Stardew Valley — the beloved and deeply meditative farming RPG — is now a beloved and deeply meditative board game.
On Tuesday, the game’s developer, Eric Barone (also known by his alias, ConcernedApe) announced that the popular indie farming simulation is now available to purchase in board game format for $US55 ($70).
In the video game, players assume the role of a reluctant character who rolls in from the big city to take over their grandfather’s rundown farm, eventually completing tasks like growing crops, raising livestock, crafting goods and socialising with the friendly (or not-so-friendly) townspeople.
The board game, which was co-developed over the course of the last 2 and a half years by Barone and board game designer Cole Medeiros, follows the same premise, with players working together to complete “Grandpa’s Goals,” restore the community centre and drive the evil Joja Corporation out of town.
In a blog post, Barone says outright that the game was “designed to have some depth and complexity” and takes about 45 minutes per player to play through — meaning it’s probably closer to “Settlers of Catan” than “Candy Land” on the “easy playability for newcomers” spectrum of board games.
“It’s easy to play once you learn the rules, but it’s not a short, casual game,” Barone says.
Although the actually gameplay does sound fairly involved, with players rotating through a “Season Deck” containing cards representing different weeks of the year, the blog post notes that the game is also easily customisable and can be made “easier or harder depending on your preferences. Just like the video game, we want you to be able to make this your own.”
While complex, detail-oriented farm simulation board games are admittedly not for everyone, we’ve also been in quarantine for nearly a year now and, let’s face it, you’ve got nowhere else to be.
Stardew Valley: The Board Game is available for purchase online now.