TIM: Can we play Risk?
ELAINE: I’m not sure. I don’t you getting worked up again. What about Wingspan? That’s a bit calmer.
TIM: Oh yeah. Wingspan’s great.
These are the first few lines of dialogue shared with us by Coronation Street producer Scott Taylor on November 8, 2021 via email. He was asking for permission to include Wingspan in a scene of the show. Our Director of Communications, Joe, replied to the email, BCCing me just in case, but of course we’re always happy for content creators to mention our games.
I must admit that I’d never heard of Coronation Street–most British shows are off my radar. We didn’t know if anything would come of the request, and when it did, I confused it with an Australian show that also asked for permission to play Wingspan in an episode late last year (to my knowledge it hasn’t aired yet).
But lo and behold, a few weeks ago this happened:
ok someone shared the video clip with me — this is not just a product placement, it is IN THE DIALOGUE
cc @jameystegmaier https://t.co/xaH6yt5voI pic.twitter.com/SqAzpMkKvZ
— Elizabeth Hargrave (@elizhargrave) February 19, 2022
I love when this type of thing happens, particularly when it’s organically driven by the show/movie producer. It’s good for the game, it’s good for the designer, and it’s good for the game industry.
And really, the process is as simple as I described. A producer emails us, we say we’re happy to grant the permission, and that’s usually it. In the case of Coronation Street, we didn’t even provide the game; when Orphan Black asked if they could include Scythe in their series finale, we had to overnight a copy to them (Orphan Black also included a variety of other games in its final season).
Then there’s South Park, which has included numerous games (Western Legends, Return to Dark Tower, Zombicide, Twilight Struggle, etc). It’s clear that Trey Parker loves board games. I’m not sure if they also need to seek permission given that they’re animating the games. In the modern world of online videos and streaming, I wonder if such permissions will eventually be unnecessary.
I wish I had some sort of insight into how publishers could actively get their games featured on television shows, but my limited experience has been of the passive variety. That said, I hope to see many more modern hobby games appear on shows in the future, even in the background.
What’s your favorite example of a game that has appeared on a television show?
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Also read: Rick and Morty, Revisionist History, and Ads I’m Happy to Consume
41 Comments on “How Does a Board Game Appear on a TV Show?”
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It’s not a board game, but for many years the Australian soap, Neighbours (also popular here in the UK) used to play the distinctive music and sound effects from Magic Carpet whenever anyone was playing on a computer – playing a 1994 game well into the early 2000s.
One of the reasons I loved The Big Bang Theory was the numerous card and board games that were played and displayed throughout the shows.
I demonstrate Rio Grande Games at game conventions. RGG does product placement through a Hollywood-based company. The shelves of NBC’s “Superstore” were well-stocked with items from the Rio Grande Games catalog although the games themselves were never mentioned.
Corrie is incredibly mainstream (though not to my taste) so that’s quite incredible it got a mention there. It’s far more impressive than the Big Bang Theory because that’s aimed at geek hobbies.
Imagine an obscure board game being name dropped on Dynasty, that’s the equiv.
Great post and congrats on the name drop!
Asking for permission is a “nice” thing to do, but legally, it’s probably not necessary. As long as it’s not looking like an endorsement or sponsorship and meets the “Rogers” test (at least in the US), it’s most likely fine. I’ve written about this on my blog, if anyone wants to know more about the US legal perspective on this: https://strebecklaw.com/can-you-use-other-companies-trademarks-in-your-video-game/
Obviously, if you’re doing this, consult a lawyer first!
Awesome, thanks for sharing this!
Thank you so much for the information! I’ll definitely reach out if I have any questions
I’m curious, does the show, legally, even have to ask permission to talk about a board game? I totally understand that it’s the proper thing to do, but I’d have thought it was akin to any other topic. For example, I would be surprised if Big Bang Theory actually contacted DC/Marvel/Disney/Lucasfilm/etc. every time they brought up a popular movie or comic or what have you in their show. Or is it the simple fact they’re displaying it in the room as a prop? But I’ve seen that done in many movies and TV shows, and sometimes the creators seem to just find out by happenstance. Maybe I’m totally wrong, and this is 100% required, every time, to avoid lawsuits and they absolutely do all of the legwork involved every time. Just thought I would ask, out of curiosity.
In this day and age, it seems completely unnecessary to me. A TV show certainly doesn’t need to ask our permission to mention or show one of our games. I suspect that shows do this to avoid trouble with the tiny percentage of companies that make a big fuss about this sort of thing.
Advertising rules during a programme are very strict in the UK. ‘Corrie’ especially has a few ‘Product Placement’ deals where companies are paying them to be featured during the programme (mobile/cell phone, coffee shop etc). Technically this probably counts especially with it being discussed and not just a background prop even if no money is changing hands.
The mention of Risk may cover the ‘other board games are also available’ aspect. You may have to be British to fully understand that phrase. :)
Obvious answer, of course, but many hobby games have appeared in the Big Bang Theory. It’s nice that a series that celebrates everything that’s nerdy, includes some games and introduces them to the big public. The more the merrier!
Literally millions of people watch Coronation Street. It’s not my cup of tea, but my mother and cousins have watched it for decades. Congrats :)
Corry Orry! An institution for many.
I first watched it with my grandma as a kid on a rented black and white TV set .
Great to see a Stonemaier game appearing
This is really interesting as well. My wife and I had introduced Wingspan to my Mum on a holiday we shared together towards the end of last year. My Mum loves birds so we thought she would enjoy the theme – which she did! :)
Then, a couple of weeks ago she happened to mention that Wingspan had appeared on an episode of Coronation Street. I was really excited and had to watch the episode to see for myself. So great to see one of my favourite board games on mainstream TV. :)
Catan got a mention and a quick view of the board in Reacher on Amazon Prime Video.
Blindspot has Catan as part of a kind of treasure hunt clue. Also in one of the seasons one of the characters makes a complex game based on the TV shows (it got a little meta).
In that show the “tech” support character (forgot her name) has a full boardgame collection and is introduced to the show by arguing with the boyfriend on how should they sort their game collection (thematic vs authors IIRC).
Since you wondered, when South Park included Gaslands in one of their episodes they didn’t seek permissions. The first time any of us on the creative team knew about it was when someone posted it in the Gaslands facebook group, though we were absolutely thrilled by it.
One thing I have wondered occasionally, in Big Bang Theory for example they often have the peripheral games set up or played entirely incorrectly, so when they’re playing talisman they have an incorrect number of playing pieces and when they play another game they have a totally wrong spread of cards. Has anyone ever checked with you, Jamey, that an onscreen set-up of a game is right, or asked for a description of a visually interesting but achievable game state?
Thanks for sharing about Gaslands, Glenn! As for your question, no, a TV show hasn’t checked to make sure the onscreen setup is correct.
Reaching out to companies is time consuming and will not always get an answer. You instead hire a consultant.
An obvious show that needed one is Will Wheaton’s Tabletop because boardgames is the main focus of the show (actually two were hired: one was fired for making mistakes).
I also know that Orphan Black show used a consultant (for a scene in which a character called Cosima goes into a group of people playing a game and wins in one round. The whole board state and phrases were consulted with an expert).
In Kim’s Convenience, when they are late to a work party and don’t show they are playing Catan and give an explanation of what one of the payers should do.
Really cool to see wingspan in the show (I don’t watch it, but my mam watched it religiously 😂). It’s one of the longest running uk soap operas since 1960 I think. You should venture into some of the BBC shows, if you like wildlife it has to be anything David Attenborough narrates , he’s a legend. I’m also very intrigued how ‘Red Dwarf’ would go down with American audiences typically (or any other country for that matter). It’s one of my all time favourite shows, wicked sense of humour and incredibly clever writing. The sets probably look very dated now, but added to the setting for me 👌
Thanks Ian! I’ve watched the Planet Earth series that he narrates.
That’s really cool! Congrats!
Did you notice any additional sales in the UK after the show ended?
I’m curious how you could use that big branding opportunity successfully since TV isn’t a normal medium to promote board games but there is a huge audience there.
Maybe retailers saw a little boost, but nothing changed on our webstore.
Fellow Red Dwarf fan here in America, own and have watched every series. I think it would absolutely hit it off if it were updated, but NOT Americanized. I truly think the biggest problem American audiences in general would likely have with it is, as you kind of touch on with the set, the low-budget aspect of the show. I love it, same as you, but I know that’s not a common feeling, sadly.
I was surprised to spot an artwork made of cards from Race for the Galaxy in the background of an episode of Atypical S01E03. I was quite mystified by the fact they chose to put card in a frame on a wall.
I took a screenshot and uploaded it here: https://img.super-h.fr/image/aYxKS .
In the subsequent episodes several games from Rio Grande Games are shown frequently on shelves on the store the hero work for.
I also recently started to watch Superstore that also displays many games from Rio Grande Games on the shelves of the store.
I don’t know if this editor has a special relation-ship with the tv-show industry, or if it is just commercial product placement (but then again, why this artwork of cards???).
Well spotted! Even though I’m a fan of RftG, I probably wouldn’t have noticed in that blurred background.
I totally forgot about Superstore! I was always happy when they panned over the shelf of games.
Even though it caused prices on the secondary market to go insane, I will always have a soft spot for the appearance of “Campaign for North Africa” on Big Bang Theory. It was the most popular show on television at the time, it was essentially the entire B-story of the episode, and it wasn’t entirely insulting LOL. Sheldon very clearly loved it BECAUSE of its legendary complexity, and the others were basically just confused :) They did at least give it a go. The only regret for me was that they didn’t mention Richard Berg, who was still alive at the time, in the episode. Mentioning the designer would probably not matter so much in most tv scripts (no offense :>), but it seems like something Sheldon would care about. Berg was mostly bemused by the whole thing. I’m not sure he even knew what Big Bang Theory WAS :). I’m sure they never asked him about for permission. They just got a copy on eBay and used it. I think they could afford it :).
That does seem to make more sense for Sheldon than Catan. :)
Yep. Saw the episode. I was genuinely amazed. I fell into board games by chance. I’ve always loved creating them and playing the very poor choice from toy companies. I have nothing against Monopoly as it served its purpose and I’m thankful for that. Catan and Ticket to Ride pulled me in to this hobby/obsession. The thing is, I love video games, but I prefer social games. I’d rather have a great night with family and friends than consuming vast amount of alcohol on a binge night. I think I have mentioned this before but the value of gateway games appearing on popular television and the knowledge that there is a competitive world of physical gaming of a much higher quality will bring much adoration and revenue to a world which should be far more popular than it already is. I think Rolling Realms is a great introductory taster to Stonemaier Games. But a Gateway level release is all about drawing people in who may then spend the next twenty years adding to their collections.
Thanks for sharing, Steve–I appreciate your perspective on how games (and media) welcome people into the tabletop hobby.
your missing out as BBC has some of the BEST shows :) but loads of shows have modern games these days. Big Bang Theory, super girl, south park yes, and there was that zombie ish one daybreak I think it was. Though a lot of the time it is Catan. It seems to have replaced monopoly in tv land ha.
That’s great! Which games have appeared on Supergirl?
The show Billions had one of the super-brainy characters go to a netrunner tournament and even dialogued some of the gameplay. Amazing advert for the game. Do you want to look clever and rich? Play Netrunner!
That’s awesome! :)
Orphan Black actually uses board games for character development. My favourite line is when they describe just how evil one of the anti-hero characters is: “She even cheats at Agricola!”. Another ditzy character can’t get her head around Dead of Winter: “Why do I have to give you all my food and fuel???” The Orphan Black card game itself is pretty good – a thematic and thinky social deduction game.
I love that! It’s so cool when games are incorporated into the dialogue in that way, not just as background props.
Mystic Warlords of Ka’a on Big Bang Theory. It was also on Young Sheldon as his first hobby game. Have you ever considered making this fictional game a reality? I would love to play my small rock on the bi-polar bear!
Mystic Warlords of Ka’a was already released as an actual game while the show was on the air. Thing was, it wasn’t a very good game lol. It was written very broadly on the show without concern for it every being real and then when they tried to make it real it didn’t work very well.