We all know that movies love a good, dramatic scene, where characters are struggling to beat the odds and come out ahead. The one that makes you lean in and hold your breath as you wait to see if they can do it (often knowing full well that they can).
Poker is perhaps the most famous of these, especially if you’re a Bond fan. But it’s not the only game that captivates, weaving a silver thread of excitement through every gesture.
Did you know that around 53% of Americans said they’d been to the movie theater in 2025? Younger adults were more likely to do so than older ones, but there’s no question that cinemas, and by extension movies, still hold a key place in our hearts, and what directors choose to show matters enormously to that engagement. With that in mind, let’s look at which games movie developers turn to again and again, and figure out why.
Bingo: Simple, Recognizable, Shared Atmosphere
We all know bingo, and we recognize it instantly when it comes up on the screen. Those iconic cards, the pens used to mark them, the flying balls that dictate characters’ fates – it is a language with universal recognition, and that’s one of the most important elements when directors plan a scene. It requires no explanation. We already know how it works; we can just enjoy getting engaged with it.
That’s true with all kinds of bingo games; if you play online bingo in Canada, you’ll be aware that there are multiple versions, and all of them are easy to play (or follow as a spectator). From Amazonia Bingo, with fabulous jungle theming, to Atlantis Bingo, which takes you to an undersea world, to Bingo Catinho, which is filled with adorable felines, you can find all sorts of games, but all will have a simple, accessible foundation to ensure anybody can join in. Even for a newcomer, it takes a handful of seconds to skim the rules, and then they can start having fun.
That accessibility is what has made bingo so popular on the screen too: no time is wasted showing the audience how the game works; the director can just get stuck in. A film version isn’t likely to showcase the kind of variety you’ll see at a digital casino because it doesn’t need to, but that’s one of bingo’s biggest allures for film directors everywhere.
It’s also important to acknowledge the atmosphere bingo creates. It’s an unusual blend of sharing (where everyone has a common goal and is working in sync to complete their cards) and competition (where the first to fill out a row or diagonal will win). The audience will know this language already, know the exact feeling filling the room. It helps that the tension rises quickly as the game progresses and characters get closer and closer to a win.
And if you think bingo is too tame to really belong on the silver screen, just look at what happened when Jimmy got involved in the seniors playing in Better Call Saul. Or think of bingo’s role in Tulsa King’s third season; there’s no question that scene heightened the stakes, with Goodie showing his crew the ropes. Bingo has been used to great effect across the board in movies, and it brings a fresh quirkiness that few other casino games can compete with.
Poker And Blackjack: Visually Flashy, Suave
We all associate poker in the movies with one particular character: Bond in Casino Royale. And certainly, that is one of the most famous scenes because of its high-stakes drama and Daniel Craig’s much-loved portrayal of Bond. Those moments have lasted us through the ages, and what’s interesting is that in the book, the character played baccarat – but the director felt poker would have more instant recognition. Seems like good intuition!
However, no matter how iconic these moments are, other card games and scenes also deserve our acknowledgment.
Take, for instance, Black Panther, with its fabulous casino scene, which offers lots of high-action fighting. We only see the tables briefly (blackjack and pool), but that’s actually all we need here: they provide an instant language that the characters are walking into, a high-class atmosphere with quiet stakes and drama, which is then totally inverted when the fight breaks out. The director took advantage of the sophistication that blackjack immediately offers and converted it into an intense action scene. The contrast is the key in this, making the fight feel abrupt and furious.
You might think it doesn’t really matter what games were being played if they were only displayed for a brief moment, but actually, the blackjack tables are a key part of the scene’s language, and the audience reads them instinctively.
Craps: Simple, Elegant
Craps often gets overlooked by directors and audiences alike; it doesn’t hold the same recognition as poker or bingo. However, it brings a flavour of originality that poker, in particular, can no longer claim – it’s become the obvious choice, so many directors are keen to find different options for their characters to play when they hit the casino.
And that’s what they did in Iron Man, arguably one of the most underrated Marvel movies of all time (although some would say Black Panther, so take your pick there!).
The scene with Tony Stark playing craps, surrounded by gorgeous women, is an instant shorthand: this man is wealthy, arrogant, and a real playboy. The scene is immediately compelling for its grandeur, and then works as a beautiful springboard for Stark’s growth throughout the movie.
The dice serve as the foundation of what we learn about Iron Man in this scene, and it’s a really significant moment. No wonder the movie still has such high ratings, even many years after its release, holding around 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.
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