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"Monster Hunter Board Game: Buying Guide & Expansions"

Author : Nathan

May 12,2025

The Monster Hunter franchise is a phenomenon, renowned for its critical and commercial success, with a vast array of main titles and spinoffs. The secret to its enduring appeal lies in its addictive gameplay loop, where players battle colossal and terrifying monsters to acquire loot that enables them to obtain better gear and tackle even more formidable foes. This captivating cycle is seamlessly adapted into the tabletop realm with Monster Hunter World: The Board Game. Similar to its video game counterpart, the board game comes in various engaging versions, so here's a guide to help you navigate this thrilling tabletop experience.

Featured in this article

Monster Hunter World: The Board Game: Ancient Forest

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Monster Hunter World: The Board Game - Wildspire Waste

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Monster Hunter World The Board Game: Hunter's Arsenal Expansion

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Monster Hunter World: The Board Game - Nergigante Expansion

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Monster Hunter World The Board Game: Kushala Daora Expansion

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Monster Hunter World: The Board Game - Teostra Expansion

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Monster Hunter World - Kulu-Ya-Ku

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Monster Hunter World Iceborne: The Board Game

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If you're eager to dive right into the selections, you can scroll through all the items featured in this article. For those interested in a detailed breakdown of what each box offers, continue reading for an in-depth look.

Core Boxes

Each core box of Monster Hunter World: The Board Game is a standalone experience, containing four hunters and four monsters. These boxes are designed to be combinable, allowing you to mix and match characters and monsters across different sets. While the majority of components are unique to each set, there is some overlap, and each box includes a few extra cards for use when combining sets.

Starting with a single core box is advisable. As you grow more attached to the game, consider adding smaller expansions before doubling up on a second core set. There's no difference in quality among the core sets; they all share the same rules, engaging gameplay loop, and high production values, including impressive monster miniatures that enhance the sense of scale. Choose the set that appeals to you visually or connects with your favorite moments from the video game series.

Monster Hunter World: The Board Game - Ancient Forest

Monster Hunter World: The Board Game: Ancient Forest

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The Ancient Forest set transports you to a lush, primeval forest. The game boards are vibrant with greens and browns, and the monsters draw inspiration from dinosaurs and tropical fauna. You'll encounter the lizard-like Great Jagras, the furred and scaled Tobi-Kadachi, the fearsome Anjanath, and the majestic dragon Rathalos. Your hunters are equipped with classic weapons: Great Sword, Sword and Shield, Dual Blades, and Bow.

Monster Hunter World: The Board Game - Wildspire Waste

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The Wildspire Waste set introduces you to a rugged badlands setting, featuring rocky outcrops, desert, and swamp. The included monsters are the armored Barroth, the monstrous swamp-fish Jyuratodus, the bird-like Pukei-Pukei, and the subterranean behemoth Diablos. This set's hunters wield more unique weapons: Charge Blade, Switch Axe, Heavy Bowgun, and Insect Glaive.

Retail Expansions

Following the Kickstarter model, numerous expansions were available for pre-order. Many are still accessible at retail, though Nergigante is scarce, and Teostra is exclusive to Steamforged Games' website.

Nergigante, Kushala Daora, and Teostra are Elder Dragons, introducing a new type of monster to hunt. These expansions add additional quest content and a challenging five-star difficulty level, along with larger miniatures. They significantly extend your campaign's scope and difficulty.

While these expansions offer exciting new challenges, they are costly, and some features are specific to one core box or the other. For example, Kushala Daora includes crafting weapons for hunters from both core sets. If you're looking to expand your game, consider purchasing the second core set before diving into these expansions.

Monster Hunter World The Board Game: Hunter's Arsenal Expansion

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The Hunter's Arsenal Expansion introduces six new hunters, each named after their unique weapons: Light Bowgun, Long Sword, Gunlance, Hammer, Lance, and Hunting Horn. This expansion significantly enhances gameplay variety, offering new upgrade paths and characters. To fully utilize all six hunters, you'll need both core sets.

Monster Hunter World: The Board Game - Nergigante Expansion

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If you're looking to add a single dragon to your campaign, the Nergigante Expansion is an excellent choice. It allows you to craft additional weapons for all available characters, including those from the core sets and Hunter's Arsenal. Nergigante's unique design, with its growing spikes, adds a fascinating challenge to your hunts.

Monster Hunter World The Board Game: Kushala Daora Expansion

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Kushala Daora, a wind dragon, challenges hunters with powerful storms and boasts the largest miniature in the range. Fighting through its tornadoes and gusts adds an extra layer of difficulty to your quest.

Monster Hunter World: The Board Game - Teostra Expansion

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Teostra, the iconic fire dragon, unleashes ranged attacks with fireballs and blasts, making it a formidable adversary in its fiery lair.

Exclusive Expansion

Originally exclusive to the game's Kickstarter campaign, the Kulu-Ya-Ku Expansion is now available through the more recent Iceborne Kickstarter campaign. Expect to pay a premium for second-hand copies.

Monster Hunter World - Kulu-Ya-Ku Expansion

Monster Hunter World - Kulu-Ya-Ku

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The Kulu-Ya-Ku, with its tool-using abilities and rock-throwing attacks, adds unpredictability to your hunts. Its design, reminiscent of an ornithomimosaur, fits perfectly in the Ancient Forest but can be used with either core box.

Upcoming Content

Monster Hunter World Iceborne: The Board Game

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Following the success of the initial lineup, Steamforged Games launched a Kickstarter for Monster Hunter World: Iceborne. This new iteration retains core mechanics but introduces fresh concepts, making it only partially compatible with the original boxes for arena games, not campaigns.

The Iceborne content features a single core box, Hoarfrost Reach, with four monsters and four hunters. Alongside Elder Dragons and a Hunter's Arsenal expansion, there are three monster expansions: Absolute Power, Seething Anger, and Overpowering Hunger, each with four new monsters. Additional content was unlocked during the campaign.

Although the campaign has concluded, you can still order items from the Iceborne range via Gamefound, as the game has not yet shipped.