Board Games Have a Colonialism Problem
Board Games Have a Colonialism Problem
Board Games Have a Colonialism Problem
By Luke Winkie
July 22, 2021
Summary
A newish wave of sophisticated, adult board games have made exploitation part of their game mechanics.
"Puerto Rico" is still considered to be one of the greatest board games of all time.
"Puerto Rico" is part of a wave of modern, strategy-heavy board games that earn high praise while asking players to reenact human history's grimmest episodes.
"It's a case of romanticised ideas that are familiar from other media, such as adventure novels or films," says Lukas Boch, a research assistant at the University of Münster, in Germany, who is writing his doctoral dissertation on historical depictions in board games.
"The crimes committed during colonialism were known in the 2000s. However, those who considered the topic important were not represented in the board game community at that time."
The glorification of colonialism in these games appears to be superficial, born of convenience and ignorance-not a reflection of deeply held philosophy-which makes their problems too easy to ignore.
"The special thing about games, and tabletop games in particular," writes Eric Thurm in his book, Avidly Reads Board Games, "Is the way they actively train you to think from within their rules. Other forms of art do this too, but in a more roundabout way that requires a certain sensitivity and willingness to be taken in by the television show you're watching or the book you're reading," Thurm writes.
Reference
Winkie, L. (2021, July 22). The board games that ask you to reenact colonialism. Retrieved October 07, 2021, from https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/07/board-games-have-colonialism-problem/619518/