By Heidi Edwards
It’s always a treat when a good movie also has a scene with a good game. Games are actually featured in a surprising amount of films, some more noteworthy than others. We’ve selected the top five most iconic scenes involving games to feature. You may even feel like busting out a board game by the time we’re through.
Dejarik (Holochess): Star Wars A New Hope
Who could forget the scene in the Millennium Falcon where R2-D2 and Chewbacca face off in holochess? Naturally, R2 starts off doing quite well against the Wookiee, his holographic creatures trouncing Chewie’s until Han drily informs them, “It’s not wise to upset a Wookiee.” He then proceeds to remind them that, when losing, Wookiees are known to pull opponent’s arms out of their sockets. Wisely, it was decided to, “Let the Wookiee win.” This amusing scene was just the start of Dejarik within the Star Wars universe, as it soon appeared in dozens of books, Star Wars series (like The Clone Wars) and even in The Force Awakens. It also was featured in Chewbacca vs holochess, Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures.
Reaper Games: Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey
In this sequel to Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, after being killed by the evil versions of themselves, Bill and Ted must defeat the Grim Reaper in a series of games in order to escape Hell. It starts off with simply one game, Battleship, but they soon sink Death’s ship and he angrily demands the, “Best two out of three,” which eventually morphs to “Best of 7.” They end up playing Clue, Electric Football, and Twister, at which point even Death must admit defeat and give them their lives back. The whole ordeal is one of the best parts of the movie, mostly because of how hilariously the Grim Reaper is portrayed by William Sadler.
Poker: Casino Royale
In this inaugural portrayal of Daniel Craig’s Bond, a surprising amount of the movie is centered around gambling. Specifically, a very high stakes game of Texas hold ‘em poker. The villain, LeChiffre, is trying to recover his financial losses through the game, whereas Bond is hoping to win and end the man’s funding of terrorists and criminals. No pressure. Keeping the audience’s attention for so much card playing luckily was easy thanks to breaks to kill would-be assassins and dramatically survive a near poisoning. Considering how popular online gambling and casino games have become, this scene still excites viewers nearly two decades later. That said, if you’re one of online gambling’s many fans, be sure to do so responsibly. If you need a good place to get started safely, the experts at Maple Casino help to recommend reputable and secure sites you can trust.
Hide and Seek: Ready or Not
This half comedy, half horror gem may not be as well-known as the others on this list, but it will definitely make you think of hide and seek differently. After marrying her husband at his family’s extravagant estate, Grace is unexpectedly thrust into a deadly game as her in-laws try to hunt her down with various medieval weapons while she tries to survive the night and their dark and twisted game. As the movie unfolds you learn more about why this is all happening. The whole thing is gory, violent, and funny until the very end. On top of that, the massive mansion is gorgeous, you really can’t go wrong there.
Jumanji
What started out as a picture book by beloved children’s author Chris Van Allsburg in 1981, eventually became an equally beloved movie in 1995 starring Robin Williams. This movie is almost totally about this, thankfully, fictional board game in which animals, people, and creatures actually appear in the real world when a player lands on them with their game piece. This means when a stampede of dangerous African animals is landed on in the game, you’ll suddenly have these beasts bolting down your hallway.
It was an adventurous, fun, and exciting movie for its time. To this day, there’s many a 90s kid who still looks back on it with fondness, helped by Robin William’s timeless twinkle and the humor that still holds up even now. More recently, the franchise was rebooted in a respectful homage that was quite good in its own right, starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black. Still, good as the reboot is, there’s something nostalgic about the original that simply can’t be repeated. Oh, and the book? Still great too.