The classic board games get a makeover for two Blizzard franchises.

Who of us hasn't begun our illustrious gaming career throwing a pair of dice, passing go and mustering armies in Monopoly and Risk, respectively? There have been a slew of themed versions of these classics in the past - including a fun Star Wars Monopoly variant - but never before have these board games been stamped with the official Blizzard logo. Each features custom-designed pieces, special rules and a board that's rich with the lore of Azeroth or Starcraft. Both games come out this year, which WoW Monopoly dropping in May 2012 and Risk: StarCraft coming later in this summer.

In WoW Monopoly, there'll be Alliance and Horde-themed dice and you'll buy up properties like Twilight Highlands, Grizzly Hills, and the Swamp of Sorrows until you are the last player left. The game can be purchased for $39.95 from any specialty store You'll get a chance to vote on which pieces show up in the WoW game on Facebook, having your pick of six from ten options including Murky, Chen's Keg, Mechagnome, and a Spellbook.

I'm much more interested in Risk: StarCraft, honestly, as the description says you'll be able to pick from the three factions of protoss, terran or zerg. The rules will be a bit different for each faction, and I wonder if it will feel at all similar to the Risk Legacy games I've been loving. There are 290 pieces included in the box, which is probably why the game costs $49.95.

It looks like both games will only be available in North America, at least to start out.

Those prices seem a little stiff to me, so I'm going to need more info on the rules and background of the games before I throw down any cash. Still, I'm intrigued enough to look for these in my local game store when they come out.

Source: Battle.net