League of Legends: Mechs vs Minions review – a challenging triumph

League of Legends has conquered the Moba scene. Now developer Riot Games has invaded the tabletop gaming arena

Since its release in 2009, the online battle game League of Legends (LoL) has amassed a community of more than 100 million players and established itself as one of the top titles in competitive eSports. But the game's most recent development takes a decidedly low-tech turn: an official board game called Mechs vs Minions developed by the design team at publisher Riot Games.

The first thing that strikes you about the game is its sheer size. It weighs 5kg, and it arrived at my door in a box about as big as my 26in TV. Open it up, and the reason for its bulk becomes clear. Mechs vs Minions comes packed with components - modular map tiles, decks of cards, gorgeously crafted metal tokens and a collection of more than 100 plastic miniatures, all beautifully sculpted in LoL's distinctive cartoon style.