There are two very common activities for friends and families and that’s a night of movies and board games, so watching movies about board games could be the perfect way to spend your next night in. There are quite a few movies out there that are based on popular board games, but which ones are worth watching? We went through and found the best and the worst movies based on board games.
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Dungeons and Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is one of the most popular tabletop games. When it became a film in 2000 there was speculation on how they would take this role-playing game to the screen. The movie is labeled a fantasy action movie that follows an Empress on a quest for a mythical object that will help her fight an evil warlock. The audience felt disappointed that the movie contained such cheap special effects that it was hard to take seriously, and the movie turned into a joke rather than an epic film to truly reflect the game.
Battleship
The movie Battleship came out in spring 2012 and centered around a ship crew who fought off an alien armada. The audience was confused about why the film had heavy sci-fi elements to it when the board game is a naval warfare strategy game. They saw no correlation between the two and said that it was formulated just like any other alien invasion movie.
Word Wars
Word Wars is a documentary that came out in 2004 and followed players for nine months as they prepared for the National Scrabble Championship of 2002. The film was directed by Eric Chaikin who was one of the players in the tournament: this brought a personal element to the film. Many critics say this documentary on Scrabble shows more than just interpreting the strategy of the game, it presents the human element of a true table-top gamer.
While not a Hollywood movie, the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit has also attracted a following.
Clue
The movie Clue has been considered one of the best movies based on a board game for years. The film came out in 1985 and stays true to the game by starting at the dinner party where the host dies mysteriously, leaving the guests to solve the mystery of the murder. One unique thing about the release of this film is that different theaters received one of three endings to the film, so there were three possible results of the mystery. Once the movie was available for purchase it came with all three versions. The audience thought that the different ends were a fitting tribute to the game by keeping the suspense of the mystery going.
Jumanji
Both the Jumanji game and movie were inspired by a book that was published in 1981. A unique aspect of Jumanji is that the board game was created after the movie. The game is a 4-player game where players will compete to get to the end of their track avoiding jungle animals and yell “Jumanji!” The original film starred Robin Williams finding his inner child by going through the jungled suburbs. In the sequel Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the setting is a jungle video game which warps the players (portrayed by Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillian) into the video game and they have to “play” their way out. Critics of both the game and movie say that both are simple and can be enjoyed by all ages. Not to be forgotten is the 2019 follow-up Jumanji: The Next Level with the main cast reprising their roles.
Next time you can’t decide between having a game night or a movie night try watching a movie based on a board game!
