Board Game Concepts: Disgaea – The Netherworld Board Game

And here we go again with another crazy board game concept. This week, I’ve decided to use the Disgaea series as a concept for something spectacular. Now, this may feel like a cop out in some ways. Since Disgaea is a strategy RPG already, it feels like a board game without even trying. Even so, it would still be a lot of fun, and I think there are some great opportunities for an expandable board game.

Check it out!

Objective

The idea of this game is to build a team of 10 characters and/or monsters from the Disgaea games and beat your enemies to a pulp. Pretty simple, right?
Game Pieces/Cards

Disgaea: The Netherworld Board Game will have figures to represent the characters and monsters that you can fight with. Each figure will have an info card that determines his HP, attack, movement and throwing distance (Prinnies will still explode when thrown). The reverse side of the card will indicate special skills available to it. These skills can each be used only once per game, so use them wisely.

Map Pieces

Map pieces are interlocking board tiles that can connect to create your map. They can also be stacked on top of each other to add depth to your map.

Geo Panels

These will be placed on top of map squares to signify a benefit or detriment when a figure is on that tile. There will be a home base stone for each geo panel color. if the home base is destroyed, then the panel of the matching color no longer has the effect. It’s up to you how many panels and effects you can have on the board.

Treasure chests/cards

If a player destroys a treasure chest, they get a random item from the item deck. These items could include healing potions, weapons, armor, bombs, and so on. Once you have the item, any character can use or equip it, but equipment cannot be transferred to another player. If you get a better weapon, you must discard the old one.

Setup

This is where I think the real fun of the board game aspect comes in. This is where you get to make your own maps. Using interlocking tiles, you can build your own three dimensional maps. When I think of this, I think of an old board game called HeroScape. This will allow for infinite possibilities. You will be able to add depth and height to your maps, as well as add different environment modifiers through geo panels. Once setup is complete, each side of the map will have a starting portal for the corresponding player.

Gameplay

Much like the video games, the formula for combat is fairly simple. Each player will have a turn to move and take an action with each character. Character can move one space per move point. To climb to a higher part of the map without going up stair-like sections, they can climb if the height is equal to half of their move score. If it’s too high, they can be thrown up by other characters.

During an attack action, you can attack with your base attack score, reducing the enemy’s health by your attack (Not including modifiers). Be careful though, once you attack, your opponent’s character will get to roll a die to determine if he gets to counter. If he does, then you get a counter chance too! This cycle will continue until someone misses their counter check, or dies.

Instead of attacking, you can use a skill that is attached to your character. These could do additional damage, or hit a specific range of the board, damaging all within the area of effect. These will be extra powerful, but are limited to one use per game, hopefully balancing the system.

When you defeat an enemy, you get to claim one treasure card.

Expansions

This game could easily be marketed with expansions. These could include larger expansions for each game in the Disgaea series, and smaller expansions that include new characters and monsters. (examples being a Prinny pack, or a geo panel color set, or additional map tiles). This would allow you to add more customization and variety to each game, enhancing the play experience.

So this is my next little idea. While some of the work was already done for me given the nature of the video game, some tweaks were needed to make it a board game. I think there’s still some work that could be done to enhance it, so I’d love your suggestions!

Next week, we take to the skies with Skies of Arcadia: The Board Game!