Well, we didn’t see that coming. The tabletop board game, Bioshock Infinite: The Siege of Columbia, will allow players to fight for the city as the Founders or Vox Populi. Irrational Games approached Plaid Hat Games to make the game and the team were “ecstatic” to get to work on it, as they were already big fans of the series.

The recently announced Songbird Edition of the video game features one of the miniatures that can be used in the game. Don’t worry if you don’t want to splash out on that edition of the game too, there are 52 more in the board game’s box along with cards, dice and so on.

Colby Dauch, Chief game designer at Plaid Hat told TheVerge.com about the game and some of the choices players can expect to face. “Players will play as either the Founders or the Vox Populi and will build up an army to fight for control of Columbia by taking ground and completing important objectives. The whole while they’ll be using their influence to sway various events that arise. They’ll also find themselves having to deal with Booker and Elizabeth who are running around Columbia creating havoc.”

Dauch also added, “The game has you constantly weighing your options because they are critical to your success. Do I risk riding the skyline to get to this critical position? Do I risk getting into combat with Booker? Should I use this card to influence this event? Which unit should I upgrade? Is it better to unlock this power or give this card a +1 to its combat value?”

The board game sounds like a more tactical affair than the video game, but Dauch insists there are opportunities for events creating different scenes making the board game worth playing repeatedly. “In one game maybe the Founders captured Elizabeth but Booker took advantage of an assault by a Vox Populi airship on the Founder stronghold to get her back. In another game maybe there is a heated battle for critical control of a district and Songbird shows up just in time to give the Founders the edge they needed to drive out the Vox Populi. In another game when the threat of a skyline collapse looms the Vox Populi may recklessly throw all of their resources into influencing its collapse, cutting off the Founders from an assault that could have won them the game, and holding on for a victory.”

No release date has been confirmed for the board game yet, but the video game will be released February 26^th. Don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled here at Dealspwn for the latest trailer reveal tomorrow.