So, I just found out there’s a board game based on one of my all-time favourite movies, The Crow. Reading about the game dredged up a wave of nostalgia and got me thinking about the movie again and how much I loved it when I was younger and still hold fondly in my heart. Then I got to wondering about other movies that were adapted into a card or board game.

Making board games out of movies is a great idea for a number of reasons. For one, the premise of the game is already set up and all the designer needs to do is be clever enough to utilize the right mechanics to bring it to life. Secondly, the marketing and awareness engine is already there. People know the title and that could be just enough to make it stand out on a shelf full of games. Will all that in mind, here’s a big handful of board and card games adapted from hit movies.

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The Crow: Fire it Up!

Gotta start this list with the game that got the ball rolling. Released in 2016, The Crow: Fire it Up! loosely follows the hit movie and graphic novel from the late 80’s and early 90’s. Players take on the role of either Eric Draven (aka The Crow) or the chaotic and villainous gang who murdered him and his fiancee on Devil’s Night one year prior.

This is an asymmetrical game, meaning only one player is the good guy and everyone else gets to be a baddie. Ultimately, the goal is to be the last group left standing. The bad guys get to light things on fire and blow things up. The Crow gets to use mystical powers as well as allies such as Sarah, Officer Albrecht and his spiritual connection…which is an actual crow.

A description from the publisher, Upper Deck, outlines the game like this, ‘In a world without justice, one man was chosen to protect the innocent! On Devil’s Night in the Motor City, play as Eric Draven as he dishes out revenge against the gang that took his life and the life of his fiance, Shelly, in The Crow: Fire It Up!

As Eric Draven, the player uses the aid of Officer Albrecht, Sarah, and the mysterious Crow to track down the Motor City Gang and stave off their reign of terror, while the opposing players portray members of the vicious gang consisting of Tin-Tin, Funboy, T-Bird, Grange, Myca, and Top Dollar spreading fires and mayhem throughout the city as they seek to lure the undead avenger out of the shadows and take him out.’

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Alien vs. Predator: The Hunt Begins

Alien vs. Predator or AVP for short, is one of a rare breed of game allowing for solo play but also being able to handle up to 6 players total. For anyone familiar with the franchise, the game rules won’t be a surprise. Each player chooses between Aliens, Predators or Humans (oh my!). The game takes place on a rusty, hunk-of-junk spacecraft called the USCSS Theseus and pits all three factions against each other in what hopefully turns out to be a bloodbath. A bloodbath of FUN!

Released in 2015, AVP offers both basic and advanced rules which allow people to either jump right into the game or dig a little deeper once the rules are familiar. It’s also tagged as a sandbox-style game which means we can expect to see expansions released over the next couple of years.

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Big Trouble in Little China

A movie I hold near and dear to my heart, Big Trouble in Little China is a one of a kind fantasy, action, comedy treasure that everyone should watch. The board game follows the movie plot as our hero, Jack Burton and his friends battle against evil and work to uncover an ancient maniacal plot.

Big Trouble is a coop game which means you either win or lose as a team. Each character has a special set of abilities which helps incentivize teamwork as players look to get the most out of each other. Along the way you’ll battle henchmen, a trio of evil warriors known as the Three Storms and then finally, the main baddie, Lo Pan, awaits you at the end of your journey.

There’s no time to waste and the clock is ticking as Jack and his rag-tag crew looks to save damsels in distress and stop Lo Pan from regaining his mortal form (which is 100% a totally bad thing). Oh, and in case you wanted an upgraded version of this game, there’s also Big Trouble in Little China – Deluxe Edition which allows for 6 players and adds a campaign as a gameplay option as well.

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Jaws

Ok everybody, sing is with me now! Duhhhh duh…….duhhhhhhhh duh….duh dah duh dah duh dah duh DAH DAH DAAAAAAAH!

Jaws is a straight-up amazing film that spawned a whole franchise of movies and likely helped to insulate and stoke our fear of sharks. In 2019, the franchise lunged from the big screen and made a splash into the board game market. Made by trusted game publisher Ravensburger, this game is a fun and suspenseful game that is super fun and easy to dive into.

As we’ve seen elsewhere on this list, Jaws follows an asymmetrical game design where one lucky player gets to be the shark and everyone else is trying to save swimmers and locate the killer shark. Phase one of the game takes place on Amity Island but eventually, the players board a ship and head out to sea as they prepare to go head to head with the Great White Killer!

In the end, there can be only one victor. Will our heroes avenge the many victims of this man-eating hunter or will Jaws sink the ship and gorge its way to victory? I guess you’ll have to play to find out!

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300: The Board Game

This game should come with some sort of 7 minute abs workout or something like that. I don’t think I’ve ever seen or will ever see that many chiseled abs in a movie ever again. Just a wall of cheese graters. It’s impressive, really! Even MORE impressive is the 300 board game which looks to recreate the battle of Thermopylae…or rather…the Frank Miller version of the battle.

Released in 2007 and designed for 2 to 4 players, this game pits the invading Persians against the staunch Spartan defenders. depending on the number of players involved, the rules and victory conditions change slightly which gives the game a nice change of dynamic. The core objective of the game is for the Spartans to achieve either 100 glory points or 50 glory points if there are 2 players using them.

300: The Board Game is a quick game, usually taking about 30 minutes to complete. Using cards and dice, the game follows the storyline of the movie as players rely on strategy and a heady mix of luck to succeed with their own agendas. The Spartans win if they are able to hold their line and stop Persian God/General Xerxes from reaching the infamous goat path. Conversely, the Persians win by either wiping out all the Spartans before they achieve their objectives or by reaching the aforementioned goat path. Fast play and competitive fun make this game a must-play for any 300 fans out there. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some sit-ups to do.