Exploring and Producing the B-Movie Side of Roll Camera!
Work behind-the-scenes to plan and craft a fantastic movie production riddled with humorous problems in Roll Camera!
One of the most iconic boxes on my shelf holds Roll Camera! The Filmmaking Board Game, which has been sitting around like a vintage film reel. Is that a thing? Sure. Ha ha! However, I left the first expansion entirely unplayed. This felt like an oversight in my fantastic filmmaking skills… Which are always close to zero, but that’s not an issue with this fun game!
Game Overview
Game Name: Roll Camera! The Filmmaking Board Game
Publication Year: 2021
Designer: Malachi Ray Rempen
Artist: Malachi Ray Rempen
Publisher: Keen Bean Studio
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
With a variety of actions, dice are used to work on what looks like a simple 5-scene movie… But problems abound! Production issues must be dealt with, often with clever ideas. And managing a budget and schedule? Just another day in the studio with delightful bean-shaped characters!
First Play
August 4, 2021
Complexity
2
Latest Play
July 4, 2025
Expansions
1
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
6
Play Time
50 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
28" x 24"
Low Score
N/A
Such a Production
As I set out to incorporate the first expansion content at long last, I still had a few base game characters to try out. Unique abilities abounded, as did all the fun!
Coincidentally, it was this play as the production designer when I decided to implement a production company.
This optional card is randomized and changes the game just enough to add more of a challenge. Gold Standard Co. was all about expensive costs, yet the perks were quite nice!
It was a joy to get back into the game, and I couldn’t wait to explore what sort of B-movie might be created!
The Middle Half?
Perhaps the biggest change with the first expansion is the addition of a middle portion of the script. To keep things compatible, this means it has 3 halves. Quirky and fun!
Genre tokens are also a key new element of scenes. A script requires a certain assortment in order to actually work out.
Forgive Me, Cold, Calculating Gin & Tonic was about the silliest title possible. I particularly enjoyed the punctuation!
More variety in all of the card decks ensured that the game was even more interesting. The base game was always decent, but these improvements were quite amazing!
The Final Movie
I returned to an easy difficulty level so I could remember how to play, as this isn’t just about placing cards and making easy decisions. There’s a budget and schedule!
Planning the scenes and using the dice in the best ways took a lot of work in a fun way. Definitely a game! I had to wade through problems and pitch ideas at the right times.
And in the end, I absolutely loved the genre tokens! I added them to my scenes to add to the stories on the cards.
Stole haunted money… Got possessed… Yelled about being possessed… Buried the money… Still haunted by math.
Pitching Ideas
Dice placement is the main mechanic, but it’s important to know when to play an idea card. The solo mode allows for a choice of 3 each time, which can be very helpful indeed!
These all provide different kinds of abilities or bonuses that are situational, yet quite necessary. I love the little scenes that go along with the idea names. So much to laugh at!
Note that as I considered these saved ideas, the budget was running dangerously low nearby… Money, money, money!
The base game can feel a little repetitive after a few plays, but with so much more variety, almost every card was new.
Appreciating the Little, Unnecessary Details
There are a lot of extra elements that make this game stand out more than expected. There are little art scenes for pretty much every single card, and these are entirely unique. The background of the main board could have been a simple repeating pattern… But it features tons of little scenes! I loved all of this in the base game, but I was in for a surprise.
In the first expansion, genre tokens create a sort of requirement for a movie to count as a victory, regardless of its quality. This is a strategic challenge involving setting up scenes and possibly even swapping out these tokens. Ah, but it doesn’t stop there! These tokens are small enough to fit on the scene cards, and I had way too much fun customizing the cards.
Additionally, there is an entire punchboard dedicated to superfluous tokens. They have no gameplay impact. Therefore, they are amazing! There are googly eyes to make characters look sillier, hats and attire to spruce up appearances, and other props to tell a story. None of them are necessary, yet these details are a surefire way to make me remember the game!
Worth Seeing
I increased the difficulty level to try my luck at making another movie. Which reminds me: I didn’t even talk about the random equipment cards, or one-time abilities! So neat.
This time, They Buried Sins of My Morons stole the spotlight. Well, not exactly: Its star rating wasn’t the best, but it was still in the section to count as a victory. I accepted!
A bunch of friends were pretty ridiculous and celebrated their antics regularly, until one day, the ringleader died.
Ah! But there was a twist: He was resurrected as an alien, alone and confined to a tiny cell until he matured…
A Terrifying Comedy
But despite shedding those ridiculous notions and growing up, he transformed into a mermaid with a burlap money bag as his tail. Really leaning into the horror genre. I know. Ha!
He continued to mature, though, ultimately becoming quite serious and donning a top hat. The catch? The rest of the alien world was made up of ridiculous buffoons. The end.
Yep, masterful movie making over here! The game includes extra tokens, like the top hat and eyes, just for fun. Cool!
Not only was I laughing most of the time, yet I found that the challenge was most enjoyable. Loved this expansion!
Session Overview
Play Number: 5 & 6
Expansion: Roll Camera! The B-Movie Expansion
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Easy & Normal Difficulty Levels
Outcome: 2 Wins
There were a few moments when I thought things would go poorly and my movies would be awful, but it all worked out! I’m now interested in looking at the story packs, which add even more but focus on a specific mechanic of gameplay. If I thought the base game didn’t quite meet my expectations, this expansion turned my opinion around. Great times!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
5
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
7
Originality
Design & Theme
10
Quality
Components & Rules
7
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
10
+ Pros (Positives)
- Putting together scenes and coming up with a movie storyline is so much fun, especially with the genre tokens.
- Every action feels like it’s thematically tied to the production, and it’s never possible to do everything all at once.
- Problems introduce surprises that must be dealt with, although choosing to endure them temporarily can work out.
- There is a lot of variety with the different card decks, allowing each play to feel a little bit different.
- Adjusting the difficulty level is easy to do during setup, and including a production company adds another challenge.
- Play time moves quickly as the puzzle to finish the movie under budget and on time comes together each round.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Bad dice rolls can limit the best options available during a round, and it can be difficult to work around them.
- Following a script can be tricky with the random nature of the scenes, although there are some ways to mitigate this.
- The card placement makes sense in many ways, but does require a little bit of stretching when playing solo.
- Getting the set pieces and dice into the right assortment can feel frustrating when problems prevent progress.
Victory Conditions
Complete 5 Scenes at the Best or Worst Quality
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 game as each base game character. (6/6)
Win at least 1 game at the easy difficulty level.
Win at least 1 game at the normal difficulty level.
Win at least 1 game at the hard difficulty level.
Continue the Conversation
What is your favorite part of Roll Camera! The Filmmaking Board Game? Do you have a particular expansion you enjoy the most? So glad I finally moved beyond the base game to discover a much more challenging and fulfilling sort of experience. And all the laughs! This continues to be a very unique solo experience that I’m very glad to have in my collection.
I’ve always wanted to try this game before buying, but I have not come across an opportunity to yet. Iello has a game with a similar theme called Popcorn coming out soon that I will be watching. Since it will likely be at the nearby B&N, I might pick that one up before playing.
Very interesting! That one doesn’t look like it has a solo mode, but I hope it’s a fun time multiplayer. Thanks for pointing it out, and enjoy!