Hallowed Be Thy Game: Heavy Metal is Big Business in Board Games at PAX Unplugged

Last month, a massive herd of nerds descended upon Philadelphia for the annual board game convention/super show, PAX Unplugged. Stuffed to the gills with developers looking to test new shit out, companies trying to sell their shit, and hundreds of fans looking to try out all the new shit, it’s always a great time.

Yet one thing that keeps cropping up each year is the decidedly more and more metal aesthetic that’s become more mainstream in the tabletop gaming world. Whether it’s the super grim dark worlds of Warhammer 40K or the doom metal album art RPG Mörk Borg, even the hardest metal fan can find something there.

That’s why last month, I ventured out to talk to various industry folks and lifelong metalheads to see why games are adopting our musical culture and style. MetalSucks is no stranger to board gaming, so it only made sense that we’d show our faces there.

As it turns out when games deal in gruesome death and warfare, well there’s no better musical genre to pair it with than heavy fucking metal. So check out the video below to hear from some of the most metal game designers at the show.