Wii Warm Up: Board games

by Alisha Karabinus { Dec 21st 2007 at 9:00AM }

With the recent news and media from Wii Chess, we can't help but cast our eyes toward board games lately. While we certainly aren't against playing board games on a console, Wii Ware seems like the logical choice for release, not regular retail titles (though we're in favor of the budget price) ... you know, sort of in the spirit of XBLA releases. Then again, we've seen full-fledged retail versions of XBLA titles before, and they worked just fine, so we can only assume that current-gen board games can fly as well. Our question today is: what would you actually like to see in a retail board game (as opposed to a downloadable title)? Which games with what features? Perhaps a version of Settlers of Catan with options for all the expansions, or games we've enjoyed on consoles before, like Risk, that are nice in electronic form because you don't have to bother with all the pieces. But will any board game really be enough to take us away from all the other Wii games that are already so much fun to play in live groups?

Tags: board-games, catan, risk, wii-chess

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Valien @ Dec 21st 2007 9:20AM

Yay for good board games on the Wii! As a huge board game player I'd love to see some of my favorite table games put on the Wii. Carcassonne is a blast on the 360, Catan is ok.

I'd love to see some classics like Puerto Rico, Power Grid, Bohnanza, Caylus, Heroscape :), and more!

Throw in some good online play and voila! Gaming goodness 24/7!

Dan @ Dec 21st 2007 9:21AM

There's so many...Risk 2210 and Axis & Allies with online multiplayer would be a great start! Then there's all the recent German games like Power Grid, Zooloreto, Ticket to Ride, and practically anything by Reiner Knizia.

Sora57 @ Dec 21st 2007 9:49AM

The only Chess game on the Wii I'd like is the Star Wars version-- with 3D holograms of creatures battling each other for position on the board.

Mike @ Dec 21st 2007 12:07PM

I'd rather have one of the old Battle Chess games than some Star Wars chess game that would undoubtedly have Jar Jar as the Rook.

Shadow31 @ Dec 21st 2007 9:55AM

I would probably download a board game or two if it's on WiiWare for a low price. Otherwise, I have my doubts... but yeah, downloading one, I can see...

saylorsgang @ Dec 21st 2007 10:39AM

I would love to see Scrabble or Bookworm for the Wii, I think Battleship wwould be cool, the graphics and cut scenes they could use. On the other hand who ever thought it would be a good idea to put Jenga on a Console should not even be able to work at a Game Stop,let alone a game developer!

James @ Dec 21st 2007 10:44AM

I love the *idea* of a board game on a console, but I never really play them. Why? My wife likes the feel of game pieces in her hands, so even though I got e.g. a free Carcassone on XBL for the 5th anniversary, I never play it with her because she'd rather haul out the boxed version.

I guess that's not really something they can "fix"... dammit.

Zo @ Dec 21st 2007 11:54AM

Axis and Allies Online Upto 4 players. I have seen and played the PC version, should not be a big deal to put it on the Wii. Add a ladder system and you good to go

StckFigure @ Dec 21st 2007 11:29AM

As a big board game player, I think there's two main things that would affect me buying a board game on Wii.. one is price, of course (I won't pay $50 for Monopoly or Scrabble when I can buy those real at Toys R Us for 12 bucks). The second is AI... if I was getting a game explicitly for me and my girlfriend, I'd probably buy the "real" version. But if we wanted to play something that needed more people (say, Settlers of Catan, which plays minimally with three and ideally with 4), then I'd want something with strong AI to make it worthwhile, for those instances when I didn't feel like online play (and on Wii, I'm just assuming that online play won't be a major feature anyway). Oh, it's also important, I think, though it depends more on the game, that it doesn't already exist in some free form on the Internet. I wouldn't buy Monopoly or Scrabble because I can play them free on the web; Settlers and Ticket to Ride are on the web, but those I think can be enhanced more with Wii power.

Michael Sliczniak @ Dec 21st 2007 1:52PM

Price is a big part. There is a Cranium game for Wii and it is $50. People say it is even more fun than the party board game Cranium, but still $50 is too much for us. Party board games modified to Wii at $30 would be a big hit, regular board games probably will not work.

And yes I agree 4 is best Settlers, but by simply placing one road and settlement for the first player then two each for the next, then two each for the first and then one each for the second, it becomes a fine game for a couple.

Also Ticket to Ride Europe with no extra routes becomes a fine game for a couple as well.

Usually when we have people over for board games we end-up playing the GC Karaoke or Wii Brain game when we are sufficiently plastered in the early morning hours.

StckFigure @ Dec 21st 2007 11:29AM

Oh, added options would also be a major selling point. Give me a Monopoly with fifteen different boards (and yes, I know they're all the same, just aesthetically different), or give me Carcassonne with all the expansions, or just new twists that can only happen in an electronic medium (and I mean more than just animation), and I'll probably be more likely to buy it.

racecar @ Dec 21st 2007 11:38AM

Why play board games on your Wii, when you can play Wii games on a board!
http://www.areyougame.com/interact/item.asp?itemno=01822&sa=0

In regards to the question at hand, I feel somewhat disadvantaged. I was more of a CCG nerd than a board game geek. With the exception of Monopoly. And Risk. I wouldn't mind seeing multiplayer WiiWare titles of either of those games. Get an online leaderboard worked in and you've got my money, no questions asked. I've also taken a recent liking to Scrabble, Boggle, and other word-related games and those could be fun.

-racecar
http://everybodyvotes.blogspot.com

Solar @ Dec 21st 2007 12:07PM

I'd love to see Sierra release Hoyle's Board Games for the Wii. They should use Miis as the player's avatars instead of their old player customizations. They could include classic Sierra characters to play against as the computer opponents if they wanted to. And they should definitely put some WiiConnect24 functionality in there for multiplayer gaming.

Ryan G @ Dec 21st 2007 12:25PM

The Wii would be amazing with group games that could be played with multiple people in the same room like Monopoly or Carcassone. Games with hidden info like Settlers of Cataan or Risk 2210 would still be fun online. Axis & Allies would be amazing as well. Games like 1960: The Making of the President and Twilight Struggle would convert well too.

Patrick @ Dec 21st 2007 12:36PM

I would like to see a full out Risk game. With animations for every combination of soldiers attacking each other. I think it would just be really good if some team worked hard on it. Almost like a Fire Emblem game.

Garu @ Dec 21st 2007 2:01PM

A game like Trivial Pursuit would be cool if it tied into the web and had questions that were updated so you would always have new questions.

Andrew @ Dec 21st 2007 2:42PM

I'd like to see a wiiware title with Risk. If possible, I'd rather have somthing more mini-game oriented than rolling a dice for the battling part, but whatever works. As long as it's not this bad.

http://riskattack.com/

Simon @ Dec 21st 2007 3:18PM

Waggle dice roll, anyone?

James @ Dec 21st 2007 4:08PM

MUNCHKIN MUNCHKIN OH GOD MUNCHKIN PLEASE.

Also, Axis & Allies (online, of course), Clue, Loopin' Louie, and oh so many more.

StckFigure @ Dec 21st 2007 5:10PM

Ryan G: Good point about 'hidden stuff'... it *would* seem tricky to make it so that you didn't see the other person's cards or whatever. I understand Cranium Kabooki did something with glasses to remedy this a little bit... and the Dreamcast (oh, the Dreamcast) of course had the mini-screens in the controller... but, as a non-360 owner, how do they do Uno or Settlers or such for multiple people playing on one console, when it's a detriment for someone else to see what you're holding?