Idyllic village-building video game Dorfromantik gets a cooperative tabletop adaptation
I’ll be down at the pub hex tile.
Dorfromantik, a relaxing video game about building a dreamlike village in the European countryside, will come to tabletops later this year as a cooperative hex tile-placement board game with unlockable content.
Published by prolific German distributor Pegasus Games, Dorfromantik (or “village romanticization”) tasks one to six players with placing interlocking hexagonal tiles that will gradually construct a little town full of farms, windmills, streams and rustic homes.
The ultimate goal of each session is to score as many points as possible, which are earned in a similar manner to its video game predecessor - fulfilling villager requests for certain amenities or building arrangements. Optional objectives, such as building the longest path and river, as well as bonus scoring on tiles with a flag, will help supplement the team’s overall point total.
While all of this can serve a nice, relaxing game of teamwork-oriented hamlet raising, there’s another reason to shoot for maximum points over pure aesthetics. Dorfromantik will include boxes of new tiles that are unlocked after reaching certain score thresholds, and the contents will open up new strategies and challenges to tackle. There will also be a campaign book to gradually guide groups through a series of scenarios along a set difficulty track.
The board game is designed by Michael Palm and Lukas Zach, who have previously worked together on a number of titles, including BANG! The Dice Game and Aventuria: Adventure Card Game. Dorfromantik’s original creators, Toukana Interactive, are also directly involved with the project.
A press release from Pegasus Games says the team is aiming to capture the original video games “simple but ingenious gameplay” that has already led to a couple of recent awards and accolades, along with early success on the Steam digital marketplace. Early artwork for the board game shows that it will cleave close to the video game’s picturesque portrayal and cool colour palette.
Dorfromantik’s board game adaptation is currently projected for a late 2022 release and a price point around £30/$35. Those attending this year’s Essen Spiel convention can see the idyllic village builder in action ahead of its public release.
