Bridgerton board game readies for a turn within the Netflix series adaptation machine
Scandals, suitors and the search for a good licensed board game.
An upcoming board game will translate the intrigue and garden politics of Netflix’s period drama Bridgerton into a contest of subtle dance moves and subtler scheming.
Bridgerton: The High Society Game lets three to six players take on the role of courtly members of the ton, a high society ecosystem of scandal, intrigue, rumours and drama playing out within Regency-era garden parties where good manners ostensibly hold utter power.
The board game adaptation reimagines this precarious social positioning as a literal dance - players must wheel about the game space in a bid to collect both a charming partner and dirt on as many other members as possible. It’s being developed by French studio Mixlore, who is also responsible for adapting Squid Game, Ozard and The Queen’s Gambit to the tabletop, while Asmodee handles publishing and distribution and Shondaland manages the television rights to the series.
The main characters of the Bridgerton series are all fairly preoccupied with attending seemingly endless balls and finding love - or at least a good partner for the dance floor. Players in The High Society Game will follow suit, attending eight different high society events and learning as much as they can about their potential suitor. But clinching a man won’t be enough to win the game, and enterprising ton members will always be on the lookout for scandals to report to Lady Whistledown.
Mixlore sounded very confident about the design of the studio’s fourth partnership with Netflix, saying ina press release that this title is “expected to be a major success, cementing Mixlore’s position as a leading developer of innovative and exciting licensed games.” The results of transforming Squid Game into a board game would beg to differ, as that effort ended up draining out every ounce of the television series’ tension, drama, social commentary and fun - all in one go.
Bridgerton: The High Society game will be available first in US Walmart retail locations for a limited time, followed by a global physical release later in 2023. The board is currently listed online for $25.