Hasbro, in collaboration with HBO and USAopoly, announced today a new variant of the board game Risk set in the fantasy world of Game of Thrones. The game will feature two maps — one of Westeros and one of Essos — and allow players to take control of the powerful noble houses, such as the Baratheon and Lannister. Finally, fans of the series from author George R.R. Martin can indeed take Daenarys Targaryen out of Essos and have her conquer everyone and claim the Iron Throne.

Today’s Thrashback Thursday theme is: great band, cool song, terrible record. Megadeth‘s anthemic track “Crush ‘Em” was just about the only redeeming factor of their otherwise abysmal 1999 album Risk. The record’s title reflects Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine’s belief that the band was ready to take a risk and step outside of their comfort zone. The problem was that the step they took was toward pop metal and the risk that they took alienated many fans. The album would be the last to feature legendary guitarist Marty Friedman, who left the fold a year later.

“Crush ‘Em” was also used as the theme song for the equally terrible Jean Claude Van Damme and Bill Goldberg movie Universal Soldier: The Return and the song’s official video features both actors.

It seems like every post these days has a list-off of all of the toys and board games being made into movies, so we’re not even going to worry about it here. Now it’s being reported that Sony Pictures have acquired the rights to Hasbro’s strategy game, Risk, and will indeed be turning it into a movie. The game was created in 1957 by French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse. Who knows, maybe they can go to war with Universal’s Battleship movie! (Read: “˜Hancock’ Director Peter Berg To Helm “˜Battleship’ Movie; 2011 Release).

Once again, there isn’t really a storyline to Risk, so you have to imagine that this will ultimately just become some kind of a war movie in which nations battle for world domination. Two scenarios are most logical: in one, they could go back in time and create the movie within one of the first two World Wars; in the other, they could go futuristic and make a movie about World War III, which is probably the most likely of paths.