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Fallout is going through something of a popularity explosion just now with the new TV show receiving exceptional reviews. People unfamiliar with the IP are falling in love with the setting and with the colourful characters and places that can be found throughout the wasteland. Having been a big fan of the franchise for almost 25 years, I am writing this review in the hope that it will raise awareness of what I believe to be one of the best and most easily-accessible ways to experience the wasteland in 2024.
Fallout the boardgame was released in 2017. Despite the component quality being what you would expect from Fantasy flight Games, and the clever tile placement and exploration mechanics that had so much potential, the game was widely perceived to be a frustrating and horrible failure. I agree. The competitive nature of the game did not suit the franchise. What’s more, it was often the case that the game could just end part-way through a story in a hair-pulling anti-climax (see the original review for more information).
Since its release however, Fallout the Boardgame has been blessed with two fantastic and literally game-changing updates. The Atomic Bonds Expansion fixed the game, making it as exciting, fulfilling and rewarding to play as the franchise deserves. Whilst Atomic Bonds could be seen as the patch that made Fallout the Boardgame great, the New California Expansion makes it exceptional.
It's the End of the World All Over Again.
War may never change but, with the expansions, Fallout the boardgame can – it gets bigger and it gets way better.
First things first, in New California you get five new survivors with their own distinct playstyles: the Lone Gunslinger; the Caravan Merchant; the Enclave Deserter; the NCR Ranger; and everyone’s favourite butler/nanny, Mr Handy. In addition to the new playable characters you get new items, adversaries, missions and side-quests. These additional components add masses of much-needed variety to the limited offerings found in the base game and, as a result, make each playthrough of Fallout the boardgame very different.
The New California expansion also includes a whopping 12 new map tiles. This may not sound like much but it makes an enormous difference. As a player you start to appreciate the scale of the wasteland and in many games you won’t explore anywhere near the entire map. The added tiles serve to make it highly improbable that you will explore a similar map twice. The expansion includes alternative maps for each of the base game scenarios so the new tiles can be used in addition to a new fully cooperative mission, which served as the inspiration for the reimagined scenarios in the subsequent Atomic Bonds expansion.
The Atomic Bonds expansion introduces some key updates; Camp Tokens to facilitate fast travel throughout the wasteland; the Assist Dice to allow survivors to co-operate in combat situations; new workshop upgrades and modifications for items; and a fully cooperative revamp including updated scenario cards, new game mechanics and improved win conditions.
Built to Survive an Atomic Bomb?
Fantasy Flight Games have been producing high-quality boxed games for many years now and the component quality in the base game and its expansions is exactly what we have come to expect. The boxes for the base game and New California are robust and the tokens & cards are neither flimsy nor delicate. The miniatures are made of hard plastic and are highly detailed. Given that there are only five miniatures in the base game and five in New California (the enemies are all on thick card tokens), painting them should not be too challenging if that is your thing. In recent times there has been an ever increasing shift toward the inclusion of more and more plastic miniatures in board games that is, in my opinion, often to the detriment to the game (and the planet).
If you don’t want to paint the miniatures included in the base game or the New California expansion, don’t worry. Their poses make them easily distinguishable so there shouldn’t be any confusion on the tabletop.
Although there’s no need to paint the miniatures, if you are a painter and have access to supplies, they are definitely worth the effort. The sculpts are formed as single pieces so there is no assembly required. Furthermore, I encountered no mould lines or flash to clean up before painting mine. Overall, the miniatures are of a very high quality for a board game - so much so that I have recently been painting mine for use in other games. The miniatures included within the Fallout board game, and in the New California expansion, can easily serve as alternative models for the Survivor faction in Fallout Wasteland Warfare because they represent character-types that are included in the narrative tabletop skirmish game by Modiphius.
Is it Worth the Caps?
If you’re a Fallout fan, and you like tabletop games or board games, Fallout the Board Game will most likely already be on your radar or in your collection.
Fallout needs to be seen as a game in three parts and I consider that all three of these parts (the base game, New California, and Atomic Bonds) are critical to having the best possible experience. Without the expansions, Fallout the Boardgame is arguably an embarrassing mess. With the expansions, however, it is a phenomenal game and a highly-enjoyable experience. The expanded Fallout board game captures the video games perfectly and it is an absolute joy to play either solo or co-operatively with friends. Each scenario now reaches a satisfying conclusion win or lose and you need to complete a number of side objectives too before the game ends.
Given the success of the TV series leading to the commissioning of a second season, and with Fallout 5 being likely to hit our devices around 2030, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a second edition of Fallout the board game at some point in the future – it definitely deserves a rework which pulls the updated cooperative system and the expanded scenario maps into the base game. Until then, we are lucky to have what has evolved to be an exceptional game with high-quality components and solid replayability. If you are wasteland-curious, and you can lay your hands on Fallout the Board Game and its expansions, grab them while you can.
The Bottom Line
Fallout the Board Game is an easy way to bring the wasteland to your table. There is no assembly needed, no scenery required, and no time-consuming painting necessary before you can start playing (unless you want to). The expanded game does an excellent job in capturing the atmosphere of the wasteland and, whilst not quite as resilient as Vault 101, the standard of the components is such that they will hold up to many years of enthusiastic use. Being fully cooperative, the game is a fun experience for families, couples and gaming groups that don’t necessarily react well to the often cutthroat nature of competitive play in a post-apocalyptic world.
