Besides, everybody has their phones with them. A TPIR board game would be too bulky to carry around, especially with the dangers of losing small pieces.
And herein lies a problem with society. Phone games are Not better. The board game encourages interaction, to the point of requiring it. When you play the board game, you’re the closest most people can come to participating in an episode. You can be the player, the host, the announcer, even the model. This is far bettter than playing a generic slots game with a TPIR skin.
Our society has also shrugged a little thing called “responsibility.” If you care about something,you take care of it. My parents have a cabinet full of board games we played growing up and not one of them is missing pieces. Not just the TPIR board game, but Monopoly, Easy Money, Checkers, chess, backgammon, trivia adventure, Chinese checkers, Uno, etc. we played as a family and those are great memories, and we took care of the pieces and parts because we wanted to play again.
Now, that said, what I would love to see is a board game that has app integration. The game could consist of a set of prize cards with QR codes to have a prize display on an app, with or without an announcer. On the cards would be the price and a description to read, along with a photo on the reverse for use in board pieces. A small selection of games well suited to board games would be included in the box (pretty much any game which has a set that doesn’t require mechanical movement or video effects could be made to work) and there could be additional games in the app, as well as a big wheel that actually looks and acts like the big wheel, instead of just a spinner (which would have to be in the box). There’s also a potential for in-app sales by adding games and updating prices.
Such a game as that would be playable right out of the box, but enhanced by technology. It would maintain the look and feel of the show, The app would not work standalone, it would require the box set. I’d buy such a game. In fact... if some company wants to take that idea And build something out of it, please, please, please do so. Not only can you have the idea, i’ll Buy the first box and add on stuff in the app.