Someone claims to have sent a board game into space for the first time

Here’s a slightly different meaning of lightweight gaming: a board game has been floated to the edge of space for what is said to be the very first time.

A copy of When I Dream was attached to a helium balloon by studio Repos Production, starting its ascent in Belgium’s capital of Brussels before drifting 20 miles above the Earth.

A quick bit of science trivia for you: where the Earth's atmosphere ends and 'space' begins is a little bit unclear, although for the sake of governmental space treaties and official aerospace dealings 'outer space' is generally believed to begin around 62 miles above the planet, beyond the Kármán line. So 20 miles could well be considered the beginnings of 'space' – if perhaps not the open Star Trek setting you're expecting.

Two-and-a-half hours after the game was released, its balloon exploded and the box came tumbling down in a 124mph free fall before eventually crash-landing in the Belgian province of Liège.

The studio believes the trip is the first time a board game has made it into the stratosphere, although we like to think that the crew of the International Space Station indulges in a game of Space Alert every now and then to keep on their toes.

You can watch the video of the game’s flight and subsequent descent below: