With the release of Battleship, we wondered about other movies that are based on board games. Aside from Clue and a couple of documentaries on Scrabble, we couldn’t think of any. But then we worked the flipside: what movie board games are there?
Turns out, there’s a plethora (most of which can be found here, with a little bit of digging). While some have held a rather questionable reputation (Home Alone, Robocop, The Sting), we found five that are worthy of your attention.
1. Alien
They merchandised the face-hugging crap out of the Alien franchise, so a board game isn’t all that surprising. Following the first film, players must escape the space vessel. It’s pretty much Ludo, except the winner is the only one who doesn’t die horribly by a feral alien monstrosity that bleeds acid.
Appropriate for kids 7 and up (LOL!).
2. Beowulf
The game is broken into three acts, with the first two played on either half on the first side while the final is played on the other side. The first act represents Hrothgar’s chamber where Grendel attacks while the sea hag’s lair is portrayed in the second. The stronghold makes up the third act, taking up the entire board for a climactic finale. Well, as climactic as a board game can be.
3. Dawn of the Dead
In an awesome display of board game ingenuity, the mall from George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead makes up the entire board. Up to three players are tasked to reach each of the entry points and board them up. One other player is a zombie, who must eat the brains of the other players before the mall is secured.
The map of the board... of the mall.
It’s incredibly hard to find, but you can download a copy here. Just don’t get caught out by the Board Game Piracy Act of 1992.
4. Ed Wood
Each player assumes the role of Ed Wood, trolling around a board trying raise enough funds to make your embarrassingly terrible movie. Whoever makes it to the world premiere, wins. Or loses, depending how you look at it. It may not be based off Tim Burton’s movie, but it might as well have been.
5. Jumanji
This may be the best and the most disappointing movie board game out there, depending on your expectations. On the upside, the game is very close to its cinematic counterpart while still being a very playable board game in its own right.
On the downside, there’s no change of being shot down by a British huntsman or having a stampede of rhinos completely level your house. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeak.
