The Perfect Song To Go With Your Favorite Board Games
If music wasn’t a great amplifier of emotion and feeling, Sound Engineering wouldn’t be a thing. In this definitely super serious discussion, we pair today’s top board games with their ideal music track.
Pandemic: Legacy
The original Pandemic board game was a cooperative experience which really did the co-op gaming thing well, which up until then, had been hard to find. The players work together to save the world from a handful of virulent diseases which threaten to wipe out humanity.
Ideal Musical Pairing
This song is ideal for the Pandemic series of games for a number of reasons. You might think it’s only because of the title of the track, but you’d be dead wrong. And I’m offended you’d think this is all some silly joke. I’m doing a deep analysis of music theory here, not begging for some cheap laugh.
Let’s look at the opening line:
Oh, ah, ah, ah, ah
oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
In dealing with these changes
Living with these changes (oh no)
The world is a scary place
Arkham Horror
Arkham Horror and it’s plenty of spin off games all revolve around the often titular Cthulhu, an ancient elder god from beyond the stars who seeks to reign destruction and madness upon all humanity. In these games, the players often are working against the great old ones and hoping to save the world. They often fail.
Ideal Musical Pairing
No, that’s not a mistake. Rainbow Connection is the perfect song for any Cthulhu game and let me blow your mind with how and why.
At first glance, the song seems innocent enough, however after delving into the lyrics you begin to see a sinister message shrine through. Let’s take a look at the first verse:
And rainbows have nothing to hide
So we’ve been told and some chose to believe it
But I know they’re wrong wait and see
Kermit knows rainbows are hiding something. Perhaps they are hiding the Colour Out Of Space or perhaps more literally they are hiding a portal?
Who said that every wish
Would be heard and answered
When wished on the morning star
That’s awfully bleak for a children’s song, isn’t it? Kermit knows wishing on stars doesn’t work. The only true power is that of The Great Dreamer. Oh, sorry. Did you not know Cthulhu is also called the Great Dreamer? It’s true. And Kermit is practically calling out to the cultists of Cthulhu: the dreamers.
The lovers, the dreamers, and me
But if you’re still not convinced, let’s get into the last verse:
And have you heard voices,
The voice might be one and the same.
I’ve heard it too many times to ignore it
It’s something that I’m supposed to be,
Twilight Struggle
Twilight Struggle is widely regarded as one of the greatest board games ever. It perfectly captures the Cold War era tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. Each turn is a careful balance of power and planning. The game perfectly captures the uncertainty of the time and the general unease felt throughout the world. With each setting day, no one knew if tomorrow would come.
Ideal Musical Pairing
