It’s difficult to imagine what first-person shooters would look like today, if they existed at all, without the original DOOM, released on December 10, 1993 for MS-DOS. The lone super soldier, the legendary Doom Guy, fending off hordes of demons from hell is one of the characteristic images of computer games, and the series still shocks and amazes fans with each up-to-date, bloody entry. Now, Modiphius Entertainment is bringing DOOM to the table with its upcoming Doom Arena board game, available now Kickstarterand I had the opportunity to spend some time with the prototype to see how well I could break and destroy in my dining room.
While Doom Arena is not the first cardboard adaptation of the series, the latest version is a bloody battle between one player controlling the Doom Guy and another controlling the demons. The action takes place in – you guessed it – an arena – two players maneuver their malleable forces around a hexagonal war zone, competing to inflict more pain.
Each point of damage you deal to an opponent earns you blood, which serves as a victory point. The winner is whoever comes out on top in two of the three rounds by earning the most blood, with each round consisting of six turns for both sides. Between rounds, both Doom Guy and Demons can upgrade their arsenals. Doom Guy receives up-to-date weapons and armor, and the Demons replace weaker enemies with more tough ones, such as Pinky, Cacodemons and the mighty Cyberdemon.
Doom Arena is one of those games that works great as a filler between heavier games of the day or when you just want to have fun while sipping a chilly one and munching on snacks. The gameplay is a slick dice game where strategy takes a back seat and focuses on running around with guns in hand and seeing how much pain you can cause, which is very reminiscent of the source material. The only real “strategy” I was thinking about was what upgrades I was going to spend my resources on between rounds.
I appreciate Doom Arena’s simpler ruleset because you can explain the rules to your friends pretty quickly and roll the dice shortly thereafter. That being said, I wouldn’t complain if a little more depth could be found. To be candid, the prototype I had access to and the ruleset in development only included two-player game modes, while the final game will be playable with 2-4 players, so it’s possible that the additional depth I’m hoping for will be found in the final rules and other game modes. As for game modes, I will say that having official rules for starting with more upgrades is clever and provides a lot of cluttered fun, and I could see some great matches by taking a pick/counter-pick approach.
The version of Doom Arena I played featured miniatures depicting the classic Doom Guy look and demons that players of the original 90’s game would recognize. But those who have jumped on the chainsaw bandwagon in recent decades will also have a version for themselves. Modiphius creates a mechanically identical version that instead features arenas, models and weapons taken from the recent Doom: The Dark Ages, in which Doom Guy is replaced with the menacing Doom Slayer and demons including Mancubus, Imps, Imp Stalkers, Hell and Battle Knights, Pinky Rider, Arachnotron and Soldiers. And for those who may be brief on storage space, Modiphius will also offer a version that replaces the plastic miniatures with acrylic stands, reducing the size of the box and lowering the price.
When I first heard the announcement that Modiphius was designing a up-to-date Doom board game, I immediately thought of playing as Doom Guy, exploring corridors, finding keys to open doors, which ultimately led to fighting a gigantic, terrifying demon. Something more along the lines of Betrayal at House on the Hill, Cthulu: Death May Die, or Zombicide. I would still love to play this type of Doom, but I can’t deny that Doom Arena does a great job of capturing the spirit of these games.
This is a series about killing as many things as possible as quickly as possible, and Arena delivers on that premise in an thrilling and accessible package. Even playing dice with this version of WIP led to tense moments where I had to hold my breath while rolling the dice, or to giant sighs of relief when my demons escaped brutal dismemberment by a chainsaw. I’m looking forward to seeing what additional content and additions will be available to play with and what other game modes will be introduced in the final version, which will be able to play with three or four players. With the Doom Arena board game, Modphius aims to deliver a box that will appeal to fans of both video games and board games in general, and I’m counting down the days until I can rev up my chainsaw again and take it to some demons again.
Doom the Arena board game campaign valid until November 21, 2025, and the expected delivery date is October 2026.
Scott White is a freelance contributor to IGN, helping with board games and guides. Follow him X/Twitter Or Blue.
