Valheim: The Board Game reaches Gamefound target in under an hour

Even though Valheim is stoéé in early access, it is already getting its own board game. Valheim: The Board Game launched on Gamefound at the start of this month and reached its €200,000 target in just 53 minutes. It is currently 440% funded, having amassed more than €880,000 in funding at the time of writing.

Valheim launched in early access for Steam and Linux on February 2, 2021, and on Xbox One and Series X/S on March 14, 2023. It sold a million copies in its first week on Steam. Iron Gate Studio said they wanted to develop the game with the help of players and expected to release multiple updates within its first year of release.

However, by June 2021, the publisher had removed the original roadmap and delayed the game’s first updates. It is very unlikely fans will see a full-access release this year, and we may have to wait until well into 2025 for a hard launch. However, even in its current state, Valheim continues to prove popular.

The game’s most recent update, Ashlands, was launched in May 2024. The new area, at the Southern edge of the map, brought new enemies and even harsher conditions. According to the original roadmap, Ashlands should be the penultimate biome to be released before the game gets its long-awaited full release.

With players having already waited three years for full access, it wouldn’t be surprising if interest in the game had started to wane. However, the recent Gamefound project launch would suggest otherwise. Having launched at the beginning of October, it took less than an hour to reach its €200,000 target. Valheim: The Board Game looks highly likely to surpass the €1 million target in the coming days.

The board game has been designed by Ole Steiness and it will be published by Mood Publishing. The group previously worked together on the award-winning co-op board game Deep Rock Galactic so they have good board game design pedigree. Of Valheim: The Board Game they said they have worked tirelessly to recreate the feeling of exploration that is found in the video game.

The game can be played by up to four players or solo. Players can create their characters before exploring, gathering and managing resources, crafting equipment and building homes, and attempting to vanquish the monsters of Valheim.

Exploration will see players gradually uncover the 20 game tiles and boss arenas. Houses, which include cardboard components, are stored on player homestead boards, and there are more than enough minis and other components to suggest the game will have a strong table presence.

Mood Publishing has made the decision not to include stretch goals. However, as well as a standard edition, which can be backed for €65, there is a deluxe edition, costing €115, and a collectors edition for €155. Add-ons and extra merch include a big wooden spoon, wooden beer coasters, and a metal dice keyring. Extras like the dice tray, dice set, and dice tower offer cosmetic upgrades. An all-in package, including the collector’s edition and all add-ons, costs €220.

The Gamefound project gives a likely delivery date of October 2025, which means backers will have about a year to wait before they can explore Valheim. Hopefully, by the time the board game is released, Valheim on PC and consoles will also reach the 1.0 milestone.