The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era Is The March’s RPG Board Game Beast

The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era was launched in March 2025, a $195 cooperative board game from Chip Theory Games. ZeniMax Online Studios licenses it, and it’s got forums buzzing into April.

This epic tabletop adventure for 1-4 players dives into Tamriel’s Second Era. Specifically the Planemeld. Players stop mage Deslandra’s Great Nullification, severing magicka’s flow.

Among board games of March 2025, it stands out for its lavish production, with a 20-pound box full of stitched mats, custom dice, and heavy chips, priced at a hefty $195. It’s a heavy strategy game, with sessions lasting 2 hours plus 30 minutes per player, totaling 12-15 hours for campaigns, making it a beast compared to lighter spring fare.

Gameplay Mechanics of The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era

The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era is complete of deep RPG mechanics. There is dice-driven combat and exploration, keeping solo and group players hooked. It spans 45+ quests across five Gazetteers like Black Marsh, High Rock, and Skyrim. Each of them has 1-3 sessions. They draw inspiration from Chip Theory’s Too Many Bones for combat and character creation.

Combat uses status, combat, and skill line dice. Similar to formats like Clash, Delve (favorite for fog-of-war), and Dungeon. Plus, there is a cooldown system starting with one die on standard difficulty. Here, more dice means better odds.

Players build characters, manage multiple skill lines, and tackle enemies with an Enemy Pool (EP). EP is calculated as party XP times the number of adventurers. For example, 4 XP with two players equals EP 8, populated with levels 1, 5, 10, and 20 enemies, and loot with lockpicking, limiting four active items, spending XP on dice, health, or cooldown upgrades.

Dice-driven combat with cooldowns, starting with 1 die on standard difficulty.
Exploration across Tamriel’s regions, each with unique mechanics.
Multi-session campaigns, three sessions per adventure, 1 hour per player.
It’s a loot system with lockpicking. XP is spent on dice, health, or upgrades.

Solo play is brutal, as some people have noticed. Some reviewers played 22 hours across five sessions, never winning on standard. Moreover, they were dying in the first session for three campaigns! They reached session three once. Learning to optimize EP and tenacity for healing and movement took some time. However, they never used the bailout option, leaving the game set up on a 3’x4′ table.

Group play shines for experienced gamers, estimated at 4 to 5 hours per session with three players. However, the setup complexity and a 95-page rulebook make teaching challenging.

Planemeld Pandemonium & Setting the Stage

The Planemeld setting immerses players in Tamriel’s chaos, with Deslandra and her Soldiers of the Void plotting to sever magicka’s flow, pulling from Elder Scrolls lore. It’s a cooperative adventure with branching quests and mysterious dungeons. It feels alive and dangerous. Especially compared to Gloomhaven for depth.

Early X reactions from March called it epic. Players love the atmospheric vibe of the game. April’s forums buzz about how it captures Elder Scrolls’ essence, with regions like Black Marsh and Skyrim each offering unique mechanics.

It’s a lore-rich backdrop, with players uncovering Deslandra’s plan, coming into conflict with her faction, and witnessing her vast resources, making it a hot topic for RPG fans.

Community Chatter for The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era

The board game has April’s community ablaze over its miniatures. Custom, heavy chips for health and units are praised for table presence. These match the weight of unit chips for stable stacks, with a custom intricate top sticker design.

You can expect multi-session adventures. Namely, three sessions per campaign. Of course, this sparks debate. Players are loving the arc but are griping about scheduling challenges post-COVID, per Meeple Mountain’s review. Essentially, they are doubting regular play due to time investment.

X posts from March highlight that it hasn’t left tables, with one user saying it’s “the heaviest game I’ve played“. April sees talks of setup complexity with the 95-page rulebook, with some calling it a love-hate.

One thing is for sure! Hardcore fans are hooked, and casuals are wary of the time sink. Forums like BoardGameGeek likely echo this. You can find threads on replayability and whether it’s worth the $195, given its epic scope.

Can It Outlast Spring’s Lightweights?

The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era faces spring’s lighter fare like Finspan (March 7, 2025, fish-themed engine-building) and MicroMacro Kids: Crazy City Park (kid-friendly mysteries, early 2025).

Its $195 price and heavy strategy potentially is scaring off casuals. Its replayability from branching quests and Tamriel’s regions could keep dedicated gamers coming back. April’s buzz suggests it’s a long-term investment, not a quick hit. Hence, it will likely outlast fluffier releases.

Against Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons (April 2025, cooperative with D&D monsters), it stands tall for depth, with players seeing it as a keeper for RPG fans, but its setup and session length might limit table time. It’s a board game titan, ready to save Tamriel one heavy session at a time, with the potential to become a classic for hardcore board gamers.

A Game for the Ages

The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era launched in March 2025 as a $195 beast, thrilling solo and group players with Planemeld chaos and RPG mechanics. Its miniatures and multi-session campaigns dominate April talks, balancing love for depth with setup woes, with community reactions split between hardcore fans and casual skeptics. Against spring’s lighter games, it seems likely to outlast, a potential classic with epic scope, demanding dice rolls and dedication. Grab your custom dice—it’s time to dive into Tamriel’s heaviest adventure.