Line #27 Characters/BoardJames


1	[[foldercontrol]]
2
3	[[folder:Board James '''(ALL SPOILERS UNMARKED)''']]
4	!! Board James (James Rolfe)
5	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/james_boardjames_9742.jpg]]
6	[[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Click here to see him on death row.]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hangman.png The Hang Man[[/labelnote]]]]
7	A pretty normal guy, Board James is a kid at heart who collects board games as a hobby and plays with his sorta-friend, Motherfucker Mike.
8	----
9	* AlternateSelf: WordOfGod suggests that the plot twist of the Video Games episode means that BJ is this to the WebVideo/AngryVideoGameNerd (and vice versa), as opposed to the popular fan theory that ''Board James'' is a StealthPrequel.
10	* AlterEgoActing: Board James is a character, just like the AVGN, though it was probably a safe bet that he's much closer to the RealLife personality of James Rolfe than the Nerd.
11	* AuthorAvatar: Of James Rolfe. ...At least until [[WhamEpisode the Season 2 finale]].
12	* AxCrazy: His hidden ([[TheKillerInMe apparently even from himself]]), real nature.
13	* BarbarianLonghair: In his chronologically earliest appearance when he's a death row convict, he has really long hair.
14	* BerserkButton: Please take playing the game seriously, or he ''will'' snap at you. Bring up his dead friends and see if he's still nice to you then. '''''[[ItMakesSenseInContext "It wasn't me, IT WASN'T ME, IT WAS THE FUCKING PHONE!"]]'''''
15	* BewareTheNiceOnes:
16	** You wouldn't believe that such a nice guy could create such a sadistic board game. Then again, he made it when he was a kid, and KidsAreCruel.
17	** As seen in "Shark Attack", where [[RageBreakingPoint he gets pissed off]] to such an extent that he yells at his friends in a really escalated TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.
18	** Even more so if you believe that James killed Mike and Bootsy in the "Dream Phone" episode.
19	* BigBad: He turns out to be this for the series as a whole, especially in the "Nightmare and Beyond" episode, where he becomes a psychotic murderer attempting to [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]] and kill Mike and Bootsy.
20	* TheCameo: His appearance in ''WebVideo/{{Kickassia}}'', in which he briefly appears to explain how to play ''TabletopGame/{{Risk}}''.
21	** Appeared in the "AVGN Games" episode of ''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd'', to help the Nerd review an AVGN Monopoly game. He leaves in a huff when the Nerd mentions that he'd been accused of killing his friends.
22	** He also shows up in ''VideoGame/TheAngryVideoGameNerdIIAssimilation'' as a midboss. The fact that he's holding a bloody knife and his two dead friends are lying next to him pretty much clinches that he killed them...
23	* CatchPhrase: Subverted with "Hey, I'm Board James. And when Board James is bored, I play some board games!" It ''seems'' as if that was going to be his catchphrase, but actually he only said it in one episode.
24	** He says "It's just a game" fairly often, some uses being creepier than others.
25	* CrossOver: Appeared in WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd episode on AVGN games to show off a fan-made Monopoly game based on the Nerd himself.
26	** And once again in the Board James episode focusing on video game based board games. At least until the reveal that Board James ''is'' the Nerd.
27	* DissonantSerenity: It's always ''really'' creepy when he greets Mike and Bootsy with innocent smiles and gentle tones, especially when he approached Mike in "13 Dead End Drive" with a noose, calmly asking to reenact a murder of the Hang Man.
28	-->"Relax. It's just a game..."
29	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Even he is disgusted by how the player characters in the Omega Virus board game can't cooperate to stop a virus and instead compete against each other to stop it.
30	* EvilAllAlong: He's not the simple NiceGuy he seems, but an insane killer trapped in a [[RecursiveReality recursive afterlife]].
31	* EvilLuddite:
32	** Has shades of this, as seen in "13 Dead End Drive", when he locks Mike and Bootsy in his basement with him and destroys their cellphones.
33	--> "'''''FUCK TECHNOLOGY!!!'''''"
34	** The brief "Say Yes to VHS" segment in "Nightmare and Beyond" further implies a preference for older technology.
35	* TheKillerInMe: Killing his friends while hallucinating about a murderous Dream Phone would make him an Amnesiac Killer. And even if the phone was the real culprit, the nature of the afterlife makes it entirely possible for him to have been responsible of subconsciously turning it into a killer.
36	* {{Manchild}}: This becomes an increasing trait of his over the course of the series, with his love of board games being suggested to be a kind of twisted nostalgia for his childhood. This even plays into the games themselves; though adult fans of board games certainly exist, Board James rarely plays games aimed at that crowd, especially by the second season, favoring games aimed squarely at young children.
37	* NiceGuy: Especially in comparison to the [=AVGN=]. Ultimately [[SubvertedTrope subverted]]. ''[[EvilAllAlong Very]]'' subverted.
38	* NightmareFuelStationAttendant: His Deadly Danger Dungeon game, kind of [[ForeShadowing foreshadows]] the finale.
39	* PlatformHell: Deadly Danger Dungeon, which he designed himself when he was a kid.
40	* PsychopathicManchild: Becomes more and more of this as the series goes on.
41	* PunnyName: Board/Bored James.
42	* SanitySlippage: The end of the Dream Phone episode ''really'' hints this.
43	** As does the end of the Ouija/Domino Rally episode.
44	** The Full House/Urkel Games episode confirms that there was no slippage, he was insane the whole time.
45	** Then the Board James/AVGN crossover finally confirms that Board James himself was a SplitPersonality of the Angry Video Game Nerd from the beginning.
46	* SerialKiller: ''13 Dead End Drive'' and ''NIGHTMARE and Beyond'' heavily imply if not outright make it out that he's the Hang Man.
47	* SirSwearsALot: [[BewareTheNiceOnes When angry.]]
48	* SplitPersonality: The WebVideo/AngryVideoGameNerd. Although the Nerd seems to be the original personality, and manages to do a SplitPersonalityTakeover by making Board James realize that he isn't real, and put on the glasses and white shirt willingly... only for Board James to assume control at the end of the 2015 Episode, ''[[Film/TheCrow1994 The Crow]]''.
49	* VillainProtagonist: In "Nightmare and Beyond", the plot of the episode being his friends attempting to escape from his AxCrazy rampage.
50	* WalkingSpoiler: It is very hard to talk about James without revealing that he is a SerialKiller in the third season.
51	* {{Yandere}}: After his SanitySlippage.
52	[[/folder]]
53
54	[[folder:Motherfucker Mike]]
55	! Motherfucker Mike (Mike Matei)
56	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mike_boardjames_7075.jpg]]
57	Board James' best friend who is known for being a cheating bastard.
58	----
59	* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:In the "Ouija / Domino Rally" episode.]]
60	* CharacterExaggeration: Mike Matei also does videos on the [[http://cinemassacre.com/category/avgn/mikesglitches/ Cinemassacre site about game glitches]], and implies that he's good at finding them because he likes trying to break games and cheat his way through for the challenge. The character he plays on ''Board James'' is this turned up to 'dirty cheater' status.
61	* DeadpanSnarker: He likes to snark.
62	* ElvisImpersonator: In the "Ouija / Domino Rally" episode. According to one possible interpretation provided by WordOfGod, [[spoiler:that might be the ''real'' Elvis.]]
63	* EmbarrassingMiddleName: [[spoiler:''Clarence'']].
64	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: In his debut episode, ''Crossfire'', Mike steals James' balls during the game, showcasing exactly why his name is "Motherfucker".
65	* GuestFighter: Is a playable character in ''VideoGame/TheAngryVideoGameNerdAdventures''. In the Nerd's own review of the game, he expresses some confusion, since he doesn't know who the hell Mike is. Funny enough, Board James had a cameo in that video, but didn't stick around long enough to see ''AVGN Adventures'' being played.
66	* HeelFaceTurn: In season 3, once the story arc is embedded, Mike drops his JerkAss tendencies entirely, [[spoiler:usually only cheating as a plan with Bootsy against James]].
67	* HisNameReallyIsBarkeep: "Motherfucker Mike" is his real first and last name. [[spoiler:His EmbarrassingMiddleName is Clarence.]]
68	* ImaginaryFriend: [[spoiler:The "Full House/Urkel Games" episode confirms this.]]
69	* {{Jerkass}}: Cheats ''a lot''. How else do you think he got the nickname "Motherfucker Mike"?
70	* LaserGuidedKarma: All the time, he's been cheating. The karmic whiplash? Mr. Bucket [[GroinAttack goes for his balls!]]
71	** Despite cheating a lot, [[CheatersNeverProsper it's usually Board James the one that wins in the end.]]
72	* LazyBum: Sits on his ass while James is busy setting up Weapons and Warriors.
73	* SoreLoser: Doesn't take his loss well at all when Board James, who was at a disadvantage, defeats him in ''Weapons and Warriors''.
74	* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Board James rarely seems to notice him cheating, even when it should be obvious. [[spoiler: Then, in the Full House/Urkel Games episode, it's suggested there's a good reason he never noticed...]]
75	* VitriolicBestBuds: Mike gives James a really hard time when they play board games, but as seen in the "Mister Bucket" review, they get along just fine otherwise.
76	[[/folder]]
77
78	[[folder:Bad Luck Bootsy]]
79	! Bad Luck Bootsy (Bootsy Spankins, P.I.)
80	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bootsy_4164.jpg]]
81	Another friend of James. As his name implies, something bad always happens to Bootsy.
82	----
83	* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:In the "Ouija / Domino Rally" episode.]]
84	* BandagedFace: Bootsy's face is covered in bandages since he accidentally spilled coffee in it at the end of the ''Donut Disaster'' review.
85	* BestialityIsDepraved: Mike accuses him of fucking a frog, which he denies. Then James accuses him of fucking a fish, and to James's horror he remains silent, confirming the accusation. Then he clarifies that he fucked a ''dolphin'', which is a mammal, not a fish. Although, he does later try to fuck the shark from Shark Attack, and sharks ''are'' fish. Maybe James gave him the idea.
86	* ButtMonkey: He's usually the receiving end of whatever gruesome accident happens. [[CheatersNeverProsper There's two]] [[RageQuit reasons why.]]
87	* TheDitz: By the Splat! episode, he seems to have cemented himself as this kind of character...
88	** GeniusDitz: ... even though he apparently has a degree in bioengineering.
89	* EyepatchOfPower: Bad Luck Bootsy has an eye patch after he got stabbed in the eye by ''Tornado Rex'' on his first appearance.
90	* EyeScream: Courtesy of the Tornado Rex.
91	* TheFriendNobodyLikes: To the point that [[spoiler:both James and Mike are completely unfazed by his death]]. You can't help but wonder why Board James keeps allowing him in his house... [[spoiler:or imagined him to begin with]].
92	* GroinAttack: As of TheStinger of the "Shark Attack" episode, he now wears a hook on his crotch.
93	* HiddenDepths: The aforementioned bioengineering degree.
94	* ImaginaryFriend: [[spoiler:The "Full House/Urkel Games" episode confirms this.]]
95	* TheJinx: Though it's his clumsiness and carelessness that causes bad luck for others.
96	* TheKlutz: To the point of making him TheJinx.
97	* ManChild: He defaults to this due to his annoying personality and ruining games.
98	* MickeyMousing: Earlier appearances had him enter the room accompanied by a musical sound-effect.
99	* PasteEater: During Splat!, he ate all the Play-Doh, just because it smelled nice. Then he [[VomitDiscretionShot put it all back]].
100	* PrecisionFStrike: In the "Wacky Blasters" episode, he actually loses his temper at James and Mike when they refuse to listen to his idea, demanding they trust him "one fucking time".
101	* RememberTheNewGuy: His debut.
102	* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: Lets out a high-pitched scream after he accidentally spills coffee on his face from flinching in reaction to the Donut Disaster machine popping.
103	* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler:Lucky for him, he's not really alive.]]
104	* WhatTheHellHero: He gets this a lot from Board James and Motherfucker Mike every-time he ruins a game.
105	* YourAnswerToEverything: ''TabletopGame/CandyLand''. He just ''won't'' shut up about it.
106	[[/folder]]
107
108	[[folder:Mr. Bucket]]
109	!Mr. Bucket
110	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bucket_boardjames_3583.jpg]]
111	!!!'''Voiced by:''' James Rofle
112	A seemingly innocent children's toy who enjoys... "balls".
113	----
114	* AnimateInanimateObject: Even with batteries taken out of him, it doesn't stop him from going on a ball-sucking rampage.
115	* CatchPhrase: "Hi, I'm Mr. Bucket, and ''I want to suck on your '''balls!'''''"
116	* DepravedHomosexual: ''Really'' enjoys... well, you know.
117	* GagNose:
118	-->'''Motherfucker Mike:''' Looks like a drunk [[BewareTheSillyOnes or a child molester or something]].
119	* GroinAttack: Poor Mike.
120	* LivingToys: Is a sentient toy bucket.
121	* NotSoHarmlessVillain: He lives for sucking balls, and he's ''good'' at it.
122	* PerversePuppet: A perverse [[LivingToys Living Toy.]]
123	* RedHerring: [[spoiler:To the Dream Phone.]]
124	[[/folder]]
125
126	[[folder:The Dream Phone ('''Unmarked Spoilers''')]]
127	!The Dream Phone
128	[[quoteright:270:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dream_phone.png]]
129	!!!'''Voiced by:''' [[spoiler:Bootsy Spankins, P.I.]]
130	A toy phone that is more than meets the eye...
131	----
132	* AbhorrentAdmirer: He's James's [[StalkerWithACrush Secret Admirer]]. But unlike Mr. Bucket, [[OhCrap he DOES]] [[{{Yandere}} want to hurt James]].
133	* AnimateInanimateObject: Just like Mr. Bucket, but instead on a killing rampage.
134	* CharacterAsHimself: The credits list its voice actor as "?????". [[note]]"The Making of Board James" shows that Bootsy is the one who voiced the phone.[[/note]]
135	* DepravedHomosexual: The thing is like a toy phone got possessed by the spirit of Jeffrey Dahmer.
136	* TheDreaded: In keeping with his KnightOfCerebus status, James remembers him with anger and fear even after his death, and is suitably terrified when he is (seemingly) BackFromTheDead.
137	* EvilGloating: He's disgustingly [[SmugSnake smug]] about the fact that James will inevitably get the blame for his friends' murders.
138	-->'''James:''' They'll trace the call, or... ''something''!
139	-->'''Dream Phone:''' ''[[EvilLaugh chuckles]]'' Trace ''what''?! What're you gonna ''[[CassandraTruth tell them]]''?! That you got a ''call'' from a ''toy phone''?! From a ''girl's game''?!
140	* EvilIsHammy: "''Here it '''coooooomes'''!!''"
141	* EvilIsPetty: The main reason he decides to kill James and his friends is because [[DisproportionateRetribution James repeatedly hung up on him]].
142	* EvilPhone: The main antagonist of the "Dream Phone" review. ''Literally'', in fact. [[TheDogWasTheMastermind The phone can float around and kill people]].
143	* KnightOfCerebus: Even if he may not be the killer, his appearance is what kickstarts the darker tone for the series.
144	* LivingToys: James realized that it's the toy phone itself that has been stalking him and killing his friend, not a person who can somehow call him through the phone.
145	* SerialKiller: [[MindScrew Maybe]]. Several episodes afterwards suggest that James killed his friends and hallucinated that the phone killed them.
146	* SupernaturalPhone: Even though the Dream Phone is supposed to be a children's toy with no real phone connections, it's still able to connect James to the menacing SerialKiller on the other end. The climax of the episode reveals that it ''is'' said SerialKiller... [[MindScrew maybe]].
147	* WalkingSpoiler: Due to it's episode being the turning point of the series.
148	* {{Yandere}}
149	-->'''Dream Phone''': Where you going? James! ''Where you going, [[EvilIsHammy Jaaaaaames]]''?! I'm just gonna slit your '''FUCKING THROAT OPEN'''!!
150	[[/folder]]
151
152	[[folder:Fight Promoter]]
153	! Fight Promoter
154	[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fightpromoter.png]]
155	!!!'''Voiced by:''' Kevin Finn
156	One of many cards in the Lie Detector game. You read it right; he's called "Fight Promoter" not "Flight Promoter".[[note]]This is the case in the original game as well.[[/note]]
157	----
158	* InspectorJavert: To Board James [[spoiler: since he thinks James killed his friends.]]
159	[[/folder]]

Context Characters / BoardJames