They don’t “need” a wooden board game, what they need is to be invited in. Automatic writing, seances, etc will also work. The Ouija board is just the most common method people use to attempt to contact the dead.
Speaking of seances this reminds me of when I was a teen and we use to play around with this, pretending to put people into “trances” and trying to summon spirits. Well one time in the basement of a friend we are doing this and their German Shephard starting whining and booked up the stairs. Friend’s mother then yells down asking what we are doing because the dog is calling something to her attention in the basement. Pretty weird.