There are a lot of games out there that deliver a cinematic experience when you’re playing them. You can picture yourself in the middle of the action as you battle for tabletop superiority. A number of video games have been turned into movies and a very few board games have been given the same treatment, Here are five games we’d like to see on the big screen (or much more likely your favourite streaming service).

Rise of Moloch

Set in an alternative history Victorian London, The Rise of Moloch is a one-against-many game played out over a number of scenarios. The many in this case as the members of the Unicorn Club tasked with keeping the world safe safe. The one plays cult members intent on bringing back ancient god Moloch to reign supreme on Earth. With interesting characters dripping with steampunk flavour and a scene set for an ultimate showdown between good and evil, Rise of Moloch would make a really entertaining and visually spectacular movie. While this game is well-respected by the people who played it, it’s unfortunately one of the lesser known titles in the CMON miniatures library. Perhaps a film adaptation could change that.

Kemet

Everyone loves a good sword and sandals epic with massive battles, magical elements, and of course giant monsters. Kemet does an excellent job building the theme of warring Egyptian factions taking different paths to victory. This would be a special-effects marvel to behold with monstrous serpents, mummies, and yes beetles fighting over territory. There is a ton of story that can be told about any war. The human cost, the acts of heroism, the glory of battle. That’s why there are so many successful war movies in the first place. If you add in some really cool monsters, well, you’re going to sell some tickets. A film version of Kemet could probably get away with being light in the plot department. Give the people what they want: a gigantic scorpion and sphinx battling it out.

The Artemis Project

There are a lot of movies about exploring strange new worlds, but not so explored, is the idea of setting a foothold in a new alien home. In The Artemis Project, you are tasked with creating a liveable environment on a moon of Jupiter. You have to gather resources, like energy and minerals, recruit new colonists as they arrive on the moon and develop a colony (much of which will operate under the ice. I love a good science fiction setting for my games (and movies), but if this is going to make the big screen, we’d need to introduce some conflict. Here’s where the unpredictability of Event cards come into play. Many of them, including Tentacles from the Deep, Alien Relic, and Volcanic Seaquake, provide more than enough of a prompt to build a movie around. 

Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on a Cursed Island

Now, I know what a lot of you are going to say: ‘What about the 1997 Pierce Brosnan classic?’ And you’re right. Robinson Crusoe has been done before, but earlier adaptations stayed true to the Daniel Defoe story of a man shipwrecked on a tropical island. The excellent game by Ignacy Trzewiczek is more about a group of people on an island, forced to work together to firstly survive, but also to accomplish various missions (depending on the scenario you play). There have been some more recent films that look at isolation in nature, like Castaway and Swiss Army Man. I see this film being about a group of survivors fighting to live and all of the conflict and tension that come from being in a desperate situation. I imagine filmmakers may take liberties from this game to make their movie, but the structure is there for a great starting out point.

Zombie Kidz/Teenz

One (or two) of my favourite games in recent memory has been the Zombie series from Scorpion Mask. They have perfected the idea of an easily digestible legacy game that gets you right into the action (which is simple and straight forward) and opening those envelopes (which are full of exciting twists and turns). I could see a movie sticking with the cartoonish art style and going for an animated film, but I think it would also rock as a live action film with just the right amount of over the top make up and special effects. I’m picturing it like a PG-13 rated Stranger Things style movie with kids that talk like kids actually do, when there are no adults around. The story for these movies have actually already been written. The games unfold with a surprisingly deep narrative. Now we just got to make this happen!

What games would you like to see as a movie? Are there any movies you’d like to see as a game? Share your answers in the comments below.