In short, no, I haven’t looked at board games as a transmedia component. However that’s not to say that I haven’t looked at board games to gain inspiration for an ARG, the rationale being that if the dynamic works in a board game, it’ll work in the real world and be able to be played via a smart phone. Like you, I’d stopped playing board games in my tweens (other than Scrabble) however remembered Cluedo having a simple but effective structure. Unable to find the original Cluedo in the stores, I bought the Harry Potter version – and was tickled to discover Parker Brothers had introduced a rotating disc system to vary the destination of the secret passages – or remove them altogether. It was when my family’s original 1965 Murfett version of Waddington’s Cluedo turned up that I truly appreciated the added features of the Harry Potter edition.

But let me digress for a moment. I’m currently developing an immersive storytelling game for smart phones and addressing issues regarding players who won’t want to publicly share their stories. A system that allows players to access their story on a protected webpage is one answer. A boardgame version could be another. However I imagine that cost would be prohibitive. Boardgames retail for between $30 and $50, a game app varies from free to $1.19 to $9.99. When looking at business models and monetisation strategies for my game, it occurred to me that it could be played for the price of a ticket ($10-$15) however, chances are my audience would be so used to purchasing games for $1.19 or less, they’d baulk at paying more. Making a boardgame a profitable component of a transmedia project is a conundrum and one I’m not sure how you’d get around if you’re not attached to a major property like Harry Potter… unless your looking at children being your target market.

Boardgames are wonderful and have an invaluable role in developing children’s social skills (what kid hasn’t had a trantrum when playing a board game). And what parent isn’t concerned by the hours their kids spend playing on a computer or with a game console – interacting with no’body’ other than pre-programmed digital entities. Parents are always happy to spend money on their kids and enjoy exploring something new with them. A board extension of a mobile game app for example, could be an answer – if only so the parents can share the experience beyond looking over their kids shoulders. I know I’d be tempted to buy it.

I like that, sounds intriguing AND fun. Brings to mind Italo Calvino’s book “The Castle of Crossed Destinies” which utilises tarot to explore elements – fool’s journey, strength, mastery, positive & negative forces etc.

I just joined this group (today) and happily stumbled on this thread. I developed a dozen or so board and card games (not RPGs) in the 1990s, when I was with Aristoplay and have been pondering how to put that expertise and experience to use on a transmedia project. Glad to hear I’m not alone. (And I love Catan–have you seen the new pioneer version, traveling west across USA?)

FWIW I’ve found: Perplex City had a board game with lots of puzzle cards (haven’t played it, $40 I think). 39 Clues (Scholastic) has trading cards that are embedded in the books and are part of the mystery to solve. I could easily see a storytelling board game (like the Arabian Nights one cited) of Inanimate Alice’s adventures around the globe.

Consider that Jumanji is a board game in a movie–the game itself can tell the story or can be writ large (like those Survivor challenges or the ARG that turned Central Park into a game board).

(btw The topic has come up in tangential ways in my Roll and Shuffle group at gameful.org. There’s also a new transmedia group on that site.)

I like your idea of using cards with (QR?) codes to unlock story elements (rather than puzzles or prizes–so overdone, I think). A simple Clue model might be a place to start–deduce the missing story elements by process of elimination.

At Aristoplay, we created two story-based card games. One involved putting ancient Egyptian cards in sequence so that a story made sense. Another formed a giant time line of Native American biographies–players read the biography on each card for clues about the time period and arranged them in a chronological grid; then, they flipped over all the cards to see an image (a map) that revealed if they were right.

As with any medium, I’ve been breaking down the advantages to see how they’re useful: Cards allow portability (can trade them, collect them), randomization (shuffle, deal, draw), and info storage/infographics (for scorekeeping or game mechanic, etc). A board game gets people together in the same room, interacting, for a defined length of time and with a clear goal.

Cost issue: Card decks are very cheap if you keep to standard specs and print volume (2,500+ if you can). They also make excellent marketing tools, since your game can involved passing them around to friends or trading them or collecting them. Board games can get really expensive with lots of custom pieces and molded parts, but you can do them on-the-cheap in any number of ways. bgdf.com has lots of tips

Not sure if any of this rambling is helpful for your project. I’d love to see where you end up with this idea. So, I concur with Alex, keep posting, please!