Riot reveals info on Tellstones: King's Gambit board game

Olivia Richman Published 13/01/2020

Riot’s 10th anniversary live stream revealed some cryptic details regarding Riot Game’s venture into virtual card games, fighting games, and an FPS, all set within League of Legend’s lore and featuring their existing champions.

While this left many League of Legends fans overwhelmed, it appears that Riot has even more in store for 2020.

A Twitter post over the weekend introduced yet another addition to the League of Legends universe: a board game. The tweet contained a press release with further details of Tellstones: King’s Gambit, Riot’s take on tabletop gaming.

Many fans are now asking, why board games?

“We’re gamers,” developers explained. “That means more to us than just video games. You can tell by the piles of board games, miniatures, and roleplaying books stashed around the office. So it was natural to explore what would happen if we brought the Riot perspective to tabletop games. We call it Riot Tabletop.”

According to the press release, Tellstones is just the first of many tabletop games in the works at Riot.

Tellstones: King’s Gambit gameplay details revealed

Before Tellstones, Riot Games created a cooperative tabletop game called Mechs vs. Minions. Created in 2016, the game was “loaded with miniatures and narrative content.” This included a tutorial from Rumble that set the tone of the game itself.

This time around, Riot is looking for friends to stop working together and start working against each other. Tellstones is a bluffing game “with perfect information.” The two to four player game is described as a “Demacian variant of a game played across Runeterra.”

So far, no further information on the gameplay has been revealed, except that it’s a fast and competitive game.

Of course, this is much different than Mechs vs Minions.

“They’re worlds apart, but united by the focus on player experience outlined above. And that’s what we’re so excited about – multiplying player experience across the wide range of games you can play at a table with friends,” developers said.

Tellstones first came to players’ attention in September, when observant fans noticed Riot filed a trademark for the name. The League of Legends Public Beta Environment that followed included a loading screen with tips for the board game. One of these tips discussed how King Santon of Demacia avoided war by playing Tellstones.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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