History Main / AdventureBoardGames

Adventure board games' origins are tightly intertwined with tabletop [=RPGs=], as their UrExample, ''[[TabletopGame/{{Dungeon}} Dungeon!]]'' (1975), had been a competing design to the original ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' (1974). In TheEighties, the genre split into three distinct subgenres all of which are represented on the market to this today:

* ''TabletopGame/ClankADeckBuildingAdventure'': Both and Adventure Board Game and a DeckbuildingGame. Competitive.

* ''TabletopGame/ClankADeckbuildingAdventure'': Both and Adventure Board Game and a {{Deckbuilding Game}}. Competitive.

[[AdventureGame Adventure Video Games]] are something entirely different. The closest video game equivalents to this genre are actually {{Hero Shooter}}s and {{MOBA}}s.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Lifeform}}'' (2018), which features AsymmetricMultiplayer in the form of one player controlling a [[CaptainErsatz xenomo-*cough* alien]] ant its sensor echo, and the rest playing as crewmembers of a long-haul [[SpaceTrucker cargo ship]].

* ''[[TabletopGame/FolkloreTheAfflicted Folklore: The Afflicted]]'' (2016)

* ''Bang!'' (2002) is a board-less card game, but you play as expies of famous outlaws with unique abilities and competing goals and can gain new moves with better gear.

Because most adventure board games are deeply rooted in a {{fantasy|TabletopGames}} or a {{horror|TabletopGames}} theme, they are often classified as AmeritrashGames, although after the TurnOfTheMillennium, EuroGame mechanics started seeping into the genre, particularly through Creator/FantasyFlightGames' productions. Another trend is adapting popular video games, particularly [[WesternRPG CRPGs]], to [[TheBoardGame tabletop format]].

** ''Tomb of Annihilation'' (2017), based on the eponymous adventure for 5E, itself based on the infamous ''TabletopGame/TombOfHorrors'' module

* Investigative [=ABGs=], codified by ''TabletopGame/ArkhamHorror'', have players cooperate with each other to uncover clues and to solve a mystery, often of the CosmicHorrorGenre variety, before some game-ending condition occurs.

[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure_board_game Adventure board games]] are a subset of BoardGames where each player controls a personified [[HeroUnit character token]] whose [[RPGElements abilities improve as the game progresses]] (through [[CharacterLevel leveling]], [[EquipmentBasedProgression items]], or both). "Personified" here means that the characters usually have [[NominalImportance unique names]], [[CharacterCustomization distinct appearances]], and [[SkillScoresAndPerks specialized abilities]]--just like in a TabletopRPG, although pen-and-paper [=RPGs=] are easily distinct by their free-form gameplay that does not require a board. [[SlidingScaleOfCooperationVsCompetition Cooperative]] [=ABGs=] also often feature AsymmetricMultiplayer (with one player functioning as a "GameMaster" controlling monsters and traps), VariablePlayerGoals, and varying session goals ("[[TheQuest quests]]").

* ''TabletopGame/Kill Dr. Lucky'' (1996), which is an inverse version of ''Clue.''