Tiger: Hey Rabbit, want to play a game?
Rabbit: Sure.
Tiger: It will just take me a few minutes to set up the board.
Rabbit: Wait, what?
Tiger: Yeah, I need to get the cards sorted and set up the figures then we'll be ready to play.
Rabbit: No, I don't want to play a board game. I thought you meant we were going to play a video game.
Tiger: It's kind of a video game, it's XCOM: The Board Game from FFG.
Rabbit: This isn't the game you've been ranting and raving about, is it?
Tiger: *raises hands* It is! It's so awesome. You actually play it just like the video game. You and up to three other players work together to take on the aliens which is controlled by the companion app. UFOs will appear in orbit and descend on the various continents. Your base can get attacked while you have your squad out on missions. It's a crazy game and it changes every time you play because of the app. I love it.
Rabbit: I can tell. I just don't get why you'd want to turn a really great video game into a board game. Board games are well, boring.
Tiger: Take that back, they are so not boring! I love board games, there's just something intimate about having actual cards, figures, and dice in front of you. It can be just as exciting as a video game when the action unfolds. You just have to use your imagination a little.
Rabbit: ^rolls eyes^ It sounds like you have to use it a lot. I just don't get why you'd want to even do that.
Tiger: It's not unheard of to turn a video game into a board or tabletop game. There was the Dragon Age RPG, I never got it but I heard good things about that.
Rabbit: Okay, that game kind of makes sense since the lore of Dragon Age is so rich. I can see that being a cool RPG similar to what FFG did with Game of Thrones but XCOM?
Tiger: It's really fun playing with your friends and it's a co-op game too.
Rabbit: You just like board games.
Tiger: I do, I find that they are a fun way to pass the time with friends. While I enjoy video games, you don't really interact as much as you do when you play a tabletop game. Plus, you actually have to use your brain a little bit more like counting up die and other math problems.
Rabbit: Like X-Wing Miniatures, that game took a lot of effort to play.
Tiger: I admit that one can be a bit tedious at times. There are video game themed board games you enjoyed like Mass Effect Risk.
Rabbit: That one looked cool but essentially it was just a reskinned version of Risk.
Tiger: I kind of want to get the Fallout Monopoly game but I know I won't want to use that one at all.
Rabbit: I get that you love tabletop games but it's hard enough to find people online to play video games with, how do you find real-life people to play with?!
Tiger: Yeah, it's tough, especially since I can't count on you to play with me. I have a few friends that like tabletop games so we try to get together to play once in a while. There's also a store nearby that host events though I've never actually participated myself. They tend to focus on the card games.
Rabbit: Speaking of card games...
Tiger: I don't know what you're talking about.
Rabbit: You bad, bad kitty, you.
Tiger: It's all your fault.
Rabbit: ^throws hands in air^ How is this my fault?
Tiger: You were the one that had us talk about all our old collections from back in the day.
Rabbit: I think we're getting off topic; we should table this until RHT.
Tiger: That's a first, you wanting us to get back on track.
Tiger: I do, as long as they do it well and respectfully. Like with Fantasy Flight Games, the XCOM board game holds true to what XCOM the video game is. It is a turn-based strategy game that keeps a lot of the same elements such as alien research, every enemy is dangerous, and even the money woes from the video game. It's a great iteration and a fun take on an already great game. Some video games just lend themselves well to the tabletop world. Like Dragon Age, I could see a TES or Fallout RPG. Even shooters like Gears of War had great board game iterations. But I think the strategy video games translate the best. Just look at Civilization: The Board Game, another game from FFG. That is a great and fun experience that anyone can pick up and play. There was even a Street Fighter card game that was pretty cool. I loved the idea of customizing your character with different move cards. I never got the chance to play it but I've heard that it was a fun experience that stayed true to the essence that is Street Fighter. Speaking of card games, the Uncharted card game was a blast to play and I still dust that game off when friends come over. I just think board games are another way to express your love for a franchise. You spend so much time in the video game world; why not translate that into the real world via a tabletop game. And while video game themed games like Mass Effect Monopoly are cool, I prefer when they make a new tabletop game like with XCOM. It's just a fun way to experience a franchise you love in a different light.
Rabbit: I don't know about you. It's kind of like video game movies, why not keep them video games? I like playing board games too but I would rather see the gorgeous set pieces of Uncharted or Bioshock Infinite on my TV screen rather than trying to recreate it with little tiny plastic figures or cards. I just think it's another way for them to cash in on these IPs and milk them for all they're worth. Like with Monopoly, we've seen every iteration under the sun of that game from Zelda to Mass Effect to who knows what. It was cool at first to see video game characters sort of in the main stream, if you can call board games main stream, but now they slap 'em on the box and expect the money to pour down. I'd rather see these video game characters where they belong, in a video game.
Tiger: Does this mean you aren't going to play Fallout Monopoly with me?
