You’ve got board game night. You’ve got movie night. Classic. Both are fun ways to get off your phones and spend time with family. So why not combine them into a Board Game and Movie Night? You can create a fully themed night from the dinner choice, the game, the movie, you can even dress up if you are so inclined!
I’d like to offer you 5 Calliope games for game night, and a movie (or several) you can watch after/while you play.
1. ShipShape:
Pirates sailing the high seas, stealing treasure and enjoying some casual bidding? What better movie than the original Pirates of the Caribbean! The art on the character cards look like missing characters from the movie, and nothing gets you more pumped up than hearing that iconic soundtrack. I’ve definitely found myself shouting “Stop blowing holes in my ship!” while I’ve played ShipShape. As a bonus alternative if you’re a 90’s kid like me, might I recommend the 1996 classic, Muppet Treasure Island? It’s fun, it’s goofy, and I think we all have a little bit of cabin fever right now. Time to do some sailing for adventure on the big blue wet thing! Or you can try the 1995 Geena Davis classic: Cutthroat Island. Just don’t get too competitive!
2. The Mansky Caper:
There are a couple of different ways you could go with this fun press-your-luck game. You can lean into that heist aspect and go for any of the Ocean’s 11 movies or The Italian Job, or you could focus on that mob boss 1920s/30s feel with something like Dick Tracy. If you don’t mind playing a game while watching a movie about a different game, I recommend Clue. Personally, with the rulebook being styled like a comic book I always think of Batman: The Animated Series; specifically the episodes “It’s Never Too Late,” “The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy,” and “Almost Got ‘Im”. Yes, I’m already breaking my own rule of choosing movies, but I could absolutely see The Mansky Caper as an episode of this show, so it’s worth it.
3. Spymaster:
Similar to ShipShape and Pirates of the Caribbean, having a rocking soundtrack while playing a board game is just the best, and for Spymaster you obviously have to go with Mission: Impossible. This game can definitely make you feel like Ethan Hunt. Other fun spy movies to get you in the mood include Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; The Flight of the Condor; and Red. Depending on the ages of the players, you could also go with movies like Kingsman for adults, or Spy Kids for families.
4. Tsuro of the Seas:
Is it too obvious with this one to say Pacific Rim? Yeah, probably, but I’m going to do it anyway. It’s not a great movie, but it’s a fun popcorn flick that I highly recommend having on in the background while you’re playing to add some more suspense as you roll those dice. If you happen to be playing this back-to-back with ShipShape might I suggest Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest? Daikaiju, Kraken, sounds like a bunch of stuff you want to avoid in the ocean. Choose your path carefully!
5. Dicey Peaks:
This is another one where you can drastically change the theme depending on if you’re playing with adults or kids. If you want to lean into the mountain climbing and you don’t plan on personally climbing Everest any time soon, there’s no shortage of wintery disaster movies like K12, 127 Hours, and Everest. For more kid-friendly, yeti themes we recommend Abominable, Missing Link, or Small Foot. Or you can just go basic “cold” with Ice Age or Frozen.
Bonus!
Hive Mind:
Bee Movie. Sorry not sorry, I just had to.
What do you think? Do any of these combinations get you more excited to play? Do you have any good dinner recommendations to pair with a particular board game and movie? Or would you like that to be the next blog post?