History Main / HollywoodBoardGames

* ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'': Fujiwara's love of board games (to the point that she's a member of the Tabletop Gaming Club) ties into [[TheHedonist her desire to constantly have fun at all times]] [[spoiler:to make up for the time she lost when praticing the piano consumed her life]]. In a complete aversion to SmallReferencePools, we see her playing a variety of different games over the course of the series like ''TabletopGame/{{Catan}}'', ''Scotland Yard'', and ''Quoridor''. It also makes a nice contrast with her SitcomArchNemesis Ishigami, as he's prefers video games.
* ''Manga/{{Kakegurui}}'': The Top Idol Championship has GuileHero Jabami and IdolSinger Yumemi face each other in several GameShow mini-games such as a dancing competition or collecting audience votes. Winning a mini-game gives the contestant a chance to put her tally on a Tic-Tac-Toe board's square. The first to complete a row, diagonally or linearly, is the winner of the Championship. Jabami's tally is a snake, which alludes to the meaning of her name: "snake-devouring dream girl". Overall, it's also kind of silly that such high stakes (both girls are gambling an exorbitant sum) are, in the end, decided but such a casual game like Tic-Tac-Toe.

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': In real life, being a genius is not a requirement for excelling at chess. Cue [[Characters/HarryPotterRonBiliusWeasley Ron Weasley]]. In the books, Ron may not be as clever as Hermione but is definitely not BookDumb. Ron's forte is strategy, which he displays by sweeping the floor with TeenGenius Hermione in chess. Furthermore, he also wins against a [[HumanChess life-sized chess set]] that was programmed, so to speak, by Professor [=McGonagall=], who is very BookSmart.

This is one consequence of SmallReferencePools. Compare FictionalBoardGame, which is when writers decide to make up an original game instead. SuperTrope of to BadGuysPlayPool (thanks to billiard's association with illegal betting rings) CunningPeoplePlayPoker (winning at ''TabletopGame/{{poker}}'' requires some measure of mind games), MostCommonCardGame (''TabletopGame/GoFish'' is seen as a card game for kiddies), ScrabbleBabble (showing a character is at their wit's end by having them use made-up words in ''Scrabble''), and SmartPeoplePlayChess (due to the heavy strategizing that takes place).

Contrast BogglesTheMind, when a person playing a word game keeps finding/making words that fit what they're thinking about. See also PlayingPictionary, when people struggle to guess just what a character drew due to how [[TerribleArtist bad/simplistic it is]]. Not related but somewhat similar to GameOfNerds, which is when the only sport nerdy characters are allowed to like is baseball.

[[folder:Web Original]]

* ''ComicStrip/KChronicles'': Apparently, the shame of being from certain profession but [[IDontKnowMortalKombat being pants at the board game related to said profession]] is unbearable. It happens to Creator/KeithKnight, a cartoonist whose ''Pictionary'' skills are pitiful, to his nurse friend, whose medical knowledge doesn't translate to knowing how to play ''TabletopGame/{{Operation}}'', and to a private detective, who gets his ass handed to him in ''Cluedo''. It's the epitome of {{irony}}.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': The Nara Clan is characterized as being BrilliantButLazy. This is conveyed by the fact its members enjoy playing ''Shogi'' -- a slow-paced strategy game usually played by smart old men with nothing better to do.

* ''Series/YoungSheldon'': In [[Recap/YoungSheldonS5E05StuffedAnimalsAndASweetSouthernSyzygy "Stuffed Animals and a Sweet, Southern Syzygy"]], The TitleCharacter is an InsufferableGenius who loves to brag his superior intelligence. It doesn't come as a surprise that, during his voice-over, he comments that the episode's resident obscure word awards tons of points when playing ''Scrabble''.

This is one consequence of SmallReferencePools. Compare FictionalBoardGame, which is when writers decide to make up an original game instead. SuperTrope of to BadGuysPlayPool (thanks to billiard's association with illegal betting rings) CunningPeoplePlayPoker, MostCommonCardGame (''TabletopGame/GoFish'' is seen as a card game for kiddies), ScrabbleBabble (showing a character is at their wit's end by having them use made-up words in ''Scrabble''), and SmartPeoplePlayChess (due to the heavy strategizing that takes place).

This is one consequence of SmallReferencePools. Compare FictionalBoardGame, which is when writers decide to make up an original game instead. Related to BadGuysPlayPool (thanks to billiard's association with illegal betting rings) CunningPeoplePlayPoker, MostCommonCardGame, and SmartPeoplePlayChess (due to the heavy strategizing that takes place).

Contrast BogglesTheMind, when a person playing a word game keeps finding/making words that fit what they're thinking about. See also PlayingPictionary and ScrabbleBabble. Not related but somehow similar to GameOfNerds, which is when the only sport nerdy characters are allowed to like is baseball.

This is one consequence of SmallReferencePools. Compare FictionalBoardGame, which is when writers decide to make up an original game instead. Related to BadGuysPlayPool, BogglesTheMind, CunningPeoplePlayPoker, MostCommonCardGame, and SmartPeoplePlayChess. See also PlayingPictionary and ScrabbleBabble.

* ''Series/CriminalMinds'': In [[Recap/CriminalMindsS15E3SpectatorSlowing "Spectator Slowing"]], Matt stays home to look after his pregnant wife and kids. It occurs to him to play a board game he bought in Thailand years ago with his children. CoolOldGuy Rossi jokingly warns him that if he deviates from video games, it would be at his own peril. This references how kids these days prefer video games over more traditional games. Fortunately, Matt and his family still have fun.

* ''ComicBook/KidPaddle'': Kid and Carole have a SiblingYinYang dynamic. He loathes school and, while not particularly dumb, she's smarter than him and genuinely likes to learn new things. When they are playing ''Scrabble'', Carole is winning with some ease. Kid hates to lose, so he invents a PerfectlyCromulentWord to try and score more points.

* ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'': Donna Meagle's [[DysfunctionalFamily family is so dysfunctional]], they can even have a ''Pictionary'' tournament without everyone ending up in the hospital. The Meagles sure know how to hold a grudge and act on it.

* In ''[[Film/FatherOfTheBride1991 Father of the Bride - Part II]]'' one of the things the Banks family do to pass the time whilst waiting for both of the adult women of the family to go into labour is play scrabble. Annie, who is at this point several days past her due date, scares the rest of the family by saying "Ouch!" loudly during a game, only to declare she meant it was a word she intended to play she wasn't actually having contractions yet.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBigSnit'': The married couple's dumbness is emphasized by their utter failure at playing Scrabble. The wife's tiles read "CARROST" while the husband's is a bunch of "E"s. Both get frustrated and [[AttentionDeficitOohShiny engage in other activities]]. Later, they start a silly, {{slapstick}} argument despite there being a nuclear war outside.

** [[Characters/SCPFoundationSCPs001To999 SCP-507]] is not cleared to challenge SCP-076-02 to fifty rounds of Tic-Tac-Toe. SCP-507 is a little touched on the head thanks to his RandomTransportation episodes, so it's not out of character for him to make such a nonsensical, dangerous request. SCP-076-02 is, after all, an overpowered, trigger-happy murderer, it makes sense to keep them apart.
** On one occassion, SCP-507 acquires a ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' copycat during one of this interdimensional travels. SCP-507 is a good-hearted guy, so he intends it as a gift for some SCP personnel. The problem? The cards' effects manifest in real life. Mayhem ensues and it's very much explained why the store has its clients play inside a steel box. SCP-507 brushed over that fact, very much used to seeing stranger things.

* In ''[[Film/FatherOfTheBride1991 Father of the Bride - Part II]]'' one of the things the Banks family do to pass the time whilst waiting for both of the adult women of the family to go into labour is play scrabble. Annie, who is at this point several days past her due date, scares the rest of the family by saying "Ouch!" loudly during a game, only to declare she mean it was a word she intended to play she wasn't actually having contractions yet.

** [[Characters/SCPFoundationSCPs001To999 SCP-507]] is not cleared to challenge [[Characters/SCPFoundationSCP076 SCP-076-02]] to fifty rounds of Tic-Tac-Toe. SCP-507 is a little touched on the head thanks to his RandomTransportation episodes, so it's not out of character for him to make such a nonsensical, dangerous request. SCP-076-02 is, after all, an overpowered, trigger-happy murderer, it makes sense to keep them apart.

** [[Characters/SCPFoundationSCP507 SCP-507]] is not cleared to challenge [[Characters/SCPFoundationSCP076 SCP-076-02]] to fifty rounds of Tic-Tac-Toe. SCP-507 is a little touched on the head thanks to his RandomTransportation episodes, so it's not out of character for him to make such a nonsensical, dangerous request. SCP-076-02 is, after all, an overpowered, trigger-happy murderer, it makes sense to keep them apart.

* ''Series/{{Community}}'': In [[Recap/CommunityS1E18BasicGenealogy "Basic Genealogy"]], Pierce and co. play a game of ''Pictionary'', with the cue being "windmill". Matching the sitcom's customary BlackComedy and in a {{justified}} case for it, Pierce's drawing resembles a swastika. This [[GameNightFight derails into a fistfight]] with a rabbi who gets understandably offended by it. The cop that arrests them thinks ''Pictionary'' should ban the abovementioned cue.

** [[Recap/GilmoreGirlsS03E05 "Eight O'Clock at the Oasis"]]: Lorelai and Rory's new neighbor, Dwight, is a man who engages in a lot of introverted pastimes and his house and lawn show it. According to Lorelai, he "took the lounge craze very seriously". When they open a closet, they find a vast collection of board games, which prompts Rory to comment that he owns ''Monopoly'' boards from "every country in the world". This is {{justified}} in that he's just gotten out of a toxic marriage and abusers often isolate their victims from friends and any kind of social interaction. Add to it that his former neighbors weren't very kind to him. Dwight's ex-wife claims that the board-game collection belongs, in fact, to her, especially the ''Trivial Pursuit'' sets. It's ambiguous how true this statement is but it wouldn't be out of character for an abuser to try and appropriate their victim's sources of comfort.

!!Examples:

[[AC: Advertising]]

[[AC: Anime & Manga]]

* ''{{Manga/Kakegurui}}'': The Top Idol Championship has GuileHero Jabami and IdolSinger Yumemi face each other in several GameShow mini-games such as a dancing competition or collecting audience votes. Winning a mini-game gives the contestant a chance to put her tally on a Tic-Tac-Toe board's square. The first to complete a row, diagonally or linearly, is the winner of the Championship. Jabami's tally is a snake, which alludes to the meaning of her name: "snake-devouring dream girl". Overall, it's also kind of silly that such high stakes (both girls are gambling an exorbitant sum) are, in the end, decided but such a casual game like Tic-Tac-Toe.

* ''{{Anime/Mnemosyne}}'': Apos is occasionally seen playing chess against an immortal, [[BoundAndGagged blindfolded, bound, gagged]], and [[{{Gorn}} stabbed in several places to her chair]], and using rather creepy-looking chess pieces at that.
* ''{{Manga/Naruto}}'': The Nara Clan is characterized as being BrilliantButLazy. This is conveyed by the fact its members enjoy playing ''Shogi'' -- a slow-paced strategy game usually played by smart old men with nothing better to do.

[[AC: Arts]]

[[AC: Comic Books]]
* ''{{ComicBook/Buzz}}'': Society is obsessed with literature and spelling. One of the offhand remarks that further cement this is when the characters mention the existence of a cult that worships the ''TabletopGame/{{Scrabble}}'' board.
* ''{{Franchise/Tintin}}: [[Recap/TintinFlight714 Flight 714]]'': What better way to show that EvilIsPetty than to have the villain, Carreidas, shamelessly cheat at ''Battleship''. PlayedForLaughs because that's what enrages the Captain the most.

[[AC: Comic Strips]]

[[AC: Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/AmbienceAFleetSymphony'': In the 275th chapter, The battleship girls have a ''Battleship'' tournament with an upgraded version of the game --a 20x20 grid, extra ships, and tons of new rules for balance-- because the girls didn't find the normal version challenging. This shows their dedication and how thoroughly bored they all are. Hyuga and Haruna's match ends with the latter good-naturedly accepting her defeat and both shaking hands. Damon and Ben think the whole situation is surreal and hilarious.

* ''Fanfic/BringMeHome'' (found [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/8823994 here]]): Marinette and Adrien play [[StripPoker strip ''Battleship'']] as foreplay after going out shopping. It's one of the many SliceOfLife scenes the fic uses to show the casual side of their romantic relationship.

[[AC: Films -- Animation]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAddamsFamily2019'': As it's customary for them, the Addams like to intertwine potential bodily harm with entertainment. In this case, Pugsley and his father Gómez play ''Battleship'' using their house as a board. In other words, every room is a square and some of them are packed with explosives. Gómez is standing on his hands for some reason and tries to guess which rooms will blow up in the same way a normal person would guess in which squares their opponent's ships are. Pugsley is remotely manning the explosives and is as enthusiastic about it as his father. Meanwhile, Uncle Fester is taking a bath. He doesn't look annoyed at all that they've blown him up and just jokes that they've sunk his (bathtub) battleship).

[[AC: Films -- Live-Action]]

* ''{{Film/Dadnapped}}'': {{Bookworm}} Wheeze can play a ''Scrabble'' knock off while coordinating someone's kidnapping. And he's winning the game! His LoveInterest, Melissa, won the aforementioned game's regional tournament twice. They bond over it.

[[AC: Literature]]

* ''{{Literature/Jingo}}'': The ''{{Literature/Discworld}}'' FictionalCounterpart of ''Scrabble'' is used to gauge the characters' type of intelligence. Vetinari shines at being TheChessmaster, so he beats Leonard of Quirm, who is a brilliant inventor. At the same time, Colon is a CunningLinguist, which gives him a huge edge in games involving words. He loses to Vetinari only because he doesn't want to anger his boss. It's kind of PlayedForLaughs how Colon is struggling to think of words that won't score him above Vetinari.

** {{Exaggerated}} in ''The Big Over Easy'', Friedland Chymes deduces the culprit's identity based on one of the words he picked during a ''Scrabble'' game.

* Creator/LuisFernandoVerissimo: One of his short [[PlayedForLaughs comedic]] stories {{exaggerate|d}}s this trope by correlating "cheats in ''Battleship''" with "is unreliable and not wife material". A couple of newlyweds decide to play the paper-and-pen version in between having sex in their honeymoon. The husband is dismayed to find that his wife breaks apart the aircraft carrier and scatters the fragments all over the grid. She also doesn't draw the submarine because it's so deep down, its location is unknown to even her. During the divorce, the husband explains this to his friends and they agree.

[[AC: Live-Action TV]]

* ''{{Series/Community}}'': In [[Recap/CommunityS1E18BasicGenealogy "Basic Genealogy"]], Pierce and co. play a game of ''Pictionary'', with the cue being "windmill". Matching the sitcom's customary BlackComedy and in a {{justified}} case for it, Pierce's drawing resembles a swastika. This [[GameNightFight derails into a fistfight]] with a rabbi who gets understandably offended by it. The cop that arrests them thinks ''Pictionary'' should ban the abovementioned cue.

* ''{{Series/Friends}}'': Monica is a CompetitionFreak from head to toe. She's so obsessed with winning that she threw a plate during a past ''Pictionary'' game because she was losing. She excuses herself by saying it was an accident, but she does regret having lost control and accidentally caused harm to Chandler. Everyone refers to it as the [[NoodleIncident ''Pictionary'' Incident]]. It doesn't stop her from doing it again (with a glass this time) in TheTag, though, when her friends don't understand her drawing of a bird but get Rachel's bean reference to ''Literature/TheUnbearableLightnessOfBeing''. This happens in [[Recap/FriendsS1E18TheOneWithAllThePoker "The One With All The Poker"]] and mentioned again in [[Recap/FriendsS9E24TheOneInBarbadosPartTwo "The One In Barbados, Part 2"]].

* ''Series/TheOfficeUS'': In [[Recap/TheOfficeUSS7E14TheSeminar "The Seminar"]], BrainlessBeauty Erin plays a ''Scrabble'' phone game with her AbhorrentAdmirer Gabe. Seeing that she lacks the vocabulary to win the game, Pam and Oscar attempt to help her.

* ''{{Series/Patriot}}'': In [[Recap/PatriotS1E02C19 "C-19"]], Canter Walley is as eager to nuke Iran as he was, as a child, to sink other people's ships in ''Battleship''. Curiously enough, whenever his younger self hits the C-19 square, he misses. This, among other instances during the episode, is a PlayedForDrama TitleDrop.

* ''{{Series/Taskmaster}} [[Recap/TaskmasterSeriesTen Series 10]]'':

[[AC: Puppet Shows]]

[[AC: Radio]]

[[AC: Roleplays]]
* ''Roleplay/AcademyOfMerlin'': Scarlett Heyne wins games of ''Pictionary'', ''Scrabble'', and ''Connect Four'' against the Devil fair and square, which serves to underline how she's more than her quiet, humble disposition suggests. Of course, the Devil is a treacherous bastard and has far more power than a mere mortal, so this comes to bite her in the ass later. Scarllet's FatalFlaw is hubris and the Devil doesn't play fair -- it's madness to think he'd let her become Queen of Hell.

[[AC: Video Games]]

[[AC: Web Animation]]

->'''Homsar:''' Oh no! You shanked my Jengaship!
->'''Strong Sad:''' I shanked your Jengaship? We're playing ''Connect Four!''

[[AC: Web Comics]]
* ''Webcomic/AkiAlliance'': Aki's efforts to befriend everyone led her to (re-)join several school clubs --he has a bad case of FleetingPassionateHobby--, including the ''Scrabble'' one. Naturally, this lands her in trouble when two or more clubs have an event scheduled at the same time. On a related note, Aki's CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass smarts get to shine when, after familiarizing herself with the rules of ''Scrabble'' (and other games), she almost effortlessly rules at it.

* ''{{Webcomic/Kukuburi}}'': Inbetween's brand of ''Battleship'' is played with flying whales instead of ships -- nothing that surprising considering the place's overall wackiness. Not-Death's brand of the game adds danger for flavor, as the board is a representation of the Inbetween and the Underside. If that isn't enough to establish Not-Death as a CardCarryingVillain, then you should know he also cheats.

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': The Monster in the Darkness is [[Characters/TheOrderOfTheStickTeamEvil Team Evil]]'s resident TokenGoodTeammate and it shows. This creature would rather play ''Scrabble'' (and eat the tiles) with the other members.

[[AC: Web Videos]]

* ''WebVideo/CarpeClunes'': {{Parodied}} in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRltwX49Gzw "Psychics Ruin Pictionary"]]. Playing ''Pictionary'' with someone who has {{telepath|y}}ic powers is utterly pointless. They'll know what you are trying to depict before you get the chance to actually draw it.
* ''WebVideo/EscapeTheNight'': Since the premise of this RealityShow runs on solving sometimes deadly puzzles, it's not surprising that some of them are based on board games. One of the rooms has The Journalist and The Mobster play ''Battleship''. The twist is that, instead of guessing where a ship is located, you guess where your opponent is. Kind of a RussianRoulette. As for characterization, well, The Journalist is TheSmartGal, so her approach is more strategic. The Mobster, on the other hand, is TheLoad, so he ends up losing. In the [[Fanfic/EscapeTheNightNovelization fanmade novelization]], it's even worse because Tim [[spoiler: accidentally shoots himself in the head]].

[[AC: Websites]]
* ''Website/SCPFoundation'':
** [[Characters/SCPFoundationSCP507 SCP-507]] is not cleared to challenge [[Characters/SCPFoundationSCP076 SCP-076-02]] to fifty rounds of Tic-Tac-Toe. SCP-507 is a little touched on the head thanks to his RandomTransportation episodes, so it's not out of character for him to make such a nonsensical, dangerous request. SCP-076-02 is, after all, an overpowered, trigger-happy murderer, it makes sense to keep them apart.
** On one occassion, SCP-507 acquires a ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' copycat during one of this interdimensional travels. SCP-507 is a good-hearted guy, so he intends it as a gift for some SCP personnel. The problem? The cards' effects manifest in real life. Mayhem ensues and it's very much explained why the store has its clients play inside a steel box. SCP-507 brushed over that fact, very much used to seeing stranger things.

[[AC: Western Animation]]

---> '''Unseen Opponent''': Oh, man, your shot burst my battle barn! It was my home!

---> '''Rainbow Dash''': Aw, shucks! You rained on my cumulus!

[[AC: Real Life]]