Dying Light the Board Game is coming to Kickstarter with a UV board, parkour structures, and tiny Volatiles

Dying Light the Board Game promotional image showing the game's box and some minatures
(Image credit: Glass Cannon Unplugged / Techland)

Listen up, runners: Dying Light the Board Game has been officially announced, and it will be hitting Kickstarter in a matter of days. That means it's time to get yourself to a safe zone and craft yourself some medkits, lockpicks, and weaponry.

Coming from Glass Cannon Unplugged, the creators behind some of the best board game adaptions including Frostpunk and Apex Legends (which we previewed and loved a while back), Dying Light the Board Game is being made in full partnership with Techland. 

Fans can support the imminent Kickstarter campaign when it goes live on February 27, and if you follow the project now, you can get the Kyle Crane character pack for free. 

While that early-bird offer will let fans of the original game feel a little closer to the neck-snappin', drop-kickin' hero from the first game, fans of Dying Light 2 will be glad to know that the board game is set in the more expansive city of Villedor.

In all honesty, the project looks like it will be a really faithful adaption of the video games - and that's coming from a total Dying Light nerd.

The game will see up to four players cooperate with one another while they take on parkour structures on the game's modular board, battling human factions and infected using action dice. More importantly, there's even a day/night cycle that will "offer a dramatic shift in challenges and possibilities".

Personally, this is the part I'm most excited for since it's what I feel really sets Dying Light apart from other Zombie games. Amazingly, the board's buildable parkour structures will even feature stickers that will completely alter how the board appears under UV light.

The board game will feature tiny miniatures that have excellent detail to them - including tiny little Volatiles which look a lot more adorable than their video game counterparts.

If you'd prefer to take on the infected hoards alone, the game will have a solo mode and will apparently adapt to playstyles and narratives.

Dying Light the Board Game's UV-sensitive board

(Image credit: Glass Cannon Unplugged)

For long-term fans, the game looks as though it'll be great value for money since Glass Cannon Unplugged has entered a long-term licensing partnership with Techland and has several planned add-ons and expansions. Personally, I'm hoping for some fun The Following add-ons - since that's still one of the best video game DLCs ever made in my humble opinion.

Since the Kickstarter isn't actually live yet, we don't have any details to share about the different rewards and support tiers that'll be available. What we do know is that if you do follow for the chance to get the Kyle Crane character pack within the next 24 hours, you'll get a tiny playable Crane miniature that has its own unique weapon and character card.

To stay up to date with any and all announcements from Dying Light the Board Game, you'd be best following Glass Cannon on Twitter or joining their Discord.


For recommendations on what to try next, check out our guide to the top board games for adults and these must-have board games for 2 players.

Duncan Robertson
Hardware Editor

Ever since playing Journey at the age of 15, I’ve been desperate to cover video games for a living. After graduating from Edinburgh Napier University with a degree in Journalism, I contributed to the Scottish Games Network and completed an Editorial Internship over at Expert Reviews. Besides that, I’ve been managing my own YouTube channel and Podcast for the last 7 years. It’s been a long road, but all that experience somehow landed me a dream job covering gaming hardware. I’m a self-confessing PlayStation fanboy, but my experience covering the larger business and developer side of the whole industry has given me a strong knowledge of all platforms. When I’m not testing out every peripheral I can get my hands on, I’m probably either playing tennis or dissecting game design for an upcoming video essay. Now, I better stop myself here before I get talking about my favourite games like HUNT: Showdown, Dishonored, and Towerfall Ascension. Location: UK Remote