Elric of Melniboné board game adapts the Michael Moorcock fantasy character
Into Imrryr.
The 1960s fantasy universe featuring Elric of Melniboné is getting a board game adaptation.
Called Elric: Rise of the Young Kingdoms, the upcoming board game takes place in Imrryr, the Dreaming City, the capital of the Melniboné empire, which has fallen from grandeur in recent years. Leading a rebellion to revive the city’s greatness is Elric, a banished prince who has returned alongside his many allies to retake Imrryr and become the master of the Young Kingdoms.
The fantasy board game sees players taking on the roles of leaders of the various nations within the Young Kingdoms, all of whom are supporting Elric in his conquest. As each ruler, players will be deploying their troops and heroes to fight in the battle for Imrryr, with opportunities to gain favour with Elric – as well as some valuable treasures – for those willing to take them.
Players will be able to choose from the nations of Lormyr, the Purple Towns, Pikarayd, Bakshaan and Tarkesh, with each one having its own advantages and troop types to deploy. Rise of the Young Kingdoms takes place over a series of phases, from the action phase that has players figuring out how to overcome the city’s defences to the ransacking phase, that involves sharing loot between the nations depending on the amount of area they control.
As the game progresses, players will have to be prepared for the city of Imrryr to fight back. As threat cards are revealed, each nation will need to respond to the various actions of the city forces – including counterattacks, fires and even a dragon. Eventually, players will need to bid against one another for sway over Elric, acquiring cards that will give them more control over the prince – should he successfully take back the city.
Elric: Rise of the Young Kingdoms was co-designed by Jean-Baptiste Lullien – who co-created the co-op board games Zombicide and Massive Darkness – and Frederic Chansel, with this being their debut design. Le Département is the studio responsible for releasing Rise of the Young Kingdoms.
Elric of Melniboné is a character created by Moorcock that first appeared in the novellla The Dreaming City, before being featured in various other novellas and collections, as well as comic books, various metal songs and roleplaying games.
The Kickstarter campaign for Elric: Rise of the Young Kingdoms is live until September 30th, with a pledge of €75 (£65/$75) getting backers a copy of the core game in November 2023.