Computer game inspiration for your board games

Hey people,

I hope you've had a wonderful weekend with lots of board game moments - I know I had :)
This weekend I was testing one of my new board game prototypes that's based on a computer game. Actually several of my board games are....

Therefore I want to give you some names on computer games that has inspired me and that I think you should check out :)

Later this week I'll make a post about just how you can turn computer game aspects into playable board games!
 

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Transport Tycoon
Transport Tycoon is a great game with fun "old school" build mode and many interesting economy elements. The brick by brick building makes for some interesting projects - and monitoring how well your transport company is doing is fun when playing against real opponents.

Diablo
A great role playing game (RPG) with a low entrance barrier for new gamers. The whole aspect of picking a specific hero and then equip him or her with weapons, armor and loot you find on your slain enemies is fantastic. Spells, damage types, enemies, environment.. it all add up to this involving universe where you want to explore every corner of every map.
 

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Starcraft
I can find many real time strategy (RTS) games that I like.. but never one that comes close to the time I've spend on Starcraft - trying to master it! Starcraft is a triumph when it comes to balancing and unit diversion. Whenever you think balancing - think Starcraft!

Grand Theft Auto
Ever wonder how a "free world / sandbox" game looks like. GTA is the answer - and that's a high quality answer. You can do almost anything here - and there's no restrictions on how you have to play the game - though there are goals. I don't know if any board game could ever get close to this sandbox concept. But I would salute those trying!
 

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Silent Hunter
It's hard to come around the tension and atmosphere you find in Silent Hunter (submarine simulator). As a submarine captain you have to navigate through hostile waters in search for your prey. The whole "fog of war / aiming in the dark" aspect is hard to find in board games. But if the result can be anywhere near the atmosphere from Silent Hunter it would be worth exploring.

Battlefield
The battlefield games are great shooters and worth knowing (and playing) when we talk about fun combat with tanks, planes, infantry and what not. Shooters aren't easy to turn into board games but they still have many interesting features... ex how easy you switch from driving a jeep to flying a helicopter and how this suddenly changes the premises for your involvement in the game.
 

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Total War
This is the ultimate clone between real time strategy and turn-based strategy... there's no equal! And the scale of battles is a chapter all by itself - stunning! You can learn many things from both aspects of the game.... the variety of gameplay, the many units and formations, and the whole region conquering works very well. 
 
 Sins of a Solar Empire
My favorite in space strategy game! Loads of upgrades and interesting planets to explore. Many ways of forcing influence on your opponents bases. Huge fortifications and many different space vessels that make it fun to fight battles in outer space. Like Starcraft they use 3 different races to insure ever changing gameplay.

Remember
This is just a short list - I could write many more... I'm sure you can find other cool games I haven't mentioned for one or more reasons (one being the goal of not having too long articles on my blog)...

Go out and explore some new cool computer games - and drag them to the board game table afterwards - you never know what might come of it ;)

Happy gaming on both fronts!

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