Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
UK EditionUK US EditionUS CA EditionCanada AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
Subscribe now
Don't miss these
Trending
  • Fable 4 interview
  • New Games for 2026
  • Big in 2026
  • Arknights: Endfield codes
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies
  3. Sci-Fi Movies

10 sci-fi game changers

Features
By Dave Golder published 2 April 2015

Why can't sci-fi and fantasy characters play something other than chess for a change?

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Your Move

Your Move

Ever noticed that an awful lot of people in sci-fi and fantasy films play chess? Why cant they battle wits over something else for a change? We give them something else to play with

Page 1 of 11
Page 1 of 11
Spock plays Connect Four

Spock plays Connect Four

Forget 3D Chess. This the is logical game to play

Page 2 of 11
Page 2 of 11
The Doctor & K9 play Mousetrap

The Doctor & K9 play Mousetrap

If they have a rodent problem maybe they should call in the exterminators

Page 3 of 11
Page 3 of 11
Eldon Tyrell plays Guess Who?

Eldon Tyrell plays Guess Who?

Maybe this is how the big boss in Blade Runner decides what his replicants will look like.

Page 4 of 11
Page 4 of 11
WOPR plays Scrabble

WOPR plays Scrabble

Why play WarGames when you could be trying to make a word out of X, Z, Q, Y, B, V and O?

Page 5 of 11
Page 5 of 11
Xavier and Eric play Buckaroo

Xavier and Eric play Buckaroo

Professor X is First Class at this game. Magneto wishes it wasnt all made of plastic.

Page 6 of 11
Page 6 of 11
Xavier and Eric play KerPlunk

Xavier and Eric play KerPlunk

Professor X likes the way the straws form multiple X shapes. Magneto wishes it wasnt made of plastic

Page 7 of 11
Page 7 of 11
Frank Poole plays Pac-Man

Frank Poole plays Pac-Man

Still popular in 2001 for when you get fed up with HAL beating you at Chess all the time.

Page 8 of 11
Page 8 of 11
Andy and Kenneth play Battleships

Andy and Kenneth play Battleships

If you were separated by streets heaving with zombies during the Dawn Of The Dead, a bit a binocular-aided Battleships will help pass the time.

Page 9 of 11
Page 9 of 11
Number Six plays Cluedo

Number Six plays Cluedo

Imagine if this formed the Village green in The Prisoner rather than a giant chess set? Seems more like one of Number Twos interrogation schemes to us.

Page 10 of 11
Page 10 of 11
Death plays Jenga

Death plays Jenga

After chess in The Seventh Seal and Twister, Cluedo and Battleship in Bill and Teds Bogus Journey, he needed to find a new challenge.

Page 11 of 11
Page 11 of 11
PRODUCTS
Blade Runner Star Trek the seventh seal
Dave Golder
Dave Golder
Social Links Navigation
Freelance Writer

Dave is a TV and film journalist who specializes in the science fiction and fantasy genres. He's written books about film posters and post-apocalypses, alongside writing for SFX Magazine for many years. 

Share by:
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Whatsapp
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Latest in Sci Fi Movies
Daisy Ridley in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Star Wars' Daisy Ridley says it's unlikely we'll get any news about the Rey movie before 2027: "In the future sometime"
 
 
Andor
An Andor fan has noticed that the Star Wars show makes sense of "one of the worst things" about the sequel trilogy
 
 
Joe Keery and Georgina Campbell in Cold Storage
Cold Storage director says Stranger Things star Joe Keery is "absolutely brilliant" in the upcoming sci-fi comedy
 
 
Taika Waititi in a pink suit
Taika Waititi says his upcoming Star Wars film will "harness a little more of the fun" of the original trilogy
 
 
Ryan Gosling and Flynn Gray in Star Wars: Starfighter
Star Wars: Starfighter is the most original Star Wars project in years as "no legacy characters" are confirmed
 
 
Riz Ahmed in The Sound of Metal and Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning
Tom Cruise movie Digger is “nothing like that experience I've ever had before” according to Rogue One star Riz Ahmed
 
 
Latest in Features
TR-49 screenshot showcasing the archive machine and some text as well as the dial to the side
I'm in my happy place: a dark basement digging through a computer archive that may or may not be alive
 
 
Characters from Jurassic Park looking into the distance, with the GamesRadar+Quiz logo in the top right corner
Taking our Jurassic Park quiz will prove how roar-some you are (sorry)
 
 
Phantom Blade Zero warrior with gold mask and glowing red eye
Phantom Blade Zero is my most-anticipated action RPG, and looks like the biggest Chinese game since Black Myth: Wukong
 
 
Riz Ahmed as Hamlet
Hamlet stars Riz Ahmed and Morfydd Clark on their "urgent and exciting" Shakespeare adaptation
 
 
A Lego Pikachu leaps from a Poke Ball against a blue background, with a white badge reading "New Lego"
Best new Lego sets in February 2026, ranked
 
 
Pyramid head peering through bent bars in Return to Silent Hill
Return to Silent Hill is a disaster, and proof that Hollywood still hasn't figured out how to adapt horror video games
 
 
  1. Veiled Fate box displaying the logo, a maze, and silhouettes heroes, sat on a wooden surface
    1
    This hidden role board game makes me feel like a puppet master, so Traitors fans should listen up
  2. 2
    Cairn review: "This climber has a grip on me – even when it loses its footing with awkward systems"
  3. 3
    The Doom Arena Board Game is hell on Earth (in the best way) | Preview
  4. 4
    This award-winning board game is a five star must-have
  5. 5
    Code Vein 2 review: "This vampire take on Elden Ring almost works, but the dungeons themselves lack bite"
  1. Return to Silent Hill protagonist James Sunderland
    1
    Return to Silent Hill review: "Neither an impressive adaptation nor coherent enough to act as a standalone film"
  2. 2
    28 Years Later: The Bone Temple review: "The wildest and weirdest entry into the franchise yet"
  3. 3
    Avatar: Fire and Ash review: "Still a technical marvel, with some of the year's best action filmmaking"
  4. 4
    Five Nights at Freddy's 2 review: "We have waited two years for a Five Nights at Freddy's 1.5"
  5. 5
    Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery review: "Brings Knives Out back to its roots for a sequel that's almost on a par with the original"
  1. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams in Wonder Man.
    1
    Wonder Man review: "A low-key gem that's up there with the MCU's best"
  2. 2
    Starfleet Academy review: "It may feel a little different to what we're used to, but this is Star Trek through and through"
  3. 3
    A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms review: "This Game of Thrones spin-off is a heartfelt and fun return to Westeros"
  4. 4
    Stranger Things season 5 finale review: “Shows off both the best and the worst of Hawkins”
  5. 5
    Stranger Things season 5, Volume 2 review: “All set up for a finale that has so much to deliver”

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...