Remember that movie deal that Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) signed not long ago with General Electric's (NYSE: GE) Universal Pictures for the express purpose of bringing some of its board game brands to the big screen? Well, I'm happy to report that the first one appears to be in development. And it's the one I was rooting for!

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Ouija board is getting the big-screen treatment. Sure, Ouija boards have been featured in films before; heck, my friends and I used a Ouija board in a short film we made years ago. But, this time, Hasbro is hooking up with Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes production company to give the concept a proper cinematic adaptation, one specifically geared, I have no doubt, to increase the value of Hasbro's brand equity and to, like this needs to be even stated, sell more Ouija boards!

Michael Bay is a pretty competent producer/director. He was responsible for Transformers, as I'm sure you'll recall, and he's been hard at work the last few years on remakes of famous horror films. He's already been involved with remakes of The Amityville Horror and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and he is working on new takes of A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the Thirteenth. He'd better get the latter right, since it's one of my favorite films!

I've played Cranium quite a few times and I have to tell you -- It's a heck of a board game, one of a handful with a really good shot to grow and stay relevant in these days of massive multiplayer online gaming and Nintendo Wii.

The news that Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) has agreed to acquire the company for $77.5 million should be exciting for Hasbro shareholders.

As successful as Cranium has been -- a sensation even -- it's done so without the support of a massive game company like Hasbro there to fuel distribution and marketing. Its success so far has been a result of its quality and originality, and now Hasbro will be able to take it to the next level.

Hasbro COO Brian Goldner said that the game will now have a "real opportunity for growth in international markets."

Cranium's going to be huge. And while it's a small part of the parent company for now, I really think it could be a meaningful contributor to the bottom-line in years to come.

As if the American public's taste for credit isn't overwhelming enough, plastic has now invaded even our board games. Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS), marketer of the Game of Life, is incorporating the Visa card into its latest version, THE GAME OF LIFE: Twist & Turns.

The card will replace cash in board transactions. Building on their 'Life takes Visa' campaign, the credit card company entered into a two-year deal to co-brand the nation's second most popular board game.

Playing the game will no longer be a matter of accumulating money. Each player will gain credit for both financial windfalls and life experiences, as tabulated by an electronic device that updates the card value. Yes, players will be able to run-up debt, although I wasn't able to find information about the interest rate charged.

Protests have been lodged by those concerned about the marketing of credit to the children who play such games. Hasbro claims the game will provide parents the opportunity to teach their children about managing money. Of course, this implies that parents know something about money management themselves.

This product development has sparked rumors (well, truthfully, I made up the following, but it does make a good rumor) that Hasbro plans to auction off the financial processing within Monopoly, as well as spinning off the real estate portion of the game, or using the properties to sell mortgage-backed securities.