The world’s favorite games have offered us classic ways of playing for decades and, in some cases, centuries. In recent times, their widespread appeal has seen some of these games move into other areas of the entertainment industry but how has this worked and what success stories can we find?
Roulette and Other Casino Games Have Moved Online
The majority of classic games can be found in online versions or as mobile apps, making them easier to play conveniently than before. Yet, few industries have taken to the online world as smoothly as casino games. Many of the most popular games such as roulette can be played online in a variety of versions on sites such as Paddy Power, with different rules and settings in each case.
This change has been even greater than can be seen at first glance, though. If you look for online casino gambling at Paddy’s, you can see that there are now many categories including new slots, live dealer table games, and jackpot games. This confirms the diversification of the industry that going online has allowed, with new titles released regularly introducing changes to the basic gameplay.
Popular Media Based on Board Games
The idea of creating a movie based on a board game might have seemed far-fetched a few years ago, but it’s become a hugely popular and influential sector of the film industry. Among the titles to date, Dungeons & Dragons has spawned a movie franchise with several movies that have received mixed reviews. 2023’s Honor Among Thieves is one of the versions most widely praised by critics despite a relatively poor performance at the box office.
1985’s Clue starring Madeline Kahn and Tim Curry is arguably the best movie based on a board game according to MovieWeb’s interesting look at this genre. They point out that the iconic Jumanji movie with Robin Williams wasn’t based on a real board game at the time of its release, although the twist is that the massive success of the film meant that a physical version of the game played in the movie has since been created.
“The Settlers of Catan” – wstryder via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Cookbooks Based on Games
Perhaps the most unexpected way that games have reached other areas can be seen with the variety of cookbooks based on them. Heroes’ Feast: The Official D&D Cookbook is one of the best examples, while video games like Minecraft and Assassin’s Creed have also been used as the basis for recipe-filled books.
A recent example called Catan: The Official Cookbook is explained in this article by Forbes as having 77 recipes. Fireside Banana Boats and Forest Dweller’s Dip are among the meals and snacks that can re-created using this book. Many of these recipes are cleverly designed to use in-game resources such as bricks, wool, and ore while cooking. Casie Vogel of publisher Ulysses Press pointed out that the recipes also fit in with the board game’s sense of community.
All of these interesting developments help to reinforce the ongoing popularity of classic games, many of which continue to be played across the planet while also inspiring us in other ways.
