Mantic Games has announced a Kickstarter campaign for an officially licensed Plants vs Zombies board game, set to adapt the iconic flower-planting, zombie-splatting tower defense game to the tabletop. A press release from the studio promises "a fast-paced cooperative tabletop game for 1-4 players that captures all the comedy and chaos" of the classic videogames.
You know Plants vs. Zombies, right? Everyone knows Plants vs. Zombies. Well this is it, but this time as a board game. A horde of zombies is shambling (or football tackling, or pogo-sticking) towards your homestead, and all that stands between you and them is your carefully curated garden of super-powered plants. Every plant has a different role: Peashooters attack oncoming zombies, Wall-nuts slow them down, Cherry Bombs blow up, and so on.
Mantic promises that the game will feature this "classic Plants vs Zombies gameplay faithfully brought to the tabletop", and some or all of the game's "iconic characters brought to life with pre-assembled miniatures". Mantic's main business is making miniatures, and it's got a good track record translating designs from other media - particularly videogames and comics - into plastic figures.
The game comes with the "Zen Garden Campaign, with difficulty scaling to match the group's skill", according to the press release, and "players learn the game through a series of levels, unlocking new challenges, Plants, and Zombies along the way". This really does sound like the videogame, doesn't it? The Kickstarter page for the game promises it will launch in Fall 2026.
Mantic also makes two of the best board games based on videogames - admittedly not the most competitive field - on the market. The studio's Worms board game is hilariously chaotic, while Halo: Flashpoint is a whip smart adaptation of Halo multiplayer that's also one of the best gateway games to lure boardgamers over into the world of wargames.
The original Plants vs. Zombies is a masterpiece of tower defense design, and Mantic has a good track record of finding the fun in videogames and translating them into tactile, turn-based experiences - this has the potential to be a genuinely great cooperative board game.
But what do you want to see? A meticulous recreation of the digital tactics, or something that prioritizes speed of play and keeping the vibes? Or are you just looking forward to some goofy Zombie miniatures? Let us know in the Wargamer Discord community.