An insight into the making of Blasphemous: The Board Game

I spoke with Andrea Colletti, creative director of Ludus Magnus Studio and his colleague Diego Fonseca, who is a game designer. Ludus Magnus Studio is named after the ancient arena where gladiators trained and as you may realize, the studio is also based in Italy and more specifically in Rome. At Ludus Magnus Studio, they focus on delivering experiences that combine strong storytelling, strategic game mechanics and high-quality components. Both Andrea and Diego explain that their interest in board games was sparked by character games from Games Workshop, for example.

Diego:
I grew up playing role-playing and strategy games, spending my days playing Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering and HeroQuest, while maintaining my passion for Games Workshop titles such as Necromunda and the legendary Blood Bowl. Combining my love of board games with my interest in video games, I opened my eyes to game development and began experimenting and creating my first prototypes.

Andrea:
I worked for Games Workshop for five years as a representative in northern Italy, which helped me build a valuable network. The dream of making my own game came later, when I was about 35 years old.

How did you come up with the idea of making a Blasphemous board game?
Andrea:
We had actually been looking for a license that would fit our style for a long time, but when it came to Blasphemous, it happened almost by accident. We were approached by the team at The Game Kitchen to explore the possibility of bringing Black Rose Wars into their All on Board VR board game platform. We simply saw our opportunity and proposed the idea of creating a Blasphemous board game. Because we quickly felt a strong connection and synergy, the process went surprisingly smoothly. We got lucky.

Diego:
At the time the company was looking for video game licenses, I suggested several titles that I was passionate about myself and already had ideas about how the mechanics could be transferred to board games – for example, Hades, Darkest Dungeon and Blasphemous. The fact that we got the license for Blasphemous came like a bolt from the blue. When we got the news, I had already played the game three times and was totally engrossed in it. It was a great experience to turn it into a board game – a dream come true.

A Hades board game Diego – that sounds fantastic. Is that something you have in the works?
Diego:
Unfortunately not for Hades – the rights have already gone to another company. But we are definitely interested in developing new board games based on video game licenses. Something is already in the pipeline, but we can’t talk about it yet….

How long have you been working on this project?
Diego:
The development of Blasphemous took a long time, including meetings with The Game Kitchen to refine the concept. The game went through at least three iterations before taking its final form. A project of this size requires at least 12 months of work before the product is ready for production.

Want to make the board game true to the original or create something new in the Blasphemous universe?
Andrea:
The board game cannot be a direct adaptation of the video game for several reasons. One of the biggest differences is that Blasphemous is an entirely solo experience, whereas the board game required a system for up to four players. Another thing we couldn’t fully replicate is the high death rate – dying every two minutes is part of the challenge in the video game, but in a board game it would quickly become frustrating.

Diego:
Translating the video game experience into a board game was an exciting challenge. One of the first difficulties was adapting a solo adventure to a system in which four penitents share the same world. Working with The Game Kitchen helped us find solutions to integrate multiple players, but the real challenge came next: maintaining a competitive gameplay experience without violating the lore of the game, where penitents share a fraternal community and a common penance.

What emotions do you want players of the board game Blasphemous to feel?
Andrea:
I think the “frenetic” action of the video game is the main element we wanted to transfer to the board game, while maintaining a strong narrative component. The combat system is designed so that a single dice roll covers both attack and defense, eliminating waiting time and keeping the pace high – a mechanism I find particularly interesting. As for the story, it is always presented in short segments to avoid losing the attention of players who may be less invested in the story. In this way, the game maintains its pace without losing its atmospheric depth.

Diego:
Players must feel the weight of an oppressive and unforgiving world, just like in the video game. At the same time, they must immediately understand that they have the tools to face and overcome the challenges ahead, even when they seem insurmountable. Death, personal sacrifice and even helping a rival are deeply rooted themes in the Blasphemous experience, and those who have played the game will recognize them in our board game version.

You work closely with video game developers The Game Kitchen to make sure they like what you do. Does this also mean that you involve fans of the game, or is everything based solely on the developers’ reactions?
Andrea:
The game is already well adapted for solo play. There are small narrative texts to read that enhance the experience, just like in a game book. In addition, the ability to occasionally ask for help during battles is an important mechanism – if used properly, it can help players overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. There is also a good balance between the absence of other Penitents, who in multiplayer help clear the map of enemies, and the almost certain ability to complete missions that offer powerful upgrades without competition from other players. This creates a solo experience that feels both challenging and rewarding.

Your game contains many incredible looking miniatures – is that something you consider an important part of a good board game?
Andrea:
After more than a decade as a publisher, I can say that thumbnails are not always necessary, and in some cases unnecessary. But for the kind of games we make – story-driven experiences where we strive for deep immersion – thumbnails are invaluable. They enhance storytelling and help players connect more strongly with the world we are building.

Diego:
I wouldn’t say miniatures are “necessary” for a good board game, but I certainly think they are important, at least for immersion. Our games, like the ones I personally like to play, focus heavily on theme and story. In that kind of experience, it is crucial to fully immerse yourself in the game world and its characters, and miniatures are a great tool to spark players’ imaginations and transport them into a vivid and dynamic world.

Video game graphics are pixel-based and have a pretty unique style. Is this something that brings you to the board game?
Andrea:
In the beginning, there was certainly the temptation to incorporate the pixel art style into the board game. As an art director, it would have been an exciting challenge to explore how the unique aesthetic could be implemented into the elements of the game. However, after discussions with The Game Kitchen team, we agreed that a more painterly and evocative art style – similar to the one we developed for our previous projects – would have a stronger visual impact. I can reveal a little behind-the-scenes detail; We ended up redesigning almost all of the game’s concepts, especially the characters, with references from their art books. In many cases, it was quite difficult to interpret specific details of the pixel art graphics, so we had to rely on original art from the studio that was not used in the final game. This led to creating concepts that are slightly different from what players see in video games, but provide a fresh perspective while staying true to the soul of Blasphemous.

What are you most proud of about Blasphemous and what do you think sets it apart from other board games?
Diego:
Personally, I loved developing the core mechanics of the game and streamlining the turn structure with simple yet well-defined actions, which still open up countless possibilities thanks to well-thought-out rules. It is precisely because of these refined mechanics that I was able to design the highly varied Pilgrimages (scenarios), making each game feel unique.

Andrea:
I think the most unique thing about Blasphemous is the combat system. With a single roll of the dice you can attack, parry and determine weaknesses, making every encounter fast and smooth. In many adventure and exploration games, a lot of time is spent deciding where to go, reading texts and completing missions. Moreover, if you have long combat phases, game rounds can easily take 4-5 hours, which in my opinion can discourage some people from picking up the game on the table.

Congratulations on the very successful crowdfunding campaign. Did you expect the campaign to be as successful as it was?
Andrea:
Thank you so much for the kind words! We are incredibly happy that the campaign has reached such an amazing milestone. Blasphemous: The board game is now our most successful crowdfunding project to date, and we couldn’t be more proud of the work we’ve done.
Did we expect this level of success? Our goal was to reach at least €100,000, so surpassing that by almost 100% was a great surprise. These 21 days of the campaign have been an incredible journey, only made better by an amazing and engaged community.

Speaking of crowdfunding, how do you see the separation between base games and expansions?
Andrea:
Unfortunately, there is a perception that some projects intentionally withhold content from the base game to sell as expansions. But that’s not how we work. If you compare the content of any of our base games to similar titles that were not crowdfunded, such as Descent, you will see that we offer a similar – if not greater – amount of content at a similar or lower price. Crowdfunding allows us to reduce costs, such as distribution costs, at least during the initial launch phase.

Diego:
When designing a game, my main goal is always to create a complete and well-rounded experience in the base game. Expansions and crowdfunding rewards should be exactly that – additions that introduce more depth or variety, without feeling like they were missing from the beginning.

When is the game expected to hit stores?
Andrea:
Good question. Honestly, I am not sure if the game will even be released at retail. Due to the large number of components and their high quality, the price will be high. This makes it uncertain whether publishers would be willing to take such a big risk.

They tell me that after the campaign ends a so-called “late pledge” will be activated, meaning that even after it ends you can deposit money to get the game home as soon as it is ready for production and to be shipped to customers. I am enormously grateful that the guys at Ludus Magnus Studio took the time to talk to us and give us such good insight into the work on the game – which also looks promising. This whole discussion took place during the very intensive work in the final stages of the campaign.

Link to Blasphemous: The Board Game on Gamefound