FROSTHAVEN

Snapshot's boardgame adaptation looks to retain a human touch

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Turning a boardgame into a videogame is no mean feat, but when it came to adapting the rulesets, monsters, character classes and scenarios of tabletop favourite Frosthaven, the team at Snapshot Games found themselves in a fortunate position. The brainchild of game designer Isaac Childres, the Frosthaven boardgame was the subject of a staggeringly successful crowdfunding campaign. Yet, as it turns out, Childres originally had other plans.

“He really wanted to make a videogame,” game director Hristo Petkov reveals. “That’s why the boardgame feels like a video game. He didn’t have the knowhow or the resources to create a videogame, which is why he created the board game.” While alterations are still required in the digital translation, then, it’s been a relatively smooth process. “[Childres is] protective of the IP and the universe he’s trying to create, of course,” Petkov says, “but he’s very understanding that we need to change some stuff.”

A dark-fantasy tactical RPG, Frosthaven builds on foundations laid by the 2021 adaptation of its predecessor,