Top 11 Fictional Games
- CJ Tiernan
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
By CJ Tiernan
Creating something new is hard. To conjure something from nothing takes time and effort. This is a list showcasing people braggadociously showing off their skills. They have created something new, inside of something they created. My list, drawn from books, movies, and TV shows, illustrates invention within creation. Hat tip to all you intrepid writers. This is my Top 11 List of the Greatest Fictional Games in the history of fiction.
1. Jumanji – Jumanji - Movie
“In the jungle you must wait, until the dice read 5 or 8.” [Insert mind-blown emoji here]. Jumanji is a wild game that brings the dangers of the jungle to your gaming parlor or, occasionally, brings you directly to the source. I’m a sucker for a board game and I would absolutely LOVE a game where the pieces move themselves when you roll the dice. Manual labor is for the birds.
2. CharDee MacDennis - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - TV
This is my favorite episode of the show. The game is a weird trivia game where they all wrote down questions and answers years previous with the added benefit of unexpected side quests. While this is a game that tragically lacks a home edition, I absolutely love watching these characters pair-up and face-off in a game without a clearly defined set of rules.
3. Quidditch - Harry Potter - Book
Quaffle, bludger, seeker, and snitch, this game is played on a pitch. Step one: fly on brooms. Step two: score more than the opponent. I’m in. I’m all the way in. J.K. Rowling does a tremendous job of explaining the rules in a such a manner that one can actually play this one at home (in a modified, grounded version). It is unquestionably one of the most ubiquitous fictional games in pop culture history.
4. True American - New Girl - TV
Part drinking game, part American patriotism, this game is a complete riot. The rules are never clearly defined enough for viewers to play at home, but they have tried anyway. In a game with absurd rules, if you don’t know them, make them up yourself. My grandfather once said, “If at first you don’t succeed: cheat.” Truer words have never been uttered (or been more American).
5. Oasis - Ready Player One - Book
This is the only video game on the list. I included it because it is a full body, virtual-reality immersion, so it counts. You can be anyone and go anywhere and do anything (if you have the credits). It is last open-world game society will ever need. Whoa! This is heavy.
6. Cones of Dunshire - Parks and Recreation - TV
Ben Wyatt is painted as a nerd on the show, but they seemingly felt they hadn’t properly portrayed how big of a nerd he was, so the show runners had him introduce the world to The Cones of Dunshire. The Settlers of Catan seemed to be the launching-off point of creating a game with complicated rules (and many pieces). Keep in mind that even with everything else going on, you can’t forget about the cones.
7. The Hunger Games - The Hunger Games - Book
This is one of the only games on the list I’m not interested in playing. There’s a real mortal-peril element to the game that doesn’t interest me. Unfortunately, violence as a spectator sport is a frequent trope in a post-apocalyptic future. I blame the Romans.
8. Marshgammon - How I Met Your Mother - TV
Marshall created a game to combine all the best elements of all the best games (except, of course, backgammon, which only appears in the name). Or, so he says. In reality, he simply crafted this game to interrogate Ted’s girlfriend (Spoiler alert: NOT the titular mother). Had he actually succeeded in combining all the best games, this would be higher on the list.
9. Bamboozled / Cups – Friends - TV
I smooshed together two games on this list because, well, it’s my list and I think they’re both funny. Bamboozled is a game show that Joey is auditioning to host. We get to see him and Ross and Chandler try to figure it out (to delightfully comedic results). Cups is a completely different game on a completely different episode that Chandler is making up on the spot to give Joey his money back. Say it with me now, “Well, that’s a full cup!”
10. The Running Man - The Running Man – Book
This is another murder game available for national broadcast. Turning the cash grab of desperate people into a televised game sounds horrible. It also sounds like something we’re getting closer and closer to making a reality. Lawyers get a bad rap, but I suspect their presence is the only thing keeping this Stephen King concoction from becoming reality.
11. Holochess / Tri-Dimensional Chess/ Wizard’s Chess – Star Wars / Star Trek / Harry Potter – Movie/ TV / Book
I’ve played chess. Not to brag, but I was on the chess team in 4th grade. It is deceptively complex. The two most universal Sci-Fi franchises in history (and the biggest book series since Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) managed to add to the intricacy. “Hmm, lets take that square board and turn it into a circle. Oh, and the pieces fight each other.” “One level will never do. Give me all the levels! It’s all levels, Jerry!” “The pieces are alive! Alive! Obedient and violent, but alive!” That’s a working theory on the conversations surrounding the creation of the games, I wasn’t actually there.
Final Thoughts
Man, I wish I could play some of these games. I know they did release a home version of Jumanji, but it’s not the same. Some of the games have had fans augment the existing rules to create a more realized and fleshed-out version of the one we’ve seen on screen or read, but it’s not the same. Instead, we’ll just continue to enjoy watching or reading our favorite characters play unreachable games. Alas. If I missed any of your favorite games that don’t exist in our world, please be sure to include it in the comments. Thanks!
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