What did you think of top board-game adjacent picks, and are you going to pick up any of the games we listed here?

Sound off below, and don't forget to leave a comment if you've found any other killer board game-style titles on Steam we should check out.

If you've already played all our picks, don't forget to take a look at the companion list of direct board game adaptations here.

Wargroove

Buy it on Steam here

Wargroove is essentially the fantasy counterpart to Tiny Metal, and an even more faithful successor to the Advance Wars style from the Game Boy Advance days.

The overall strategy and tactics clearly draw on board game design, and while there is a single player campaign, this is a game that's super fun to play in multiplayer matches. Despite the cutesy sprite graphics, there's also a surprising amount of depth going on here.

Tiny Metal

Buy it on Steam here

With Japanese anime characters but very western-influenced unit and vehicle design, Tiny Metal is an odd little hodgepodge of a strategy title that takes clear influence from Advance Wars.

If you want a tactical, modern-day style game that's simple to jump into, Tiny Metal gets the job done, and the top-down view with turn-based combat gives it a clear board game flair.

Slay The Spire

Buy it on Steam here

Take a roguelike and sprinkle in a little deck building and you've got Slay The Spire, which manages to hit just the right combo of randomness and difficulty to become truly addictive.

You'll die, a lot, but have a ton of fun doing it, and there's a different layout every time of course so you'll want to keep trying again and again.

Book Of Demons

Buy it on Steam here

This has got to be one of the most unique, interesting twists on the classic ARPG style in quite some time. At first, Book of Demons seems exactly like Diablo: we're picking one of three classes and heading beneath a church to start killing skeletons by the dozen, but then things take a turn.

Rather than free movement, your hero moves down pre-determined board game style paths, and both combat and leveling are handled via a card system.

This is all reinforced by the paper mini art style. It literally feels like playing a board game where you have to stick your paper tokens into plastic bases.

Warhammer Quest

Buy it on Steam here

Want a tactical fantasy game that draws heavily on tabletop rules but not crazy about D&D? Warhammer Quest is the game for you, and as an added bonus it actually utilizes a top-down view and token pieces just like a real board game.

It's a classic loot 'n sell title where you get random quests to clear out dungeons of goblins, skaven, and so on, sell all the goodies you found to the merchants in the next town, and then do it all over again!

King's Bounty Crossworlds

Buy it on Steam here

Stripping out everything extraneous and focusing on what players really want, the original King's Bounty and follow-up Armored Princess scratched a very specific itch.

The series combat is along the lines of Heroes Of Might and Magic, but there's no city or resource management beyond building up your armies and leveling your hero.

An extreme focus on turn-based combat makes this a very satisfying series for board game fans. If you're looking to jump in, I recommend picking up Crossworlds, since it has both the expanded version of Armored Princess and the DLC.

A full-fledged King's Bounty 2 is also currently in the works and due out sometime in 2020.

Blood Bowl 2

Buy it on Steam here

And now for something completely different! Yeah, those are orcs in jerseys facing off against humans and undead on the football field. Obviously, the rules of football get a facelift in Blood Bowl 2, since these players like to kill each other.

Even if you don't care for sports-balling (and boy, I really, really don't) this is still a fun series for board game fans. Its complex, hard, and features a ton of strategy to learn.

Unlike most of the rest of this list, Blood Bowl is actually an adaptation of a specific existing tabletop game, but it's changed enough to be its own thing in the PC version, and the animations definitely take it to a new level.

Warhammer 40,000 Gladius: Relics Of War

Buy it on Steam here

Considering the impact Games Workshop has had on the tabletop industry, from war games to board games and even card-based titles, it shouldn't be much of a surprise they've got a huge number of PC crossovers as well.

While a lot of the Warhammer universe is pretty lackluster in video game form, there are some hidden gems. Gladius sees a massive shift away from the real-time strategy of classics like Dawn Of War and towards a very board-game focused take on the 4X genre.

If you like a slower-paced game where you have to sit and think about your strategy, this is the one to pick in the Warhammer 40,000 series.

Dicey Dungeons

Buy it at Steam here

Most board games feature polyhedral dice in some capacity, but this one actually has you playing as the dice! Other than taking on the role of some d6s, the schtick here is that you need to constantly adapt to rules changes and new characters.

While its wildly random, and it can be very hard, the end result is something like a cute and funny version of Darkest Dungeon but with a gameshow aesthetic.

Age Of Wonders: Planetfall

Buy it on Steam here

I don't think anyone saw the announcement trailer going the way it did for Planetfall, as the developers announced a surprise switch from fantasy to sci-fi in the long-running Age Of Wonders series.

Although this is a turn based strategy game with heavy 4X elements, if you really boil it down, Planetfall basically plays like a complex board game with animations.

From managing resources and diplomacy to exploring the map and dealing with randomized elements, there's a ton here for board game fanatics to love.  The recent Revelations DLC also just added a host of new elements and enemies, with another faction due to arrive in the next expansion down the line.

Armello

Buy it on Steam here

What you get here is essentially a board game built from scratch as a PC strategy experience. It's too complex and animation heavy to work as a real board title you'd pick up as a hobby store, but it works great as an online title. The clear Redwall / Mouse Guard flavor doesn't hurt either!

Combining several different styles all at once, Armello is part turn-based strategy, part card-based random mechanics, and part RPG. Although it has a single-player campaign and AI missions, keep in mind Armello is very much meant to be played online against other players.

Hand Of Fate 2

Buy it on Steam here

I'm honestly surprised there haven't been more games like Hand Of Fate and its sequel, because the core concept is such an obvious winner for tabletop fans who want a PC game.

There's a literal board with a digital card-dealer sitting across from you to pull from the deck and see where the story goes. In a way, Hand Of Fate is like a single-player advancement of those old VHS-based board games.

To keep things fresh, Hand Of Fate 2 switches to real-time action during the combat segments for a satisfying blend of video and board game styles. Of course, RNG plays a huge role here, as you can end up with devastatingly difficult or very easy encounters depending on what hand you are dealt. 

As the library of titles at Steam continues to grow at an exponential rate, its become clear that a game doesn't have to be a huge budget AAA affair to warrant dozens or even hundreds of hours of play. 

There are plenty of games with tried and true board or card mechanics that can suck you in and never let go, whether you prefer fantasy, sci-fi, modern day tank combat, or anything else.

Ready to ditch the first person shooters and try out something more tactical? Let's take a look at the the top 12 board game-adjacent entries currently available!

Most of these picks aren't direct 1:1 translations of an existing board game, but are rather tactical strategy entries with board and card elements added into the mix.

In other words, if you dig in-depth board games but want to play something on PC instead of at your dinner table, you'll love these Steam titles.

Looking for direct adaptations of famous board games instead? Check out our list of the 12 best Steam board games currently available -- from Zombicide to Ticket To Ride and everything in between -- over here.

Title: Warhammer Quest
Publisher: Rodeo Games Ltd.
Platform: iOS (iPhone 4+ & iPad 2+)
Release Date: Out Now
Price: $4.99 (£2.99/€4.49)

High Points

• Simple but fun dungeon-crawling gameplay.
• Slick presentation captures the Warhammer feel.
• Well-written campaign storylines.

Low Points:

• Questionable longevity due to potentially repetitive gameplay.
• Limited character options.
• Shameful money-grabbing DLC.

Quickfire Adventures

[Contd. from Warhammer Quest Review: The Good...]

To this point, I had been pleased with my game experience – Warhammer Quest was a turn-based game with its roots in classics like Diablo, Gauntlet and Wizardry.

It wasn't trying to do too much, but everything it did do was executed with panache. I have played for several hours and, aside from some concerns about the potential tread-mill gameplay (I'm hoping there will be a little innovation and variety at some point) I was developing an affection and respect for Warhammer Quest.

Then it tried to take my money.

Picking Pockets

Visiting the Adventurer's Guild to replace Kull the Red (my marauder who had died in an embarrassing incident involving accidentally sending him alone into a dungeon full of spiders), I saw that a Dwarf Trollslayer was available for recruitment. One of these ferocious and terminally suicidal Dwarf fanatics would be the perfect replacement and I eagerly selected the greyed-out character.

Suddenly, my device was “connecting to the App Store” and moments later it is demanding $2.99 (£1.99) to unlock an in-game character!

Browsing the other options on the store, as well as the Dwarf TrollSlayer, Archmage and Warrior Priest characters for $2.99, I was disappointed to discover the usual idiot traps of assorted in-game currency packs (60,000 Gold for $29.99/£20.99). There was also a Skaven storyline expansion pack, The Hidden Threat, for $4.99.

Hopes Crushed

I was angry and disappointed. As a paying customer, I felt aggrieved that I was being deprived basic game content for the simple purpose of attempting to prise more money from me. It is even less excusable than in a free-to-play title.

I had no real issue with the expansion pack – it doesn't seem that unreasonable to have the option to extend the life and depth of the game with a new region of content (Reikland) after I'd had my fill of exploring the Stirland region. By then I would know whether I enjoyed the game enough to continue, but trying to charge me for a basic character is just insulting – it's just a set of statistics and a few pixels which should be included in the initial purchase.

Flawed Judgement

To summarise; there is a lot to like about Warhammer Quest and the developers have done a great job of creating a polished, accessible and engaging game, but the purity of their good work is tainted by the unjustifiable attempt to extract more money from me than is reasonable.

I will continue to play - and hopefully enjoy – the Warhammer Quest content I have paid for, but the absence of character options and unnecessary greed worked into the game design will continue to leave a bitter taste in my mouth and likely prevent me, on principle, from purchasing the expansion pack.

Taking everything into consideration, I think Warhammer Quest deserves a GameSkinny rating of 7 out of 10. I might have gone higher, but for the throttled content.

Title: Warhammer Quest
Publisher: Rodeo Games Ltd.
Platform: iOS (iPhone 4+ & iPad 2+)
Release Date: Out Now
Price: $4.99 (£2.99/€4.49)

High Points

• Simple but fun dungeon-crawling gameplay.
• Slick presentation captures the Warhammer feel.
• Well-written campaign storylines.

Low Points:

• Questionable longevity due to potentially repetitive gameplay.
• Limited character options.
• Shameful money-grabbing DLC.

Entering The Old World

As the game began, I was struck by the quality and polish of the art – unsurprising considering the wealth of source material available - and the rousing soundtrack. Already, I was pleased with my decision to eschew free-to-play games in favour of a premium title: I am a big fan of the Warhammer Fantasy world and was looking forward to settling in to play a game whose content I'd paid for in advance and could enjoy without stumbling across cynical free-to-play money-traps at every turn. Ahem. More on this later.

After a brief and informative tutorial, I had grasped the essentials. The core of the game involves guiding a party of four pre-set characters - a Marauder, a Wood Elf Waywatcher, a Dwarf Ironbreaker and a Grey Wizard - through monster-infested corridors and rooms in search of gold and glory (or death in the unlikely event that you've got a Trollslayer in your party).

Each character is moved in turn, but subsequent characters can be ordered as the previous one carries out his movement, making this relatively slick and painless process. As the party explores, the map - and any hostile dungeon dwellers – are revealed.

Revealing Brains

Despite the combat being based on the board-game's mechanics, the dice-rolling all takes place “under the hood” giving a more organic, less mechanical feel to the proceedings. Personally, I think this is a good thing (see my article, 'MMOs are a Lie' for my reasoning), but fans of the original tabletop game may miss seeing the cogs and gears in action.

The controls are intuitive and soon become second nature, with a simple double-tap executing both moving and context appropriate attacks. The graphics and animations are pleasing; beautifully capturing the rich, brooding menace of Warhammer's Old World in the map environments and the character models. With every hefty swing of a weapon, combat animation feels nicely solid despite the camera being restricted to a zoomable bird's-eye view.

Controlling Party

The user interface is easy to use, although better suited to the iPad – it's a little fiddly on an iPhone, but still useable. A simple 90-degree rotation of the iOS device provides access to a fairly standard inventory view for some quick equipment switch-arounds and supplementary information is available for every item and creature encountered.

The dungeon crawls are nicely framed by a campaign map of a region of the Empire in the Old World. On entering a settlement, the party can rest and recover from their adventures, buy and sell equipment, visit the temple or recruit new party members (I seem to be in the market for a new meat shield quite regularly).

There are also some storyline-driven quests and random encounters which are well-written and in keeping with the Warhammer theme.

Next: Warhammer Quest Review: ...and the Bad