Over the years, since more forms of entertainment have become available, board games have slowly gone out of style. I’m sure most of your Monopoly boxes are just gathering dust on a shelf tucked away in the corner of your room. Board games and card games always make some kind of comeback. Years ago, it was when Cards Against Humanity became really big and it seemed like everyone was having a small gathering on Friday nights to play. So what is going on in the board game world of today? How are they making a comeback, you might ask? It’s simple: board games are using other platforms to stay relevant. The most popular instance of this is video games.

Monopoly has always had its own video game counterparts, from the early days of Nintendo all the way to the present.  But more and more games are getting ported to video game consoles; games such as Risk, Catan, and Carcassonne. In one of Nintendo’s live announcement videos, where they announce and talk about a host of games, they dedicated part of the video to showcase some board-game ports. They looked really cool and polished. It seems a little strange at first, but there are some obvious reasons for why developers are doing this.

1.       Playing on the big screen is just more appealing and easier than setting up a board with a ton of pieces.

2.       You can customize the rules and they automatically affect gameplay.

3.       It’s easier to convince people to play with you on a TV because they can sit comfortably.

4.       You can play with people online.

5.       Games can be digital so you wouldn’t even have to insert a disk.

6.       Game consoles are easier to transport to a friend’s place compared to a big bulky box.

It’s the perfect combo for someone like me who likes playing board games and video games. Hopefully the concept is well received and is popular so more board games get the video game treatment.

Sterling Guilherme is a video game journalist who is a lover of JRPG’s, strategy games, and high fantasy RPG’s. Careful if you’re playing any kind of board-game with him, as he gets incredibly competitive. His favorite board games are Catan and Risk. He’s probably somewhere right now, day-dreaming of a good meal and a stiff drink.