The long-running Sniper Elite series is getting a stealth-filled, tactical board game later this year, with pre-orders now available for the game and its expansions. Video games and board games have often crossed over in the last few years, thanks to crowd-funded efforts like The Witcher: The Old World and Deep Rock Galactic - The Board Game as well as options based on hit franchises like Far Cry and Rainbow Six. The popularity of tabletop adventures like Dungeons & Dragons has left many fans excited about board game formats for favorite games, and the new Sniper Elite tabletop could be a great change from digital gameplay.
Sniper Elite is a surprising and unlikely choice for a board game adaptation, as the video games are a series of third-person tactical shooters largely set during World War II. In contrast to more adrenaline-fueled military action titles like Call Of Duty, Sniper Elite puts its emphasis on stealth, with players keeping their distance from enemies as they line up the perfect kill shot from afar. Over the past few years, earlier installments like 2012’s Sniper Elite V2 and 2014’s Sniper Elite III have been remastered to modern systems like the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, as have the Zombie Army Trilogy spin-offs that task players with gunning down hordes of the undead.
According to Rebellion’s official website, Sniper Elite: The Board Game will launch on July 1, 2022, with pre-orders for the game and its expansions available as of May 18. Designed for 1 to 4 players ages 14 and up, Sniper Elite: The Board Game puts those participating in the role of either elite Allied forces sniper Karl Fairburne or the defending Axis soldiers tasked with eliminating him. Similar to the Sniper Elite games, The player controlling Fairburn must keep his location a secret by tracking their movement on a hidden game board, while the opponents use miniatures to block pathways and vulnerable areas as they move in for the kill. In addition to the main game, players will be able to order the Sniper Elite: Eagle’s Nest expansion, which adds two new game locations, and the Sniper Elite: Deluxe Upgrade Kit containing unique specialist miniatures and Custom Weighted Clay Shot Tokens.
Aside from the remasters and new board game tie-in, the Sniper Elite series has gained two new entries in the past couple of years. The first is Sniper Elite VR, which launched for Windows, PS4, and Oculus Quest last July and was met with favorable reviews due to its immersive atmosphere. Meanwhile, Sniper Elite 5 is set to launch across all major platforms later this week and will bring Karl Fairburne to France for a mission to stop a top-secret project labeled Operation Kraken. Recent footage highlighted Sniper Elite 5’s new Kill Cam, which has drawn comparisons to Fallout’s slow-motion V.A.T.S. mechanic and Mortal Kombat X’s brutal X-Ray moves.
With the continued release of new games and remasters, it appears the Sniper Elite series will remain a strong presence in the first-person shooter genre for the foreseeable future. Additionally, the chance to explore the franchise’s stealth-and-tactics gameplay in a tabletop format with the Sniper Elite: The Board Game will likely be a fun and interesting way to engage with familiar characters and mechanics. Hopefully, Sniper Elite will continue to test format boundaries for the series, offering fun new content for fans to enjoy.
Source: Rebellion