Adventures on the Tabletop

Only 3 days left! If you havent heard already, an upcoming Board Game documentary is on Kickstarter. But only 3 days left to help this project be even better. I highly recommend you help sponsor this project by signing on to Kickstarter and finding a funding level that interest you. If you like board games, you are going to want to see this movie.

The film maker is Douglas Morse. I had the pleasure meeting him at the Gathering of Friends a couple months ago. Doug's goal with this movie is to make a film for board game fans, that helps pull back the curtain on the whole board game design/publishing process, and let everyone see the adventure games go through to get to our tables.

I am a little bias, as I might be featured in the film, but even beyond that, I am very confident the content in this film will be amazing. Some of the exclusive and candid interviews Doug Morse has been able to attain are priceless. The chance to hear from legendary board game designers like Alan Moon, and significant publishers in the industry like Hans Im Gluck, is incredible rare and will be very entertaining. We are talking about people who love and make games. Of course they are fun people.

So check out the preview below, and please consider supporting this project. Also, please go out of your way and recommend this project to a few people you know who might be interested in the film. At the very least you will earn some bonus points with your friends & family that you recommend this to them, because it shows you were thinking of them.

-- Daryl Andrews

(PS - you can see me at 0:48 & 2:25 in the preview)

"Go directly to hell, do not pass go, do not collect 200 souls..."

Clive Barker has always been one of my favourite authors, although I know his particular brand of gruesome ain't for everyone.  He has quite the library of fiction and film and you can tell he loves his fans because he is always featuring their artwork on his Facebook page.  And some of it is pretty cool, like a recent post about this wicked Hellraiser Monopoly board made by fan Brian Sharp.

Click to embiggen

If you've read The Hellbound Heart or seen Hellraiser, then check out the original post to see more of the awesome handmade Cenobite pieces.

Holy guacamole!

The great thing about writing a blog about the fairly niche topic of board games is that once people know about it, they start sending links to you.  Sure makes it easy to come up with posts.

Like this little animated video from last year shown to me by my friend Richard, which also happens to be the shortest film ever to be nominated for an Oscar.

Board games that SHOULD be movies....

Here's a great little article saying that despite the disaster that was Battleship last year, there are some games that would make great movies.  My favourite of their choices is Arkham Horror:

Imagine the aesthetics and attention to period detail seen in something like HBO's Boardwalk Empire. Now add portals to other dimensions, gangsters firing tommy guns at giant spiders and monsters that can drive characters insane in seconds. Every game of Arkham Horror oozes menace and atmosphere and since players are forced to band together against a game that's doing its damnedest to wipe them out, every round becomes a tale of heroes fighting against overwhelming odds. Lovecraft has proven difficult to adapt in the past, but perhaps the key to bringing his world to the screen is this game, which takes the author's concepts and filters them into an action-horror story. This could be the next great horror franchise.

But boy would it have an unhappy ending.... 

(Thanks for the tip, Kelly!)

The movie version of Battleship opened today....

....and not surprisingly, the reviews are coming back pretty awful.  Here's the Robot Chicken take on board games as movie ideas (not sure where the last one fits in, though).

Someone must have filmed us playing.....

My net- and game-savvy sister points me to this must-watch video which I think must have been made about MY gaming group.  Very slick and very, very funny.

You know these people, I know you know these people....



(But I still hate Settlers....)

Some games weren't meant to be played.....

Happy Halloween!!!

New board game documentary....

...and it even has appearances by the other Eric Martin.  Ha. 

I love documentaries.  And I love board games.  I may actually have to check this one out.



(Via the other Eric at BGG News)

Of all the games to make into a movie....

...looks like Hollywood decided on Battleship, the classic game of hidden grid attacks to sink your opponent's fleet.  Well, I suppose it's better than a dramatic re-enactment of, say, Monopoly or The Game of Life.  Still, to see the talented Liam Neeson agree to what looks like such a schlocky excuse for a film is a bit sad.  Take a look at the preview and decide for yourself:



As a heads up, Jeffrey Allers, one of my favourite game designers and regular OG blogger, warns of an upcoming CandyLand movie in the works. Be afraid....

I just don't understand.....

Here's a trailer for 'Under The Boardwalk' the new documentary coming out about Monopoly.  It's actually been getting very good reviews. And you know, despite the title of this here blog, I really do believe to each his own.  If you can actually play Monopoly and play it strategically and enjoy the act of rolling and moving and rolling and moving and rolling and moving, then I say great.  All I ever felt when I played was the uncontrollable urge to flip the table and scream because I'd stupidly agreed to play this neverending game ONE MORE TIME and Lady Luck was yet again crapping directly down my throat. 

Not sure if I'll be able to watch this without scoffing uncontrollably the whole way through....

Oh, the horror!

We like horror movies at our place. A lot. So you can imagine how happy I'd be with a horror movie about board games!

And now there is a movie, The Black Waters of Echo's Pond, coming out this weekend about an ancient board game that unleashes terrible evil when played. Seriously.

It looks incredibly cheesy but then sometimes the B-movies are the most enjoyable...