What Game Has The Best Fiction

[payn]

Sorry, @Deset Gled is right, baseball has better fiction than football.

Whats that now?

 

[Reynard]

Great, now we have to have the "is it a game or a sport" argument.

 

[Deset Gled]

Knew it was coming the instant the OP didn't state TTRPG.

I actually started writing a post about how BattleTech shouldn't be allowed because it was a board game first, so the RPG would count as a "licensed" game. It was then than I realized this was in the Geek Talk forum, not the RPG forum.

I also considered fictional games: The Hunger Games, Ready Player One, and Tron should also be in play. But I still think baseball wins.

Sorry, @Deset Gled is right, baseball has better fiction than football.

A huge part of my reasoning is the sheer volume of great baseball media. That's where I think baseball clearly overpowers football; there are a number of examples for good football media, but not enough to hold a candle to baseball's library. If we were judging by just one movie, Clue would be a contender.

Great, now we have to have the "is it a game or a sport" argument.

Meh. You could have an argument about whether mountain climbing or figure skating count, but I think it's pretty obvious that things like baseball, football (American or otherwise), rugby, etc, are in play based on the OP. We literally call those "games" when they're played.

 

[MGibster]

Great, now we have to have the "is it a game or a sport" argument.

We didn't have to until you brought it up! We here in the United States often refer to "the big game" when talking about the Super Bowl. Or Superb Owl if you're a fan of What We Do in the Shadows. Football, basketball, tennis, wrestling, boxing, track & field, etc., etc. are all games as you are in competition with others while following a set of rules. And whichever team loses is sacrificed.

 

[Reynard]

We didn't have to until you brought it up! We here in the United States often refer to "the big game" when talking about the Super Bowl. Or Superb Owl if you're a fan of What We Do in the Shadows. Football, basketball, tennis, wrestling, boxing, track & field, etc., etc. are all games as you are in competition with others while following a set of rules. And whichever team loses is sacrificed.

Sure, pick the low hanging fruit. But what about golf? Curling?

 

[Parmandur]

Whats that now?

One pretty decent example, but see below.

A huge part of my reasoning is the sheer volume of great baseball media. That's where I think baseball clearly overpowers football; there are a number of examples for good football media, but not enough to hold a candle to baseball's library. If we were judging by just one movie, Clue would be a contender.

Volume, but also the qualities of baseball as a game lend itself to storytelling and narrative. Infodump:

 

[Deset Gled]

Sure, pick the low hanging fruit. But what about golf? Curling?

If anything, I know people who would argue those are games and not sports.

But, more importantly, no one is arguing that those have the best fiction. It doesn't matter how high or low the fruit was hanging; it's only edible when it's in your hand.

 

[billd91]

While not entirely fiction outside the game, The Travellers' Digest from Digest Group Publications ran a series of Imperial Tour adventures involving a group of pre-gen characters from the Spinward Marches that delved into a lot of the Third Imperium's culture and history as they moved from region to region. They told quite a few good stories as Traveller moved from Classic to MegaTraveller editions. The group visited the Imperial Capital, dealt with Vilani radicals, discovered secrets the Aslan didn't want anyone to know, and tried to avoid trouble with Solomani secret societies. While all structured as adventures, they collectively told some very interesting narratives about the Traveller setting.

 

[payn]

One pretty decent example, but see below.

Volume, but also the qualities of baseball as a game lend itself to storytelling and narrative. Infodump:

Nope, thats yesterday. If you want to do an old timey feel good pic, sure baseball is great. Football has dwarfed it on the modern landscape.

 

[billd91]

If anything, I know people who would argue those are games and not sports.

I can never understand that mentality. They're competitive and involve physical activity and skill. What else do they need to be sports to those people?