Naturelich Games: GLA #2: Board games in the movies

tags: BoardGameGeek - GeekList Aggregator - Movies

It is time for GeekList Aggregator #2. This time we look at the reception of board games in the real word. More particular: the movies.

We all know about the burden of being a Geek: the real world sometimes smiles at us. But it's interesting to see, how the real world continues to be influenced by Geeks like us. Some movies definitely drive their main theme from a board game. Others incorporate a particular game mechanism into their plot.

When I decided to write this blog entry, the following question kept popping up: "How can GeekLists focussing on board-games-displayed-for-one-second-in-a-movie ever be useful to me?" - A rightful question! With a little overdose of irony, let me recite

Geek rule #76
(anyone remember the Ferengi Rules of Acquisitions?):
In order to defend the Geek-ish position in front of non-believers, it is the Geeks duty to be aware of ties to the real world. This will allow non-believers to relate to the Geek.

The masses are familiar with movies. If games are placed inside a movie, they cannot be geek-ish. Normally, Burger King is in the movies. Normally, Budweiser is in the movies. Burger King and Budweiser are normal. If games are in the movies, then games must be normal. Unbeatable logic for non-geeks. ;)

This GeekList aggregation is supposed to prepare us for the common situation of someone throwing their he's-a-geek-smile at us. Or in other words: it's just for fun...

GeekList #6365: Board games in the movies by Jakob Bavnshøj
Jakob started a list which now contains 26 games. It's quite interesting to see the diversity in games. Of course, we are mostly looking at very famous games which have become a part of pop-culture.
From his list, here is my shortlist of games which should be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Game. The Nominees:

Tic Tac Toe in WarGames. The evil AI-computer in this movie quickly learned that the game Global Thermonuclear War is as boring as Tic Tac Toe => nobody can win. A typical game with a blocking strategy.

Cribbage in The Sting. Played by both Paul Newman and Robert Redford - a woman's dream come true.

Monopoly in Weekend at Bernie's. This game is so popular! It has even made it's way beyond the living. Dead Bernie seems to be a true Monopoly master.

Jumanji in Jumanji. The board game with best special effects

GeekList #2050: The Royal Tenenbaums' Game Closet by art cohen
The Royal Tenenbaum's game closet is a particular case of the Board games in the movies-thread. The Tenenbaum's game closet hosts a nice argument between Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) his grandsons, and their father Chas (Ben Stiller). According to the GL, the closet contains some 26 games from the Seventies. If you are a fan of the movie (who is? anyone?), you will definitely want to get these. But beware: The Royal Tenenbaums is not particularly well chosen when arguing with non-Geeks. The movie is maybe a little bit strange in it's own right. Art Cohen's GL is more for inside-Geek discussions :D