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Play The Well-Read Game, Watch The Perfect Line, Wear Monopoly, and Collect Middle-Aged Men | BoardGameGeek News

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On April 19, 2025
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by W. Eric Martin

For a change of pace, let’s avoid all tariff-related items in this round-up of stories about tabletop games:

ā–Ŗļø In March 2025, The MIT Press published The Well-Read Game: On Playing Thoughtfully, a book by Tracy Fullerton and Matthew Farber. An overview:

[The authors] explore the experiences we have when we play games: not the outcomes of play or the aesthetics of formal game structures but the ephemeral and emotional experiences of being in play. These are the private stories we tell ourselves as we play, the questions we ask, and our reactions to the game’s intent. These experiences are called “readings” because they involve so many of the aspects of engaging with literary, cinematic, and other expressive texts. A game that is experienced in such a way can be called “well-read”, rather than, or as well as, “well-played”, because of the personal, interpretive nature of that experience and the way in which it relates to our reading of texts of all kinds.

The concept of the “well-read game” exists at the convergence of literary, media, and play theories ā€” specifically, the works of Louise Rosenblatt’s reader-response theory, Brian Upton’s situational game theory, Tracy Fullerton’s playcentric design theory, and Bernie DeKoven’s well-played game philosophy. Each of these theories, from their own perspective, challenges notions of a separate, objective, or authorial meaning in a text and underscores the richness that arises from the varied responses of readers, who coauthor the meaning of each text through their active engagement with it. When taken together, these theories point to a richer understanding of what a game is and how we might better value our experiences with games to become more thoughtful readers of their essential meanings.



ā–Ŗļø In Tokyo Weekender, Ynes Sarah Filleul writes about a trading card game “where the stars aren’t fantasy creatures, anime heroes, or even famous baseball players, but ojisan (middle-aged or older men) from the local community of Saidosho”.

ā–Ŗļø The American Tabletop Awards have been announced for 2025, with the winners being:

ā€¢ Early Gamers: Captain Flip, by Remo Conzadori, Paolo Mori, and PlayPunk

ā€¢ Casual Games: The Gang, by Kory Heath, John Cooper, and KOSMOS

ā€¢ Strategy Games: Let’s Go! to Japan, by Josh Wood and AEG

ā€¢ Complex Games: Fromage, by Matthew O’Malley, Ben Rosset, and Road To Infamy Games



The ATTA website also lists two recommended and two nominated games in each category.

ā–Ŗļø Nike, Hasbro, and LeBron James have collaborated on the Nike Zoom LeBron NXXT Genisus QS Monopoly, which is the latest release in an ongoing collaboration between Nike and James. From the press release: “The LeBron NXXT Genisus QS kicks are built for outdoor play, featuring an extra-durable rubber outsole and lightweight mesh that keeps things breathable. It also includes Air Zoom cushioning for all-game speed, while giving a subtle nod to LeBron’s love for Monopoly and his dedication to the grind that leads to rewards on and off the court.”

Now you can grind, too.


ā–Ŗļø On Deadline, Peter White reports that Netflix has won the bid for rights to a “reality competition series” based on Monopoly: “The Monopoly series is hoping to bring the legendary game to the real world in a large-scale social-experiment contest. Strategy, alliances, and cutthroat competition will collide as contestants battle for fortune and navigate the fine line between capitalism and chaos. Players will test their friendships, acquire riches and try to own it all by any means necessary.”

Separately, a Monopoly-based film is also in the works.

ā–Ŗļø Along similar lines, in late 2025 CBS Media Ventures will debut The Perfect Line, a syndicated game show hosted by Deborah Norville. Why is this tabletop game-related? Because The Perfect Line was created by Wavelength co-designers Alex Hague, Justin Vickers, and Wolfgang Warsch, with the show being inspired by Warsch’s game Illusion, a.k.a., Figment.

Here’s how Deadline describes the game:

The Perfect Line promises “a new, visual take on trivia”. Contestants will play a series of games where they test their knowledge by arranging events, items, or people in the correct order to create “the perfect line”. Each round contestants are eliminated, leaving the last person standing to play the final round for a grand prize.

The format will tackle a broad range of topics from world events to pop culture moments.



In a press release from CMYK, which is co-owned by Hague, he writes, “We’ve spent years refining the idea of a pop culture ‘put things in order’ game. Seeing it come to life as The Perfect Line feels like the culmination of that journey. We’re incredibly excited to finally share it with audiences.”

ā–Ŗļø Even if you don’t speak Korean, you might enjoy watching this playthrough of Kushi Express, The Resistance: Avalon, and Doodle Dash.

This video comes from ģ¹“ė”ģ •ģ›’s (Cha Jung-won’s) channel on YouTube, which has more than 900,000 subscribers on YouTube, thanks to him being a professional singer since 2013. Videos in his Board Game Club sub-channel regularly reach 1-2 million views.

Youtube Video

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