From the Board to the Screen: Paste's Imagined Board-Game Movie Adaptations

Hollywood loves a good adaptation. Filmmakers often morph best-selling novels into blockbuster movies, and now they’re getting inspiration from an unlikely source: board games. Battleship is on the way, and there’s been talk of a Candy Land flick. Most recently, Ridley Scott’s forthcoming Monopoly adaptation has been in the news, with the director saying his film will focus on a Donald Trump-like real estate tycoon. "I told Hasbro, ‘The most amusing thing about Monopoly is it can turn your benign aunt or your benign sweet little grandmother into a monster.’ And they just laughed and said, ‘We know,’ " Scott told MTV.

Scott’s ’80s-comedy-inspired Monopoly got us here at Paste thinking about other classic games and how they could translate to the silver screen. If Battleship can be turned into a sci-fi Navy vs. aliens epic, then these imagined plots must have some cinematic potential.

Chutes & Ladders: A heart-pumping action thriller—in 3-D. It’s a mix between Ladder 49 and Bad Boys 2, in which a tight-knit team of firefighters must stop a deranged serial killer while keeping the city from being engulfed in flames. Lots of explosions and “I got your back!!”s.

Candy Land: This movie combines psychological horror with sci-fi drama—think Saw meets District 9. An unseen, unnamed madman kidnaps and drugs victims before performing a series of medical experiments which cause their limbs to morph into gum drops and licorice sticks. When they awake, victims must eat their now tasty appendages or EVERYONE they love—including themselves—is totally dead, dude.

Trouble: Lighthearted romantic comedy following the romance of a lovable, obsessive-compulsive man whose eccentricities include a phobia of primary colors and a beautiful, intelligent woman who oozes small-town charm. Though they’ve lived next door to each other for 20 years, they’ve rarely spoken, but through a series of quirky capers and chance encounters, this unlikely pair finally realize they’re soulmates, teaching us all that home really is where the heart is.

Apples to Apples: This moving drama is set on a dusty, western farm circa 1940. Sweeping shots of desolate prairie abound. The old orchard holds many secrets, including a clandestine affair between the poor apple picker and the wealthy-but-lonely farm owner. Two men between the apple trees sharing a love that can weather the Dust Bowl.

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