Six video games that need board game adaptations
They're not just King's Quest I through VI, but I wouldn't complain. Here are six video games that need board adaptations.
Hello! I hope it’s a nice Thursday for all of you reading this. I’ve got a bit of a fun one today, and I hope you enjoy it. I saw that there’s yet another video game-to-board game adaptation on the way, and I thought I’d relate some video games that I’d love to see adapted. (I’m pretty passionate about that first one being a great option, too.)
I’ve played Spirit Island a couple times recently, and I suspect I might talk about that one some time soon. It’s such a good cooperative game that demands a lot of planning and coordination, and there’s such joy in that for me.
Stardew Valley? Dead Cells? Slay the Spire? XCOM? Cuphead? Everyone’s making a board game adaptation of their video game, and that means two things to me. First, board games have reached a point where it’s a logical next step. I love that — it only means good things for board games (except in cases where predatory practices are involved, of course), and I’m absolutely here for the growth of the industry.
Second, it means that it’s time for me to write this list of video games that should be adapted into board games.
King’s Quest: The Adventure Board Game
Roberta and Ken Williams’ legendary adventure game captured the imagination of early PC gamers for years and years, and I think it’s time the game makes it to the table. Adventure board games have leaps and bounds in the last five years. There are storybook games, escape room games, and any number of mystery solving games that make this, for me, a pretty seamless endeavor. Give me a Red Raven Games-style book of script. Alexander (neé Gwydion) and Rosella? Graham and Valanice? There are great characters right there.
If you want to focus on the puzzling, think about the Unlock series as a framework. If you want to focus on the storytelling, there are so, so many options. Red Raven’s done a great job of that — maybe something like Sleeping Gods?
I started this issue thinking of it as a bit of a joke, but I am now 100 percent serious. Maybe I’ll start a letter-writing campaign. Roberta and Ken, are you listening? (I know you just came out of retirement. I’d back it on Kickstarter any day of the week.)
A Final Fantasy card game that’s not collectible
There are so many interesting (if flawed) card games that make appearances in the Final Fantasy games. I get why there’s a collectible element — it’s yet more content that players can really dive deep in. But what I really want is something that has everything I need to play in one box. CCGs are interesting and can be quite fun, but not many people have room in their life for more than one game that requires you to buy boosters, play competitively, and try to stay up on an ever-expanding set of cards.
No, I want a card game in the vein of one Tetra Master or Triple Triad, and I want it to all be present in the box. Let the design shine. (I know there’s a Tetra Master game. But it was apparently only released in Germany!)
Story of Seasons (previously Harvest Moon)
Yeah, yeah. There’s a game based on the Story of Seasons-inspired Stardew Valley. I think a game that really focuses in on element of Story of Seasons could make for an interesting game: Building and expanding your farm. No friendships, no events, no external goals — just farming. Make it about maximizing your space, utilizing your energy, and selling at a profit. And ask Uwe Rosenberg to design it.
Kirby’s Dream Course
Easily the most popular Kirby game — at least, that’s what I think should be the case — Kirby’s Dream Course is a weird little golf game. You fire Kirby around, trying to make it into the hole without taking too long. I think you could make a really nice dexterity game around this, and because it’s a golf game under the skin but not on top, you don’t have to worry about things like “realistic mechanics” and “approachable gameplay.” Make this one weird.
Myst: The Board Game
… but notably, not the actual, extant Myst board game, which sounds awful. Adventure games are such fertile territory for board game conversion, and a lot of that’s because of the advances in board games that have come around. When I think about Myst, I think about a game that was packed with puzzles, clues, and style. I loved playing it as a kid, even though I honestly had no idea what I was doing 95 percent of the time. But now? I love the Exit game series, and that’s exactly how you turn Myst into a board game. Myst is essentially just a big escape room video game. I really think you could do this today without any issue.
SimTower
One of my favorite cooperative games is Now Boarding by Tim Fowers. It’s a game about managing a series of airlines, and it’s played mostly in real-time. I think it could make a great starting point for SimTower — cooperatively construct a tower, get money for upgrades, fill office space, and altogether build a vertical empire.
Well, there you go. There are six picks from me. I left out some that I couldn’t find a place for — SimCity, which thrives on scale that would be difficult to pull off in a board game; anything Zelda related, which thrives on the action — why take that away? I also played a great game recently called Solitaire, but I don’t know how you’d translate that to the table.
Thanks as always for reading! We’ll see you right here next week. Or maybe the following week. I might take next week off. You’ll just have to wait and see!