Skip to content
Do you have adblock enabled?
 
If you can read this, either the style sheet didn't load or you have an older browser that doesn't support style sheets. Try clearing your browser cache and refreshing the page.

(Gizmodo)   Twelve board games based on TV and films, ranked. Spoiler: There is an awesome Jaws game   (gizmodo.com) divider line
95
    More: Cool, Board game, Game, Monopoly, Dice, Chess, board game, Sorry!, Star Wars  
•       •       •

1670 clicks; posted to Fandom » on 12 Nov 2022 at 6:35 AM (19 weeks ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



95 Comments     (+0 »)
View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest


Oldest | « | 1 | 2 | » | Newest | Show all

 
Ghastly [TotalFark]
2022-11-12 2:52:22 AM  
I played the Battlestar Galactica game. It's really fun but the humans almost always lose because they get paranoid and start airlocking everyone. Anytime I'm a cylon I chose to help the humans.
 
Alphax
2022-11-12 6:48:26 AM  
I remember THIS version of Jaws.  Though I didn't get to own it myself.

Fark user imageView Full Size


The mouth had rubber bands on it, and you loaded it up with junk.  You took turns using the hook to remove a piece of junk, and if it snapped shut, you lost.
 
Your_Midnight_Man
2022-11-12 7:03:19 AM  
Watched the 1982 The Thing with some people one afternoon then played the game. That was fun. I was the only one who made it to the helicopter, and was also the Thing.
 
buntz
2022-11-12 7:07:08 AM  
I have a handful of IP-based Monopolys and some are pretty fun.

And my 20 year old son and I have played UNO since he was old enough to hold cards.
It's something we've shared his whole life and I cherish.
We probably have 50+ different decks.

So when this "writer" says something is "automatically bad" I say maybe stop blowing out someone else's candle just to make yours brighter.

To quote you to you:  do better
 
Archie Goodwin
2022-11-12 7:13:59 AM  
i.etsystatic.comView Full Size
 
Spawn_of_Cthulhu
2022-11-12 7:21:46 AM  

Alphax: I remember THIS version of Jaws.  Though I didn't get to own it myself.

[Fark user image image 474x474]

The mouth had rubber bands on it, and you loaded it up with junk.  You took turns using the hook to remove a piece of junk, and if it snapped shut, you lost.


I had that one!
 
evilmrsock [BareFark]
2022-11-12 7:40:38 AM  

buntz: I have a handful of IP-based Monopolys and some are pretty fun.


The whole point is that they're mechanically identical, and Monopoly is not a mechanically good game.

The only excuse to not be playing something better than Monopoly is an absolute refusal to learn anything new, which is fine for annual cross-generation family gatherings, but doesn't make it a better game.

Ticket to Ride is probably the easiest replacement in terms of accessibility, but Betrayal at House on the Hill, Carcassone, Stone Age and Dominion only really take one play session to get, and Catan, Castles of Burgundy, Puerto Rico, Power Grid and Small World are all pretty doable if one person reads the rules / plays a game ahead of time.
 
Bukharin
2022-11-12 7:41:52 AM  

Alphax: I remember THIS version of Jaws.  Though I didn't get to own it myself.

[Fark user image 474x474]

The mouth had rubber bands on it, and you loaded it up with junk.  You took turns using the hook to remove a piece of junk, and if it snapped shut, you lost.


Similar game based on a rip-off movie.

cdn.shopify.comView Full Size
 
Some Junkie Cosmonaut
2022-11-12 8:18:51 AM  

Alphax: I remember THIS version of Jaws.  Though I didn't get to own it myself.

[Fark user image 474x474]

The mouth had rubber bands on it, and you loaded it up with junk.  You took turns using the hook to remove a piece of junk, and if it snapped shut, you lost.


Yep I had one - it was pretty much Operation but with sharks, which of course made it a lot cooler.  I fed Han Solo to it more than once as I recall, as well as any number of hapless army men
 
Some Junkie Cosmonaut
2022-11-12 8:21:04 AM  

evilmrsock: buntz: I have a handful of IP-based Monopolys and some are pretty fun.

The whole point is that they're mechanically identical, and Monopoly is not a mechanically good game.

The only excuse to not be playing something better than Monopoly is an absolute refusal to learn anything new, which is fine for annual cross-generation family gatherings, but doesn't make it a better game.

Ticket to Ride is probably the easiest replacement in terms of accessibility, but Betrayal at House on the Hill, Carcassone, Stone Age and Dominion only really take one play session to get, and Catan, Castles of Burgundy, Puerto Rico, Power Grid and Small World are all pretty doable if one person reads the rules / plays a game ahead of time.


Yeah House is so easy even I can do it - so there's really no excuse.  Main problem I've seen some people have with it though is that other than the path you choose it's RNG-y as hell more than it is skill often, and that does turn some people off
 
Streetwise Hercules
2022-11-12 8:22:32 AM  
There's an Anchorman board game that's really fun. You make funny news stories and people try to read them without cracking up.
 
MDI_BugMan
2022-11-12 8:31:26 AM  
How did the Dallas RPG not make the list?

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
ModernLuddite
2022-11-12 8:34:52 AM  

MDI_BugMan: How did the Dallas RPG not make the list?

[Fark user image 850x637]


What was Miss Ellie's THAC0?
 
Psychopompous
2022-11-12 8:43:07 AM  

Some Junkie Cosmonaut: Alphax: I remember THIS version of Jaws.  Though I didn't get to own it myself.

[Fark user image 474x474]

The mouth had rubber bands on it, and you loaded it up with junk.  You took turns using the hook to remove a piece of junk, and if it snapped shut, you lost.

Yep I had one - it was pretty much Operation but with sharks, which of course made it a lot cooler.  I fed Han Solo to it more than once as I recall, as well as any number of hapless army men


I think I still have mine, though I'm missing some bits. I suspect the photo is of a more recent edition because the best piece, the human skull with a hole in it, is missing. I bet it "disturbed" some parents.

The reason I remember it so well is a very '80's story.

After the Shogunmini-series aired in 1980, the country went ninja-mad, as did 12 year old me.
3.bp.blogspot.comView Full Size

So for Halloween I dressed in head to toe black, sweating in my black ski mask, upon which I had fastened the aforementioned white plastic skull, which was probably the only thing drivers were able to see as we roamed at will through the city until 9-10 pm, shaving creaming car windshields and smaller kids. We had discovered that the recently released gel shaving cream cans had a nozzle you could jam a juice box straw into and squirt shaving gel 3-4 feet.

Looking back, I have to kind of wonder at my parents letting me out like that. I'm thinking maybe they were hoping to collect on life insurance after I got run over.
 
Psychopompous
2022-11-12 8:48:38 AM  

MDI_BugMan: How did the Dallas RPG not make the list?

[Fark user image 850x637]


Kevin Plays Dallas with Andy and Darryl - The Office
Youtube ITzg4d4_edI

"That's Dallas!"
 
Psychopompous
2022-11-12 9:04:13 AM  

Bukharin: Alphax: I remember THIS version of Jaws.  Though I didn't get to own it myself.

[Fark user image 474x474]

The mouth had rubber bands on it, and you loaded it up with junk.  You took turns using the hook to remove a piece of junk, and if it snapped shut, you lost.

Similar game based on a rip-off movie.

[cdn.shopify.com image 450x305]


This was one of my favorite games when I was a little kid in the category of "Big plastic contraptions".
i.ebayimg.comView Full Size

It was a mash up of Hungry, Hungry Hippos and Russian Roulette.

Yes, I know there is no existing movie titled "Escape from Tiger Island" in which four shipwrecked men land on an island inhabited by a gigantic club wielding tiger, and have to appease the tiger with food for long enough that one of them can build a raft and escape, leaving his comrades to be tiger chow.

But I would definitely pay to watch such a movie.
 
Thosw [BareFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-12 9:05:52 AM  
The problem with board games based on movies is that if they're meant to mimic the plot lines, once you "do the thing" and win, there's no reason to play the game again.

Tried to play the Big Trouble in Little China game a couple of days ago and gave up after two hours of setup, rules explanations, and not getting through the first set of turns without having to scout the rulebook on quests.
 
Psychopompous
2022-11-12 9:14:52 AM  
Fark user imageView Full Size

The original Battlestar Galactica game had kind of groovy graphics, but I don't remember every wanting to play it a second time.
 
Trainspotr
2022-11-12 9:31:25 AM  
I remember being disappointed in this game when I was 8 or 9. Wonder when I should break it out to disappoint my kids.
Fark user imageView Full Size

Note: the 1970s version did not come with a Tarkin figure.
 
Alphax
2022-11-12 9:34:02 AM  

Trainspotr: I remember being disappointed in this game when I was 8 or 9. Wonder when I should break it out to disappoint my kids.
[Fark user image 425x425]
Note: the 1970s version did not come with a Tarkin figure.


Oh WOW!  I used to have that one, and I'd forgotten it completely!
 
Barricaded Gunman
2022-11-12 9:35:38 AM  

Alphax: I remember THIS version of Jaws.  Though I didn't get to own it myself.

[Fark user image 474x474]

The mouth had rubber bands on it, and you loaded it up with junk.  You took turns using the hook to remove a piece of junk, and if it snapped shut, you lost.


I actually came in here to say that THIS ^^^ is the real "awesome" Jaws game.

Received it for my 10th birthday, and my friends and I played the hell out of it. Once of the few "based on TV or movie" games that actually rocked.
 
skyotter
2022-11-12 9:52:59 AM  
Someone mentioned Betrayal at House on the Hill.  This is simplified but still surprisingly solid.
media-amazon.comView Full Size
 
WilderKWight
2022-11-12 9:57:15 AM  
Memory jogged. I totally had that Jaws game. I bought it at a garage sale when I was a kid in the early 80s.
 
WoodyHayes [OhFark]
2022-11-12 10:16:14 AM  
Much talk of ninjas in this thread.

Fark user imageView Full Size


There was an Alien board game I saw at Jimget last year and almost bought as a gag gift of sorts for pops.
 
madgonad [OhFark]
2022-11-12 10:32:50 AM  

Psychopompous: [Fark user image 850x1339]
The original Battlestar Galactica game had kind of groovy graphics, but I don't remember every wanting to play it a second time.


I had that game. Also had the plastic Jaws game.

Not quite inspired by movies, but inspired by real life drama (oil shocks) of the 1970s was King Oil. I still have it and it works fine / is complete.
cf.geekdo-images.comView Full Size
 
Psychopompous
2022-11-12 10:50:40 AM  

madgonad: Psychopompous: [Fark user image 850x1339]
The original Battlestar Galactica game had kind of groovy graphics, but I don't remember every wanting to play it a second time.

I had that game. Also had the plastic Jaws game.

Not quite inspired by movies, but inspired by real life drama (oil shocks) of the 1970s was King Oil. I still have it and it works fine / is complete.
[cf.geekdo-images.com image 850x586]

i.ytimg.comView Full Size

"That's Dallas!"
 
dywed88
2022-11-12 10:51:31 AM  
There was a Star Trek trivia game my family had when I was younger. I don't know if it was any good, but it was a fun thing with my dad and brother as star trek is one thing we agreed on.

cf.geekdo-images.comView Full Size
 
Rockbender
2022-11-12 10:52:18 AM  
How about this one? I remember it was pretty good...

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
Psychopompous
2022-11-12 11:03:15 AM  

Rockbender: How about this one? I remember it was pretty good...

[Fark user image 850x446]


Fark user imageView Full Size


I always wondered about that one when I saw it in hobby stores. Didn't realize it was a TSR game, they were usually pretty good, but the components look pretty basic. Anyone with personal experience?
 
Leper Canuck [BareFark]
2022-11-12 11:06:00 AM  

Rockbender: How about this one? I remember it was pretty good...

[Fark user image image 850x446]


Been a long time since I played it last, but it was fun.
I recall the local Games Convention back in the 80's had that game regularly in the tournament schedule, along with "Escape from Colditz"
 
buntz
2022-11-12 11:13:43 AM  
I have this which is in pretty bad condition, and I don't think we ever played it after my dad discovered how complicated it was.

Also, too soon!

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
madgonad [OhFark]
2022-11-12 11:13:49 AM  

Psychopompous: madgonad: Psychopompous: [Fark user image 850x1339]
The original Battlestar Galactica game had kind of groovy graphics, but I don't remember every wanting to play it a second time.

I had that game. Also had the plastic Jaws game.

Not quite inspired by movies, but inspired by real life drama (oil shocks) of the 1970s was King Oil. I still have it and it works fine / is complete.
[cf.geekdo-images.com image 850x586]
[i.ytimg.com image 320x180]
"That's Dallas!"


You would think, but the game came out in 1974, about four years before Dallas.
 
Trainspotr
2022-11-12 11:16:16 AM  
How about games based on carnival rides? This one was fun, but kind of a pain in the ass to keep working correctly.

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
Stargazer86
2022-11-12 11:44:33 AM  
Themed sets of games that already exist don't count. Monopoly has about 1,000 versions that are all the same game just with different names for the squares.
 
xrayspx [TotalFark]
2022-11-12 11:46:52 AM  

Psychopompous: [Fark user image 850x1339]
The original Battlestar Galactica game had kind of groovy graphics, but I don't remember every wanting to play it a second time.


We have that one, I think we played it once, and it reminded me of a really simplified version of Bermuda Triangle in the way the Cylon ship and the hurricane can make thing interesting in a hurry:

live.staticflickr.comView Full Size
 
Psychopompous
2022-11-12 11:57:23 AM  

madgonad: Psychopompous: madgonad: Psychopompous: [Fark user image 850x1339]
The original Battlestar Galactica game had kind of groovy graphics, but I don't remember every wanting to play it a second time.

I had that game. Also had the plastic Jaws game.

Not quite inspired by movies, but inspired by real life drama (oil shocks) of the 1970s was King Oil. I still have it and it works fine / is complete.
[cf.geekdo-images.com image 850x586]
[i.ytimg.com image 320x180]
"That's Dallas!"

You would think, but the game came out in 1974, about four years before Dallas.


Yeah, but they would make great parts for the game of Dallas they play in The Office, which has mis-matched components from various games.
static-new.miraheze.orgView Full Size
 
OkieDookie [TotalFark]
2022-11-12 11:59:14 AM  

WoodyHayes: Much talk of ninjas in this thread.

[Fark user image image 256x358]

There was an Alien board game I saw at Jimget last year and almost bought as a gag gift of sorts for pops.


Fate of the Nostromo by Ravensberger?  It's fun, but not a super strategic game.
 
Jurodan
2022-11-12 12:12:14 PM  

evilmrsock: buntz: I have a handful of IP-based Monopolys and some are pretty fun.

The whole point is that they're mechanically identical, and Monopoly is not a mechanically good game.

The only excuse to not be playing something better than Monopoly is an absolute refusal to learn anything new, which is fine for annual cross-generation family gatherings, but doesn't make it a better game.

Ticket to Ride is probably the easiest replacement in terms of accessibility, but Betrayal at House on the Hill, Carcassone, Stone Age and Dominion only really take one play session to get, and Catan, Castles of Burgundy, Puerto Rico, Power Grid and Small World are all pretty doable if one person reads the rules / plays a game ahead of time.


I remember that Lord of the Rings Monopoly has the ring moving around and when it reaches Go the game ends, but that's the only variant I can remember that adds anything.
 
gameshowhost [OhFark]
2022-11-12 12:18:52 PM  
Uno but with Star Wars pictures. Ah yes, a game so very much based on Star Wars.
 
Dumb-Ass-Monkey [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-12 12:36:34 PM  
This was the apex of board games.

Period

i.pinimg.comView Full Size
 
EdgeRunner [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-12 12:44:13 PM  
If we're ranking pre-existing games that got an IP makeover, this one's the best:

fantasygames-southbend.comView Full Size

First off, it's Catan. You can't beat Catan. And secondly, the little Star Trek tweaks actually enhance the gameplay. It's the Reese's peanut butter cup of boardgames, two great things made greater by being mixed together.
 
ditka80
2022-11-12 12:48:34 PM  
The Jaws game is great and has a ton of replay value. Another great board game based on movie IP is the Funko- produced Back to the Future: Back in Time game. Only criticism of the BtTF one is that the Delorean that comes with it does not have rotating wheels.
 
Zik-Zak
2022-11-12 1:14:35 PM  

Psychopompous: Bukharin: Alphax: I remember THIS version of Jaws.  Though I didn't get to own it myself.

[Fark user image 474x474]

The mouth had rubber bands on it, and you loaded it up with junk.  You took turns using the hook to remove a piece of junk, and if it snapped shut, you lost.

Similar game based on a rip-off movie.

[cdn.shopify.com image 450x305]

This was one of my favorite games when I was a little kid in the category of "Big plastic contraptions".
[i.ebayimg.com image 850x637]
It was a mash up of Hungry, Hungry Hippos and Russian Roulette.

Yes, I know there is no existing movie titled "Escape from Tiger Island" in which four shipwrecked men land on an island inhabited by a gigantic club wielding tiger, and have to appease the tiger with food for long enough that one of them can build a raft and escape, leaving his comrades to be tiger chow.

But I would definitely pay to watch such a movie.


This game looks more like "BONK go to horny jail"
 
OkieDookie [TotalFark]
2022-11-12 1:17:47 PM  
Does playing Pandemic during 2020 count as a tie in board game?
 
Deathbymeteor
2022-11-12 1:32:08 PM  
I dunno, Clone Wars Risk at least had both being a decent Risk game, as well as the added IP based tweaks to make it fun.  As the Separatists, deciding when the right time to call Order 66, then hoping you flipped enough Republic forces to defend wherever Sidious was.
 
E.S.Q.
2022-11-12 1:33:07 PM  
List fails without the Happy Days game

/HEY, NERD!
//Lose 1 Cool Point

startpage.comView Full Size


startpage.comView Full Size
 
Fano
2022-11-12 1:34:26 PM  

Trainspotr: I remember being disappointed in this game when I was 8 or 9. Wonder when I should break it out to disappoint my kids.
[Fark user image image 425x425]
Note: the 1970s version did not come with a Tarkin figure.


futureofstarwars.files.wordpress.comView Full Size

This LOOKED cool in the Sears catalog when I was a kid
 
Fano
2022-11-12 1:37:34 PM  
Just read the article and uh, I was not told it would be a list of games that are out NOW.
 
OkieDookie [TotalFark]
2022-11-12 1:40:31 PM  

Fano: Trainspotr: I remember being disappointed in this game when I was 8 or 9. Wonder when I should break it out to disappoint my kids.
[Fark user image image 425x425]
Note: the 1970s version did not come with a Tarkin figure.

[futureofstarwars.files.wordpress.com image 729x638]
This LOOKED cool in the Sears catalog when I was a kid


Star Wars: Vagina Dentata?
 
Garza and the Supermutants [TotalFark]
2022-11-12 1:50:28 PM  
Fark user imageView Full Size


I had this as a kid but we never played it, as we had Monopoly, Payday, Risk, Stratego, and Life. Or we'd just mess around and build the Mousetrap.
 
Displayed 50 of 95 comments


Oldest | « | 1 | 2 | » | Newest | Show all


View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest

Redisplay/refresh comments
This thread is closed to new comments.

Continue Farking

If you like these links, you'll love

TotalFark

Come on, it's $10 a month, just do it.

learn more | sign up
On Twitter

  1. Links are submitted by members of the Fark community.

  2. When community members submit a link, they also write a custom headline for the story.

  3. Other Farkers comment on the links. This is the number of comments. Click here to read them.

  4. Click here to submit a link.