Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game

Metal-Gear-Solid-Board-Game-1 — Original IDW box packaging

Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game is a board game based on the game of the same name, released by CMON and Konami. It was originally planned to be released by IDW Games on December 15, 2019, but after 2 delays and licensing difficulties it was eventually cancelled in February, 2021. The project was then revived on May 24, 2023 with a set release date of May, 2024.

Summery[]

Campaign:[]

For 1-4 players and across 14 unique stealth and Boss Missions, Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game follows Solid Snake and his companions Meryl Silverburgh, Hal “Otacon” Emmerich and Gray Fox through the Shadow Moses Incident campaign in a progressive story that follows the steps of the video game. Explore the depths of Shadow Moses Island, uncover new information through espionage, and unravel the conspiracies surrounding this weapon testing exercise. The game is all about stealth, so characters have to use cover, sneak around corners, and distract guards intelligently to avoid detection. If spotted, characters have no option besides engaging in combat, which can prove deadly. They’ll have to hide inside cardboard boxes, sneak across the map, avoid enemy patrols, and search for key items in order to complete objectives. With an intuitive patrol and alert system, moving the Patrols is straightforward, keeping stealth the focus of gameplay, maintaining the tension and excitement of a sneaking Mission. The Bosses; Revolver Ocelot, Cyborg Ninja, Psycho Mantis, Sniper Wolf, Vulcan Raven and Liquid Snake each come with a unique mechanic that is played out in their own dedicated Mission. Different from stealth Missions, players need to carefully plan their moves and coordinate their attacks to take down these challenging foes. Each Boss comes with their own deck of cards and has a specific set of attacks and weaknesses that players will have to discover and exploit. Players will have to make use of their wits and everything in their surroundings to take down these epic bosses.

Character Skills:[]

Each character has unique gameplay traits and adds something different to the team: Snake is focused on stealth takedowns, Meryl can disguise herself and pass by Patrols unnoticed, Fox starts the game with his signature weapons like his High-Frequency Blade, and Otacon has a unique Hack deck available only to him. With unique skills, passive abilities, and a variety of familiar actions, such as knocking on walls to draw the attention of enemies or stealth take downs, each player will have a distinctive and immersive experience playing with the different characters.

Equipment:[]

At the start of every Mission, players choose a set of classic equipment from the video game to bring into that Mission. With a variety of weapons and equipment scattered across the various campaign and VR Missions, players can push themselves to earn and permanently add more items to their inventory, something that sooner or later may prove to be quite useful to progress through the campaign, since Missions are challenging.

Game Components:[]

Player Character Miniatures
5 Boss Miniatures
12 Patrol Miniatures
1 Meryl Disguise Miniature
2 Cardboard Box Miniatures
14 Double-Sided Tiles
4 Player Dashboards
9 Boss Dashboards
1 Patrol Dashboard
176 Cards
184 Tokens

Development[]

Announced in December, 2018 by IDW Games and designed by Emerson Matsuuchi with sculptor Francesco Orrù, and art by comic artist Kenneth Loh, Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game was originally going to be a 1-4 player cooperative, stealth action board game. The players will take on the role of Solid Snake and his allies as you relive the events of the Shadow Moses Incident. Strategize with your partners and exploit you characters’ unique skills in order to bring down FOXHOUND and destroy Metal Gear. With 30 beautifully sculpted, and highly detailed miniatures including an oversized highly detailed Metal Gear REX miniature, the game was going to contain over a dozen missions that retell the story of Metal Gear Solid and more than 10 all-new VR missions. Along with 8 unique and challenging boss encounters, 20 Modular map times allows you to build your own scenario and with AI controlled genome soldier and boss encounters that would provide almost infinite replayability. As a special bonus, preorders and backers would receive exclusive bonus of the M1 Tank and Hind D boss miniatures as extras to their game. The game was set to be released in December, 2019.

In early 2019, IDW announced that those interested can check out the game at the Origins Game Fair, Dice Tower Con, San Diego Comic Con, and Gen Con while gaming media will be able to try it out next E3.

In November 2019, IDW Games has revealed that Metal Gear Solid The Board Game has been delayed to the summer of 2020. IDW has revealed that they are using the extra time to implement feedback from play testers and other parties, and to include some new stuff. IDW Games writes:

"Game design and development is an iterative process, and involves feedback from play-testers, graphic designers, the factory that will be producing the game, and our licensing partners in North America and Japan. As development progresses changes come in that range from things that affect quality of life aspects, things like the size of the spaces on the map tiles, to redesigning and developing scenarios for better balance. […] Knowing that this was a chance to find a silver lining and grant Emerson and the team the time to make the product they really wanted it to be, we decided to delay the game. We’re now planning on delivering the game in summer 2020."

They also revealed that the board game will also get some added extras, such as 100 pages of comic book art that will be added to the campaign book. Furthermore, they announced that backers and preorders will receive a special "Day One Edition" of the board game. The Day One Edition of the game will come with several extras, including two playable cardboard box miniatures (which will be tokens in the regular version) thus increasing the game's player capacity from 4 players to 6. The preorder bonuses of the M-1 tank and Hind-D are also included in the Day One Edition of the game.

In August 2020, IDW games released an update regarding the board game's release announcing that it's being delayed for the second time.

"To our Metal Gear community, We know that this update has been long-awaited. In the fall of 2019, we made the hard decision to delay the release of MGS to this year in order to refine the design and give you, the players, the best experience possible. Today, we’ve made the even more difficult decision to delay the game once more to the summer of 2021. Our mission is to have you all enjoying this breakthrough system before Gencon — whether we can gather to celebrate in-person or remain virtually connected. The big question you probably have right now is “why?”. The answer is simple. We will not compromise our standards for the quality of game our community deserves. We are steadfastly committed to working with acclaimed designer Emerson Matsuuchi to bring his vision for this title to life on the tabletop no matter how much time it takes. Before you start to worry about the possibility of another delay, we are pleased to share that the game is entering its final round of playtesting this week! As many of you know from our interactions on social media and email, we’ve held off on this update until all of the details contained herein are 100% certain. With that in mind, we’d like to share our path moving forward. Over the next few months, we’ll be sharing more details about MGS — including gameplay coverage, components, and missions. This December, we’ll be sharing a special holiday gift with all of our backers — a set of tutorial and playable missions to get you up to speed before your box arrives. In March, you’ll receive an invite to try out the game virtually on both Tabletop Simulator and Tabletopia. We know that you’ve been waiting patiently for this game for quite some time. Along with the content discussed above, we’ll also be locking in your price point as current backers. After additional development work, we’ve determined that moving forward, the game will be $125. So, you’ll be saving $16 for your early support! We have not charged cards yet and don’t plan on doing so until March. We will keep everyone updated as we approach the closing date. Finally, we know that you probably have more questions for both Emerson and our team. That’s why we’ve set up this Q&A thread on BoardGameGeek. Whatever you want to know about the game, we’ll have you covered — and this line of communication will remain open from now until fulfillment. Thank you for taking the time to read this update. We greatly appreciate your support and patience throughout this process and can’t wait to hear tales of your missions next summer. See you on the battlefield."

On February, 2021, in a post in a forum on BoardGameGeek, Matsuuchi, has confirmed that the title was cancelled last year. Matsuuchi stated that IDW Publishing chose to cease production on Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game in December 2020. Matsuuchi did not elaborate on the reasons behind the cancellation, simply stating that “the decision was made back in December to not move forward with the MGS Project.” IDW released a statement to all backers via email informing them that the project was cancelled due to the complexity of working in a COVID-19 environment, and the obstacles of manufacturing timelines, pricing surges and shipping ports closing down that made the landscape of producing tabletop games extremely challenging. In the end, they made the decision to not go forward with the project. IDW informed backers their cards will not be charged due to the cancellation, and thank everyone involved and backed up the project for all their support in trying to bring Metal Gear Solid to the tabletop world.

Since the cancellation of the board game, Matsuuchi has required the rights to the game’s design, but has not managed to obtain the licensing necessary to release a tabletop adaptation of Metal Gear Solid. He explained:

“I have offered to put in capital from my company to help fund the last leg of the project, and even to buy out IDW’s interest in the project along with purchasing all of the assets. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get any traction with those options.”

Matsuuchi is “optimistic” about the situation, working with their publishing company - Nazca Games - to acquire the licensing to release Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game from video game publisher, Konami. However, Matsuuchi also emphasised that “there are no guarantees” that the board game will be released at all, but the designer is “working to keep this project alive” nonetheless. Matsuuchi has not confirmed a potential release date for Metal Gear Solid: The Board Game, nor how the title will be completed.

On May 24, 2023, after announcing the trailer of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater’s official remake; Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater, Konami revealed a updated Metal Gear Portal website and new merchandise, including the announcement of the revival of the Metal Gear Solid Board Game. Designed once again by Matsuuchi, sculpted by BigChild Creatives and illustrated by Marco Checchetto and published and released by CMON. There will be 2 different versions of the board game. The standard Retail release and an exclusive edition titled Integral Edition. The Campaign for both the Retail and Integral Edition of the game will contain the same missions and progressive campaign, but only the Integral Edition is accompanied by a 109-page graphic novel illustrated by Loh, that details the events surrounding the Missions, providing players with even more immersive gameplay and an exclusive 13cm tall Metal Gear REX miniature to be added as a Boss. The Integral Edition is exclusive only through CMON’s website with a $10 discount to those who preorder. CMON has also mentioned that due to the board game being in the Work in Progress stages, rules and contents may be tweaked and/or removed as the progress and testing stake place.