for the beard-stroking kind of game, where you sit and contemplate everything that’s going on.  We’re trying to do both.”