These are all games that Fantasy Flight has taken from a license and turned into a ton of products. I’m pretty sure I’m evening missing a game. There are also other games like the Game of Thrones living card game or the new game that came out from CMON, Song of Ice and Fire. There’s a whole system of games, the Legendary Encounters based off of Marvel Legendary (another licensed property) for Alien, Predator, Firefly, Big Trouble in Little China, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and now X-Files. The point of writing all of that was that there are a ton of board games that have cool properties behind them and there are more coming out all of the time.

Unlike Robin Hood and Lovecraft’s work which can be slapped on anything because they are public domain, there are a lot that need to be licensed. So, what are some of these other stories that I can to see board games made out of?

I’m going to give the title of the book, TV show, movie, and some description of what I think would make it an interesting game or how I might go about building a game. I’m also going to be avoiding things that I know are already board games, you might not know there is a Kung-Fu Panda game, but there is, so I won’t be making my own for that.

R.I.P.D.

R.I.P.D. is a movie and comic about a cop who dies and then becomes a cop in the after life taking crazy bad guys. I like the theme for this one and think that with a bunch of minis and different cops who you could play, it could be a fun game playing against a scenario(s). You’d be trying to defeat different bad guys, or maybe a scenario would have you get information while trying to survive long enough to get back out. There’s a good number of stories that you could do with it, and while it is a lot of the current meta, I’d lean into the supernatural. Give the players and monsters abilities that they can use that are a bit game breaking, but come at a cost to the monsters of the players. That would then give the game a unique feel as compared to other scenario based games because it’s the last ditch sort of move instead of other variable player powers.

Kingkiller Chronicle

Now, there is something coming out that can have some tie in to this series by Patrick Rothfuss, but I want to take it in a different direction than that game. That one looks like it is more about the whole fantasy world, and like I said, it isn’t an actual game on the series, it just has a module for it, so it counts for me. I’d focus on the time at the university. People could take on different students, doing different things for different classes and the game would be split into four or five parts which would be different years at the school. Each turn you’d take an action to either study, go to classes, make money, or if you are playing a character who has money, just get money. You’d play as different characters who are studying at the university and at the end of each round you’d score points and depending on how you did and your income, you’d get your tuition set for the next year which would take money from you, and you’d repeat the process. If you didn’t have enough money, you’d be limited to actions in town or going and taking out a loan to be able to stay in school, but that would be costly for you. I think you could make this game interesting by having characters increase in skills, do sneaky things, and complete missions for teachers. I think I’d then have the players try and get as many points as they could in completing their education or at least advancing in it.

Killjoys

Killjoys is a space television series about a crew who picks up criminals and turns them in and deals generally with all the problems that are going on in their world. I don’t think I’d make my game as dramatic as the show, but I do think I’d set it up so that it really focuses on bringing in those criminals like the earlier part of the show does. It would somewhat be a pick-up and deliver game where you fly to a planet, pick up what you need, and deliver it back for money. However, the longer you go, the more troubles you are going to run into completing missions and also the more events and worse events that will be happening to the Quad, the area of planets you are working in. In the end, the winner would have the most money at the end of the game from bringing in criminals, but you have to decide how to use it because you might want to upgrade your ship, weapons, or crew to make the jobs easier.

Stranger Things

I’m a little surprised I haven’t heard of one besides some company branding an ouija board with Stranger Things, because of money. For those who don’t know, Stranger things is about a girl who escapes from the grasp of an evil company that is messing around with her abilities and is also looking into another dimension, the Upside Down where there are monsters that start bleeding over into this small town. I would make this as an asymmetric game for up to five people as that’s about how it works in the game. There are the kids, the teenagers, the adults, the company, and the upside down. The upside down and the kids would be required to play the game, but the rest could be optional. As the kids, you are trying to keep Eleven safe and close the portal to the Upside Down, as the Upside Down, you are trying to capture all the kids or get enough monsters into the world that you win. If you were the adults, your goal would to find one of the kids who gets lost in the upside down, and as the teens your goal is to kill as many monsters as possible. Finally, as the company, your goal would be to keep Eleven alive, but have her under your control, and not have anyone else win for a certain number of rounds. I could also see cutting it down to three factions and having the people of the town, adults, teens, and kids, all be the same person. But I think it could be interesting, each group having their own special powers and goals that they are going for in the game.

What are some stories that you think would turn into a good board game? What are some of your favorites that are already board games?

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This one I’m starting with the book series by Brandon Sanderson The Reckoners with the first book being called Steelheart.

Story Synopsis:

There was an event that happened around a decade ago known as calamity. This even caused people to receive super powers, however, everyone who got powers became evil. Among those was a powerful epic (as the super heroes are called) named Steelheart who is invulnerable to damage. He killed our main character, David, father several years earlier. Now David, who was eight or so when that happened, has grown up and is still living in Newcago (Chicago, but now turned to steel). He’s grown up in a hard life as an orphan, but what he wants more than anything is to kill Steelheart and he knows of a resistance group, known as the Reckoners who kill the epics, and he wants to find them and join them.

Let’s meet the characters:

David – Our main character, he is eighteen years old, or so, and has a lot of troubles with metaphors. He also, growing up as an orphan and kid of a loner, doesn’t have great social skills. He’s just put his efforts into researching epics, trying to find their weaknesses, and figuring out where the Reckoners are and who they might be.

Prof – The leader of the Reckoners. He’s a very serious man who likes to plan everything out as well as he can. But he isn’t a pushover who is just a brain, he is also good in a fight. A little bit older, he has been through the wars with the epics and is still standing.

Tia – The technological wiz of the Reckoners, she has been with Prof from the beginning. She helps him plan, she has the connections for the research into epics, and she is the support for the Reckoners missions. She’s also one of the few who can talk with Prof when he is mad without her getting more mad at her.

Abraham – Heavy arms expert who really believes that there have to be some good epics out there, or that this is just a challenge for humanity and if they pass it, the good will come. He’s very even keel and relaxed.

Cody – From the south, but really loves his Irish/Scottish/Australian heritage. He’s a sniper who is kind of a jack of all trades. He’s smarter than he seems, but he puts a front of being a weirdo just because that’s how he deals with how hard everything is and how hard everything has become.

Megan – The love interest (oooooh). But more than that, she’s a snarky character who is mainly annoyed with everyone. She’s part of the Reckoners as well and often runs point. She’s the first to meet David and that doesn’t go all that well for him.

Steelheart – He’s an egomaniac who just wants to rule. He makes it livable for the people of Newcago not because he cares about them that much, but because he wants people to lord power over.

Conflux – One of Steelheart’s right hand epics. He is the one who powers the whole city and keeps it livable for the people. But he also is the one who powers all of enforcement as well for Steelheart.

Nightwielder – Also a right hand epic of Steelhearts, he keeps Newcago bathed in darkness. He goes out and a bout and if often more involved with what is going on in the city than Steelheart is. He’s Steelhearts arm that helps deal out his justice.

So who gets cast?

David – Tye Sheridan

You’ll know Tye from Ready Player One. While that wasn’t a great movie, fun, but not great, the less great looking, more everyman sort of feel is what makes David good. He’s someone who is self conscious of being smart and not all that confident in himself, and I think that Tye Sheridan could pull that off.

Prof – Bruce Greenwood

Greenwood doesn’t have the size that I might have wanted for Prof, but he has a presence when he’s on screen. Generally he seems like someone who has a quiet confidence, and I think that matches well for Prof. And he isn’t someone who looks like he’d be a slouch in combat either.

Tia – Gina Torres

She was a calming influence on the Serenity in Firefly, so I think she could do the same for the Reckoners. It’s a pretty subdued but important role to properly create the team cohesion.

Abraham – Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

He’s immediately who I thought for the role, though I didn’t remember the actors name, because he played Heavy Duty in GI Joe: Rise of Cobra. Basically a pretty relaxed and confident character who has a big gun, and that’s what Abraham is as well. I thought about Terry Crews as well, but Adewale Akinnuoye Agbaja fits the role a little bit better and Crews is just too happy feeling to me.

Cody – Simon Pegg

Cody is the comedic relief. But he’s more than that, he’s smarter than he seems, and I think it would be a little bit more action focused but similar character to what Pegg plays in the Mission Impossible movies.

Megan – Chloe Grace Moretz

She has the acting chops for what is a fairly difficult role. Her previous performance as Hit Girl in Kick Ass is something that she can pull upon for Megan as Megan has a bit of that abrasive side to her as well.

Steelheart – Josh Brolin

Now, this is a bit on the nose with his performance in Avengers: Infinity War, but Brolin would do the villain well for this film. Someone who has a ton of ego and no fear.

Conflux – Erick Avari

It’s a small role, but Avari would do well in the role that might not be the most challenging, but has some good twists around his character.

Nightwielder – Sean Baek

From Killjoys, he’s a good actor who has played the right hand to a villain before. He fits the description in the book and with the role in Killjoys, it would be a pretty easy step over.

Who would you want to see cast?

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And like Peder, I primarily watch TV when I want some escapist fun, and that comes in many different forms that are hard to even really compare. I mean, one day I might be in the mood for a fantastical show; another day I might want to watch sci-fi; and at another time, I might want to watch a few episodes of a drama. I enjoy all those (extremely different) things about equally; it just depends on what sort of mood I’m in.

All that is to say that the rankings in this list are somewhat arbitrary, and might change depending on the day you ask me. Regardless, these are the five TV series that rise to the top of my list:

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To finish things off, I have to include some honorable mentions that were *this* close to making it on the list: Pushing Daisies (an absolute delight that ended way too soon), Firefly (the best space cowboy show ever), Outlander (three words: ALL THE FEELS), Community (just stupid-hilarious), Silicon Valley (the most fun I’ve ever had being stressed out and having secondhand embarrassment), Bob’s Burgers (way better than it has any right to be), and Sherlock (smart, sexy, and absolutely legendary).

Do any of your favorites overlap with mine? What TV shows would make it into your top 5?

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I didn’t talk about this last time, so I’ll mention it now — what criteria do I have for picking my favorites for a top five list? First for me is enjoyment of the thing — which is obvious; if I don’t enjoy it, why would I have it on my list? But that enjoyment can come in many different forms. For example, with Lord of the Rings, I enjoy it because of how it shaped the works of fantasy that came after it, and because it’s a great trilogy, but when I compare it to something like Dresden Files, it’s clear that I enjoy them in different ways. For example, there’s more humor with the Dresden Files, and there is a more enjoyable escapism element for me with those books. Then compare that with Swallows and Amazons, which is a children’s/young adult book that hasn’t really influenced anything — while there’s a fantasy aspects to the series, you know it’s just the kids’ imaginations. Another of my criteria is how absorbed I get into the book/show/movie/game. Is it a form of escapism for me? If it is, it’s probably going to be higher on the list because something new, exciting, and fantastical that I can escape into is always fun.

So with that out of the way, here are my top 5 TV Series:

Quickly, some honorable mentions that I hated leaving off of the list. Stargate SG1 is a fun long-running sci-fi show. Haven is a show based off of Stephen King’s work that is more supernatural-feeling than horror. South Park is an irreverent show that takes the lowest common denominator all the time and is still one of the smartest shows you’ll watch. Warehouse 13, Killjoys, Firefly, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer are all a lot of fun as well.

What are your five favorite TV series?

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Does thinking of what I can’t get in the midst of all I can get make me a selfish, gluttonous TV-watcher? Definitely. However, I have a feeling I’m not alone in this sentiment. For every show we love that faithfully turns out fresh episodes every season, there’s one that takes two or three years to release anything new (I’m looking at you, BBC…).

So what’s a fan to do during these new-episode droughts? Well, as someone who’s experienced that pain many times over at the hands of shows like Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Outlander, I have a few ideas up my sleeve. Such as…

Rewatch favorite episodes

This one is obvious, but a tried-and-true choice. When your craving for that one great show just can’t be satisfied by anything else, find a way to get a hold of some previous episodes (via on-demand, reruns [if they even do those anymore??], your DVD collection, library copies, etc.) and set up a little “greatest hits” marathon for yourself. Though there may be nothing new to take in, you’ll always enjoy revisiting your favorites, and might even catch something new the second (or third…or fourth…or…who’s counting??) time around. You want to be a bit careful with this one, as it can be a bit of a slippery slope, but it’s a good method to use in moderation.

Try new shows similar to the one you’re waiting for

Unlike my first suggestion, this one allows you to both enjoy the kind of feels you get from the show you can’t watch while getting to branch out and take in something new by watching the ones you can. There are lots of ways to do this — you can use sites like this one that suggest new shows based on ones you’ve seen, you can ask friends who also like the stalled show if they know of any other good ones like it, or you can take the super easy (and somewhat risky) route of watching what Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime/etc. suggests based on your previously watched shows. You’ll likely find this method to be a bit hit-and-miss, but you never know — you just might find a new favorite along the way.

Visit fan forums and sites

With any show hiatus comes a legion of fans who are at turns excited for the new episodes to arrive and outraged that time isn’t passing more quickly until that day comes. And thanks to the internet, it’s easier than ever to find those legions and have a good venting/reminiscing/speculating session with them. Search for forums and fan pages for the show in question, jump in, and get talking! Besides being a great way to let off some steam, this is also a chance to make friends (even though they’re usually long-distance ones) with people who share your interests. I’ll spare you the obligatory “be careful giving out your info on the internet” speech, as it feels much too 2002-suburban-mom for my taste, but just use a little common sense and go to it!

Write some fan fiction (or do some fan art)!

I can practically see you guys rolling your eyes at me, but hear me out. While this solution may seem to be one for the truly desperate, it’s a really fun and — unlike most other methods — productive way to revisit your favorite show while you’re waiting for new stuff. If you’re artistically or linguistically inclined, try your hand at a little AU fan fiction, draw your interpretation of your favorite scene, or write a story based on what you think is going to happen next in the show (or, better yet, what you wish would happen but know will never actually take place). If the idea of putting pen to paper makes you cringe, search DeviantArt.com or any number of the endless fan fiction sites out there for the great stuff (or not-so-great stuff…hey, we don’t judge) that others are creating. These things may not fill the Game of Thrones-shaped hole in your heart, but they’ll be entertaining at the very least, and could even lead you to generate some great new ideas of your own.

These are a few ideas for things to do while waiting for new seasons of your favorite shows to come out, but I’m sure there are lots of others! What’s your favorite way to combat the show hiatus blues? Tell us about it in the comments!

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Killjoys is a SyFy channel show that’s set in a distant galaxy, where a civilization of humans lives on a four-planet system called — fittingly — the Quad. The principal characters are Dutch, Johnny, and D’Avin, a trio of bounty hunters who work for the Reclamation Apprehension Coalition, or the RAC. The RAC is the organizational equivalent of a chaotic neutral-aligned character — they’re out for whatever is in their own best interest, whether or not others consider their methods reputable. The RAC’s primary function is to put out warrants at the request of high-paying customers. The warrants might be anything from a request to play escort the surrogate mothers of one of the nine royal families of the Quad to a request to carry out a hit on a seditious criminal. And, as one might expect from an organization with such…diverse interests, it soon becomes clear that there’s more to the RAC than meets the eye.

Similarly, Dutch, Johnny, and D’Avin might be the “good guys” of the show, but they come in many shades of grey. Dutch works for the RAC both as a way to use her razor-sharp assassin skills and as a way to escape the past that keeps coming back to haunt her. Dutch and her best friend, Johnny, start out as bounty-hunting partners who work together flawlessly, but when D’Avin, Johnny’s estranged brother, teams up with them, their small world aboard Dutch’s ship, Lucy, is dangerously shaken. Like Dutch, D’Avin comes with a mysterious past — but his tends to come back in the form of violent blackouts, the cause of which even he can’t guess at. Dutch and Johnny soon find themselves trying to keep each other safe from D’Avin, and D’Avin safe from himself. As the three chase down warrants together, they try to figure out what happened to D’Avin to cause his blackouts, and what it might mean for all three of them.

Killjoys is a fast-paced, gritty, and extremely addictive show. For those of you who don’t tend to like shows with lots of violence, I’ll say right now that this might not be the one for you. And it’s pretty close to my threshhold, I’ll admit, but the story is so good that it’s well worth a few cringes along the way. The characterization is great — the characters are believable and easy to root for, and I can’t get enough of them. And the setting is everything a sci-fi show should be — just similar enough to our world to be relatable (and scarily prescient, as sci-fi is wont to be), and just different enough to stretch the mind and fulfill those space-cowboy daydreams we all know and love. If you’re any level of sci-fi fan at all, I would highly recommend adding Killjoys to your to-watch list!

So how ’bout it? Are you hoping to watch Killjoys? Have you seen it already? What are your thoughts? Share with us below!

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Where even to begin with sci-fi shows? What makes sci-fi shows that have been successful interesting and long-lasting?

The biggest reason for me, as to why I watch sci-fi and fantasy shows, even though I’ll just be touching on sci-fi right now, is that they are good escapism. I like the idea of escaping and exploring something that is different from what my normal life is. Sci-Fi shows are about high adventure and something that is very foreign to what I know.

But another big reason is the way sci-fi shows are able to touch on situations and real-life scenarios. They can delve into an issue that would otherwise be too fraught, as it would hit too close to home if it was set in the world as we know it. They can touch on many different areas of politics and human interactions that we see as part of our normal life. It helps to separate an issue from what we know and what we already feel about it. And sci-fi does a great job of slipping it into shows, especially long lasting ones, so it maintains an enjoyable quality throughout while still raising topics that we don’t normally want to think about, or that we think about in only one given way.

So, that is is why I enjoy sci-fi shows, along with more reasons that are generally on a show-by-show basis.

What would you recommend to watch?

Why, thank you for asking!

Doctor Who: The Classic series, not so much. It is kind of entertaining, but doesn’t hold up well to time, so it is better to start with the newer Doctor Who series. We have an article up on the site already giving more detail into what Doctor Who is, and some suggestions of episodes to watch to get a feel for the show. The new Doctor Who series does start off fairly rough with episodes that aren’t as well-written and that have poor special effects, but it gets greatly better over time.

Star Trek The Next Generation: I haven’t seen all of the show, but the episodes that I’ve watched I’ve greatly enjoyed. It hits on one of the big things that I like about Ssci-fi shows (actually, both), but anything where they are traveling to distant worlds, meeting aliens, and having adventures in space, and sometimes taking themselves very seriously for deep episodes, is a show that I enjoy a lot.

Stargate SG1: My guess is this will be one of the more controversial on the list, but I really enjoy it. It blends a lot of action with a rich mythology of the universe, and it generally doesn’t take itself too seriously. The big hook to me was the fact that it delves a lot into Egyptian Mythology while playing off of alien worlds. This one has the least amount of non-human aliens of any of the shows, but it is still enjoyable as they tie history into the different civilizations that are visited. And the mechanic for travel is very unique.

Eureka: This one definitely doesn’t take itself seriously either. A show about a town of super geniuses who don’t have that much common sense and are regularly getting into trouble? That sounds interesting. Throw in an average-Joe sheriff who finds himself accidentally in this town, and it’s great. There’s good humor throughout the show and some nice character development as well. If you are looking for something to challenge you and really force you to think, this isn’t the show, but it’s rare that Eureka misses on an episode, and throughout its run, it was always enjoyable. Colin Ferguson is amazing in the role as the sheriff and does a great job with the physical nature of much of the comedy.

Killjoys: This one is going onto its second season, but it is one of a few rare sci-fi shows that is coming out right now. It is about a group of bounty hunters who live out on a far part of the universe. Earth to them isn’t a thing, and they have their own galaxy and group of planets that have their sets of problems. The galaxy they are in has a lot of depth and a lot of intrigue. What I like about it, though, is that while it is serious and the worlds and political problems are serious, the show also has many lighter moments as well. This allowed me to watch it without feeling dragged down or like nothing was really happening, like some shows out there.

Firefly: This one I put down at the end along with Killjoys for one reason: if you get really sucked into these sci-fi shows, there isn’t that much of either. Thankfully, Killjoys is continuing, but Firefly, a short-lived sci-fi western ran for all of 14 episodes. It is a fun romp that starts to get into the depth of the political governments and could have built from there, but mainly it was a lot of fun, with very unique characters and well-played roles. I’d highly recommend it, and if you enjoy it, you will be left wanting a whole lot more.

Now that you have a point to start bingeing on sci-fi shows, what are some that you’ve watched an really enjoyed? I wanted to say more, but that might have gotten a bit overwhelming.

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