Local video game hit 'Doom' is being turned into a board game

Earlier this year, Richardson-based Id Software masterfully brought back their classic video game series Doom — a task that couldn't have been easy, considering how much of old-school game design had to be adapted to modern systems.

Now, Fantasy Flight Games (and designer Jonathan Ying) has a similar challenge: Adapting the high-speed, ultra-violent action of the new Doom into a tabletop game.

Announced last week, Doom: The Board Game will feature "a completely redesigned tactical combat experience for two to five players" based on the hit game.

Based on the first details and images, it's going to be a bit more complicated than Chutes and Ladders.

It's got two rulebooks (and an "operation guide"), 37 plastic figures, 187 assorted tokens, 6 dice, 8 demon cards, 36 event cards, 75 action ca--you know what? Let's just say it's got a lot of cards. It's intended for ages 14 and up, and Fantasy Flight Games estimates that games will last 2-3 hours each.

The game is asymmetrical, meaning that while two to five players will be teaming up as marines, one player will be trying to destroy the rest as an army of demons from Hell. The team of marines will take on a series of missions in which they attempt to accomplish various objectives before the demon player can wipe them all out.

It's based on a video game, so yes, the marines can respawn after death ... but they only have a limited number of lives.

The game "provides two operations of six missions each for your invader and marines to battle through," and every mission features its own unique map layout.

You can find a lot more detailed information about how the game is played (everything from marine classes to glory kill cards to how demon invaders are summoned) on Fantasy Flight Games' website.

This isn't the first time the company has adapted a video game. In addition to a wide array of both original and licensed titles (covering franchises like Lord of the Rings and Star Wars), last year Fantasy Flight Games released a board game version of XCOM.

Doom: The Board Game isn't scheduled to come out until later this year (Fantasy Flight won't get more specific than "fourth quarter of 2016") for $79.95, but there's a chance that those of us in Dallas will get to see it up close before then. Bethesda (Id Software's parent company) VP of Marketing Pete Hines has tweeted that he's received an early peek at the game, saying, "Wanna play a game with [Bethesda Community Lead Matt Grandstaff] and me at QuakeCon? Stay tuned." QuakeCon takes place this weekend, August 4-6, at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas.

If the board game is anywhere near as fun as the video game, then I'm very interested in seeing more of it.