Star Trek Scene It? Warps to Stores Early

Ken Gagne — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:28:12 +0000

In the Eighties, there were attempts to combine VCR technology with board games. The results were often cumbersome: since VCR tapes are meant to be played linearly, rewatching scenes (which gameplay often required) meant rewinding, a slow and inexact process. The advent of interactive DVDs streamlined the process greatly, with the most popular example being the party game Scene It?. Players watch movie clips, or puzzles and clues that relate to movies, then answer trivia questions. Whoever guesses the right answer first advances their token around a board; whoever gets to the end first, wins.

There are several variations: Xbox 360 versions eliminate the need for a physical component, while themed editions of the traditional DVD version offer questions and clips from James Bond, Harry Potter, or Friends. I've been waiting awhile for what seemed an obvious pairing: a Star Trek edition of Scene It? The last I heard was that such a product was to have scenes from the upcoming movie, and that the film's delay from Christmas 2008 to May 2009 had necessarily pushed back the game as well.

I guess someone didn't get that memo, or maybe there was an update I missed — either way, Trekkers have an unexpected reason to celebrate: Star Trek Scene It? is now shipping. The game comes in two varieties, Ships and Captains, but each appear to contain identical questions and components with no bonuses over the other. (Some stores will charge more for one edition; don't be fooled!)

I personally can't wait to play this game, though I fear the challenge — not of winning, but of finding opponents who will give me a run for my latinum. Recalling favorite Star Trek episodes by name is typical dinner conversation among my geek friends. Now I need to coordinate enough of us and find a single stardate on which we can all play…

Movie Opening, Collect $50 From Every Player

Ken Gagne — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 16:16:04 +0000

In this, the 25th anniversary of Blade Runner, director Ridley Scott will apply his cinematic genius to a film adaptation for which we've all been longing…

… Monopoly?!

It's true: Mr. Scott is involved in bringing the Parker Bros. board game to the silver screen. But what may appear on the surface to be a stretch may in fact be justified by Hollywood's history.

I don't know that there is any longer any criteria for judging a concept's worthiness based on its origin. In the past ten years, I've enjoyed the likes of Mortal Kombat, The Brady Bunch Movie, and Superman Returns, despite being unoriginal properties. And the theatergoing masses's overwhelming approval of Disney transforming an amusement park ride into a trilogy of Johnny Depp films extends the list of acceptable inspirations. But Monopoly? I don't get it. What's the hook? What can this game license do that films like Wall Street and Boiler Room can't?

Granted, board game adaptations are not unprecedented; give Monopoly an all-star cast and a good sense a humor, and I'll admit Mr. Scott might not be clueless. But regardless of the film's quality, if the public flocks to Monopoly and makes it a success, we can be sure the clones will follow. Which begs the question: where will it all end?

Showbits » board games

Star Trek Scene It? Warps to Stores Early

Movie Opening, Collect $50 From Every Player