On my mark…and…Action!
Well we’re all stuck at home and looking for ways to pass even more time. With Valentine’s Day coming up it occurred to me that it might be worth planning an evening around a movie and board game combination. Or perhaps, you enjoy one half of this combination and wanted to see if there was a good example from the other side. To either end here are ten movie and board game parings that I think go pretty well together.
For this list, I tried to pick movies that were available on a streaming services, which I will list. I had a few other ideas and I may mention some of them as I go down the list but couldn’t find any that were readily available from a streaming site. Also, if you think of any examples or better fits for some of my listings please put them down in the comments. I know I’d love more lost gems to check out and would appreciate some more things to check out in my down time.
I’m also not doing any movie/game combinations that were obviously based on one another. Sorry, Clue’s not here.
Fortune and Glory & the Indiana Jones Franchise (Netflix)
I’m a huge fan of Professor Jones and his adventures. Really any pulp adventure draws me in. I love the over the top heroes, out of the frying pan into an even bigger frying pan storylines, and ridiculous villains who get everything they ever wanted and immediately regretted it. Every movie follows Professor Jones as he hops from one location to another, fighting evil, delving into lost tombs, and working against the forces of evil to find the relics of the past.
For this I’m pairing in Fortune and Glory from Flying Frog Games. Fortune and Glory is a fantastic pulp adventure game where you’ll travel the world, delve in to ancient tombs, and recover lost artifacts. You can play this game competitively or cooperatively which adds to its appeal for me. It even includes a cliffhanger mechanic that can force you into even more harrowing situations. The game includes a wide assortment of pulp villains including Nazi’s, Mobsters, and cultists. It can run a bit long but we have tons of time on our hands right now.
As a couple of honorable mentions here I’ll throw out the Mummy from 1999, Sky Captain and the World of tomorrow, and the Phantom. There are so many others. For alternate games I have Eldritch Horror, the Adventurers, and Fireball Island.
For this I’m pairing in Fortune and Glory from Flying Frog Games. Fortune and Glory is a fantastic pulp adventure game where you’ll travel the world, delve in to ancient tombs, and recover lost artifacts. You can play this game competitively or cooperatively which adds to its appeal for me. It even includes a cliffhanger mechanic that can force you into even more harrowing situations. The game includes a wide assortment of pulp villains including Nazi’s, Mobsters, and cultists. It can run a bit long but we have tons of time on our hands right now.
As a couple of honorable mentions here I’ll throw out the Mummy from 1999, Sky Captain and the World of tomorrow, and the Phantom. There are so many others. For alternate games I have Eldritch Horror, the Adventurers, and Fireball Island.
Middara: the Unintentional Malum & the Seven Deadly Sins (Netflix)
Technically Seven Deadly Sins is both a series and a movie. The series was first ad the movie added later on. However, it’s a fun quick delve into fantasy anime adventure. It follows a princess looking for help to save her kingdom from advancing horrors by reuniting a legendary band of heroes called the Seven Deadly Sins. The Sins are godlike beings with more power than they know what to do with who can trounce any opponent that gets in their way and their biggest threat is their own internal bickering; you know…anime. The series is fun with tons of neat action and cool reveals.
Middara is an anime inspired dungeon crawler with a deep story built on top of a set of solid mechanics. The game is tough, fun, and forces you to think on your feet as you delve into the world of the story. It includes files online of the story section being read to you that you can download and play instead of reading through the story. The game is huge with tons of content and a nice story with cool reveals and fun twists.
For honorable mentions here I had tons of choices, for anime I could have gone with Fairy Tale, Is it Wrong to try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon, and even old school titles like Record of the Lodoss War. For games I had just as many alternates including Arcadia Quest, Clank, and even the old school Heroquest.
Middara is an anime inspired dungeon crawler with a deep story built on top of a set of solid mechanics. The game is tough, fun, and forces you to think on your feet as you delve into the world of the story. It includes files online of the story section being read to you that you can download and play instead of reading through the story. The game is huge with tons of content and a nice story with cool reveals and fun twists.
For honorable mentions here I had tons of choices, for anime I could have gone with Fairy Tale, Is it Wrong to try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon, and even old school titles like Record of the Lodoss War. For games I had just as many alternates including Arcadia Quest, Clank, and even the old school Heroquest.
Mansions of Madness & Locke and Key (Netflix)
I promise, after this everything is just a movie. Locke and Key is a fantastic series on Netflix based on the comic series by Joe Hill. The series follows the Locke family as they return to their family home after dark tragedy. Once they move in they start learning that the house is filled with magic keys that open all sorts of things. The series revolves around the kids trying to hold off dark forces, keep the rest of the family safe, and deal with a constant supernatural threat in dark mansion. Mysteries and magic abound in this series and I couldn’t think of a better pairing than Mansions of Madness.
This game is an app assisted delve into the fantastical worlds of HP Lovecraft. You’ll grab a group of investigators and drop into the dark madness inducing world of gothic horror. The app helps to randomize the modular map, keeps track of the characters, and remembers all of your clues and puzzles. The game comes with some fun scenarios of varying lengths and difficulties. There are also tons of expansions that help fill out your roster of investigators, mysteries, and monsters.
For honorable mentions here there’s the House series of films (2 is my favorite), Poltergeist, and 13 Ghosts. Game wise, good alternates would be Betrayal at House on the Hill (get the Legacy Version, the story is amazing), Mysterium, and Mystery House: Adventures in a Box.
This game is an app assisted delve into the fantastical worlds of HP Lovecraft. You’ll grab a group of investigators and drop into the dark madness inducing world of gothic horror. The app helps to randomize the modular map, keeps track of the characters, and remembers all of your clues and puzzles. The game comes with some fun scenarios of varying lengths and difficulties. There are also tons of expansions that help fill out your roster of investigators, mysteries, and monsters.
For honorable mentions here there’s the House series of films (2 is my favorite), Poltergeist, and 13 Ghosts. Game wise, good alternates would be Betrayal at House on the Hill (get the Legacy Version, the story is amazing), Mysterium, and Mystery House: Adventures in a Box.
Colt Express & the Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Netflix)
Colt Express is a fun programming game where you and the other players are robbing a train in the old west. Every round you play cards, sometimes face up and sometimes face down, to plan your turn where you’ll move from car to car, grab loot, and fight the other outlaws and the marshal. The game is fast and fun with lots of laughs abound.
This goes well with the Ballad of Buster Scruggs which is a fun Coen Brothers western. The film is a series of six vignettes about life in the west. It alternates between funny, brutal, and touching. It’s a lot of fun and can be a great evening when paired together.
For game honorable mentions I thought about Great Western Trail, Western Legends, and Dice Town. For film honorable mentions I went with War Wagon, Silverado, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
This goes well with the Ballad of Buster Scruggs which is a fun Coen Brothers western. The film is a series of six vignettes about life in the west. It alternates between funny, brutal, and touching. It’s a lot of fun and can be a great evening when paired together.
For game honorable mentions I thought about Great Western Trail, Western Legends, and Dice Town. For film honorable mentions I went with War Wagon, Silverado, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Toy Story & Stuffed Fables (Disney+)
Stuffed Fables is a wonderful family game from Plaid Hat Games. You take on the role of a group of stuffed animals who are there to protect a young girl as she sleeps from the dark forces that come from under her bed. The game covers six stories about different milestone in a young child’s life. You’ll need to work together to find the answer to who is causing all of the problems in the other realm and forcing them to spill over into the real world. It’s a fun game that really puts you into the setting.
Toy Story is a series of four movies from Pixar that follow a group of toys belonging to a young boy named Andy. Each of the movies is emotional, funny, and touching. There are deeply resonating moments all the way through that will have you alternating between laughing, cheering, and crying.
For alternate mentions I don’t really have a lot for this one. Film wise, I couldn’t really come up with another movie that matched this feeling or ideal, possibly Winnie the Pooh or most other Pixar films. There are also few family games that I thought fit here, I considered Villainous but it felt like it broke my matched property.
Toy Story is a series of four movies from Pixar that follow a group of toys belonging to a young boy named Andy. Each of the movies is emotional, funny, and touching. There are deeply resonating moments all the way through that will have you alternating between laughing, cheering, and crying.
For alternate mentions I don’t really have a lot for this one. Film wise, I couldn’t really come up with another movie that matched this feeling or ideal, possibly Winnie the Pooh or most other Pixar films. There are also few family games that I thought fit here, I considered Villainous but it felt like it broke my matched property.
Terror Below & Tremors (Netflix)
Let’s be honest…this one isn’t licensed but its real close. Terror Below is a game where you play small groups racing around the dessert trying to recover the eggs of giant sand worms to sell to the government. You’ll need to move fast to get there before the other players, but the faster you go the more attention you draw.
Tremors is a movie where a small band of survivors try to survive in a small desert town while being attacked by giant sand worms. It features actors you’d probably not think of for something like this including Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, and a ton of, “that guy’s.” It also has Reba McEntire and Michael Gross as the Gummers, a gun toting, survivalist, couple that live nearby in their bunker. It’s a real treat. Both film and game are fantastic and tons of fun. While I have a particular appreciation for the first Tremors all of them are varying levels of acceptable.
As for honorable mentions, I don’t have any. These two are so perfectly lined up I just couldn’t think of anything else that fits into this category.
Tremors is a movie where a small band of survivors try to survive in a small desert town while being attacked by giant sand worms. It features actors you’d probably not think of for something like this including Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, and a ton of, “that guy’s.” It also has Reba McEntire and Michael Gross as the Gummers, a gun toting, survivalist, couple that live nearby in their bunker. It’s a real treat. Both film and game are fantastic and tons of fun. While I have a particular appreciation for the first Tremors all of them are varying levels of acceptable.
As for honorable mentions, I don’t have any. These two are so perfectly lined up I just couldn’t think of anything else that fits into this category.
Chronicles of Crime: Welcome to Redview & Scooby Doo (Amazon/Boomerang)
If you want to be a bit more family friendly you could go with Scooby Doo. Like the previous entry it was a series before a film. However, there’s an enduring quality to ol’ Scoob. These characters have been on television in some form for just past 50 years. It’s unlikely that anyone doesn’t have some understanding of these crime solving teens and their talking dog. With that said, even if you weren’t familiar you now know the premise. A group of four teens travel around in their van and solve mysteries with the help of their dog, a great dane named Scooby Doo. There’s tons of version of this across film, television, comics, and video games. For my money the best is a series called Mystery Incorporated, but any and all of them are worth watching; even the stuff with Scrappy (come at me). If you don’t think Scrappy was in anything good…13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo with Vincent Price. Also, when this article was originally written I hadn’t yet seen Scoob, and would now recommend that as well.
Chronicles of Crime: Welcome to Redview is an app assisted mystery game where you play a group of teens solving mysteries in your home town. The game lets you question suspects, look for clues, and find the truth behind what’s going on in this sleepy little town. The game includes some fun mechanics on where the suspects are when questioned, a skill check feature that requires rolling dice, and your characters all have a curfew you need to obey or get in trouble. Welcome to Redview is an expansion for Chronicle of Crime base game and is family friendly. The mysteries are challenging but not impossible. There’s also none of the drug, murder, and violence found in the other versions.
For honorable mentions there were a lot of options here as well. For mystery programs there are Nancy Drew, Harriet the Spy, and a number of other Hanna Barbara series that featured similar setups of teen detectives and mascot (Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels are a personal favorite.) For games there is Stop Thief, Spy Club, and the Exit: escape room line of games.
Chronicles of Crime: Welcome to Redview is an app assisted mystery game where you play a group of teens solving mysteries in your home town. The game lets you question suspects, look for clues, and find the truth behind what’s going on in this sleepy little town. The game includes some fun mechanics on where the suspects are when questioned, a skill check feature that requires rolling dice, and your characters all have a curfew you need to obey or get in trouble. Welcome to Redview is an expansion for Chronicle of Crime base game and is family friendly. The mysteries are challenging but not impossible. There’s also none of the drug, murder, and violence found in the other versions.
For honorable mentions there were a lot of options here as well. For mystery programs there are Nancy Drew, Harriet the Spy, and a number of other Hanna Barbara series that featured similar setups of teen detectives and mascot (Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels are a personal favorite.) For games there is Stop Thief, Spy Club, and the Exit: escape room line of games.
Fog of Love & Return to Me (Netflix)
For my next pairing I wanted to give couples a little something for date night. Fog of Love is a 2 player game where you’ll recreate a romantic story. Sometimes it’ll be funny, sometimes sad, and sometimes tragic. You play cards over a series of rounds the break down your first dates, romantic trips, and the dreaded meeting the family. You create a character for yourself, add attributes to the other players, and play cards where you try and match each other’s answers in hopes of balancing story versus our characteristics.
I honestly could have chosen tons of romantic movies for this one but I went with a smaller film called Return to Me. It’s based on a true story of a man whose wife dies and as an organ donor her heart is donated to a woman on her death bed. The two meet without knowing this and begin a relationship. The story is sweet, has a wonderful cast including David Duchovny, Minnie Driver, and Carol O’Conner. It’s a sweet story and a lot of fun. Also, I know at the beginning I said this was a great couples night but honestly, any two people can have tons of fun with this pairing.
For game honorable mentions I thought of And Then We Held Hands, Code Names Duet, and Patchwork. For film there are so many choices Marriage Story, The Princess Bride, or any one of over a thousand Hallmark films.
I honestly could have chosen tons of romantic movies for this one but I went with a smaller film called Return to Me. It’s based on a true story of a man whose wife dies and as an organ donor her heart is donated to a woman on her death bed. The two meet without knowing this and begin a relationship. The story is sweet, has a wonderful cast including David Duchovny, Minnie Driver, and Carol O’Conner. It’s a sweet story and a lot of fun. Also, I know at the beginning I said this was a great couples night but honestly, any two people can have tons of fun with this pairing.
For game honorable mentions I thought of And Then We Held Hands, Code Names Duet, and Patchwork. For film there are so many choices Marriage Story, The Princess Bride, or any one of over a thousand Hallmark films.
Zombicide & Zombieland (Hulu)
We have another couple of games that might honestly have been based on one another. In Zombieland we follow a group of survivors as they stumble through the zombie apocalypse. We follow them as they fight zombies, meet other survivors, and search desperately for a Twinkie. The movie also shares one of the main characters many rules of survival in short cut away (cardio!). The movie is funny, exciting, and has tons of great set pieces culminating in a huge running gun battle across an amusement park.
Zombicide is a massive, series of zombie games from CMoN. You play survivors going on a series of mission in a unrelenting apocalypse with an ever growing horde. There are multiple sets and settings for Zombicide, including fantasy and science-fiction. Any of these work for this list. The game is a fun group game with lots of variety. You can have bunches of fun planning an evening around both.
For honorable mentions I went with, Dawn of the Dead or Night of the Dead. There’s also some fun to be had playing City of Horror or last Night on Earth. For a more thematic pairing you could also go with Zombicide: Black Plague and Army of Darkness.
Zombicide is a massive, series of zombie games from CMoN. You play survivors going on a series of mission in a unrelenting apocalypse with an ever growing horde. There are multiple sets and settings for Zombicide, including fantasy and science-fiction. Any of these work for this list. The game is a fun group game with lots of variety. You can have bunches of fun planning an evening around both.
For honorable mentions I went with, Dawn of the Dead or Night of the Dead. There’s also some fun to be had playing City of Horror or last Night on Earth. For a more thematic pairing you could also go with Zombicide: Black Plague and Army of Darkness.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters & King of Tokyo (Hulu)
When I first thought of this list this was the first match I thought of followed very closely by my honorable mention. Godzilla: King of the Monsters is the latest film to feature the great beast as he faces off against some of his most iconic opponents. Every monster looks amazing, there are wonderful touches that reward longtime fans, and the destruction is just glorious. It’s not the most story driven movie in the world but I wasn’t here for that. Burn them all.
King of Tokyo is a competitive game where you and your friends play giant monsters battling for dominance. You roll dice, play cards, score points, and attack everyone in your bid to be the king. The game is fast, fun, and the deck of card powers gives you different abilities every round that change up the way every game plays out.
As an alternative to this I’d recommend an equally perfect pairing in King of New York and Rampage. Beyond that is Terror in Meeple City or Monstorpocalypse. Films like Pacific Rim and Kong Skull Island. If you want something away from the giant Toho line of films check out Colossal.
King of Tokyo is a competitive game where you and your friends play giant monsters battling for dominance. You roll dice, play cards, score points, and attack everyone in your bid to be the king. The game is fast, fun, and the deck of card powers gives you different abilities every round that change up the way every game plays out.
As an alternative to this I’d recommend an equally perfect pairing in King of New York and Rampage. Beyond that is Terror in Meeple City or Monstorpocalypse. Films like Pacific Rim and Kong Skull Island. If you want something away from the giant Toho line of films check out Colossal.
…and scene.
That’s what we have. As I said, if you have any other pairings or alternate films I’d love to hear them. I’m always looking for more movies and games to sink my teeth into. Until next time, stay safe and be well. CUT!!!
