Comments on: Representation and Appropriation | Board Games https://gamingforjustice.com/2017/03/13/representation-and-appropriation-board-games/ A blog of books and tabletop games focusing on inclusion and liberation. Thu, 20 Jul 2017 11:27:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Polarization | Reading and Gaming for Justice https://gamingforjustice.com/2017/03/13/representation-and-appropriation-board-games/#comment-923 Thu, 20 Jul 2017 11:27:06 +0000 http://gamingforjustice.com/?p=9309#comment-923 […] Representation and Appropriation | Board Games […]

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]]> By: Brendon https://gamingforjustice.com/2017/03/13/representation-and-appropriation-board-games/#comment-674 Fri, 17 Mar 2017 14:48:19 +0000 http://gamingforjustice.com/?p=9309#comment-674 I love your optimism! I do think these folks creating Dubai have the best intentions in the world about diversifying theme. And I have met folks who could care less and use the theme as a way to make their game exotic.

I hope folks are thinking and creating across diverse themes with the intention and goal of introducing new ideas and cultures to people who might never be exposed without it. Little steps towards common understandings 🙂 Love it.

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]]> By: A.M.B. https://gamingforjustice.com/2017/03/13/representation-and-appropriation-board-games/#comment-673 Fri, 17 Mar 2017 13:14:10 +0000 http://gamingforjustice.com/?p=9309#comment-673 You raise a very interesting question in this post and highlight what makes the “appropriation” a complicated concept. I do not want anyone to feel like they cannot explore cultures that aren’t their own and then use aspects of those cultures in their creatives works (ideally, this would introduce new audiences to these concepts and encourage them to explore it, ultimately supporting #ownvoices). It must be done carefully and respectfully, and those creators shouldn’t shy away from criticism. Regarding Dubai, perhaps there’s a benefit to giving it that title and using those themes, even if the game could’ve taken place in New York. Maybe it will encourage people to find Dubai on a map, the first step in understanding our world, and maybe eventually, some of those people will travel there. Maybe.

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]]> By: Brendon https://gamingforjustice.com/2017/03/13/representation-and-appropriation-board-games/#comment-672 Wed, 15 Mar 2017 02:29:35 +0000 http://gamingforjustice.com/?p=9309#comment-672 Thank you for reading and sharing your own input! I hope we are moving towards the research and consultation practice. The one thing I keep running into is the fear piece. And I understand how fear is a valid feeling and I struggle being dismissive to someone with privilege who is afraid of making mistakes. I am not sure how to balance that. As I wrote… “I don’t have time…” I feel all the time in the hobby. But I had a recent conversation about fear as a valid feeling and while I do not believe the onus should be on marginalized communities to educate or hand hold and I am not about centering people of privilege… I wonder how we can talk about fear in a productive way.

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]]> By: Brendon https://gamingforjustice.com/2017/03/13/representation-and-appropriation-board-games/#comment-671 Wed, 15 Mar 2017 02:22:36 +0000 http://gamingforjustice.com/?p=9309#comment-671 I am actually replying to your reply because for some reason it won’t nest that far in…

Games that do rep well that are not too expensive… good question! The hard part is the price point and I’ll stick to $30 and under.

One Deck Dungeon from Asmadi Games (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/179275/one-deck-dungeon)
All women MCs w/ 2 WoC
$25

Tokaido from Fun Forge (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/123540/tokaido)
Traveling along the road from Kyoto to Edo
$30ish

Lanterns: The Harvest Festival from Renegade Games (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/160851/lanterns-harvest-festival)
API designer, API theme
$20ish

Monarch from Mary Flanagan (self-published) (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/173115/monarch)
Sisters vying to be the next monarch of a kingdom. Set in medieval Europe… so White, but still.
$25

Matcha from Grail Games (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/166107/matcha)
A game about Japanese tea ceremonies, art done by an API artist.
$12

I realize a lot of these are API themes and it makes sense to me with the expansion of the mainstream board gaming hobby including API folks. Similarly to how inclusion in a larger sense expands to API peoples first because of the model minority myth and anti-blackness. I’ll be on the lookout for others… I think there are a lot with good rep, but don’t use cultures as themes. I see less games using cultures as a theme well. Hope this helps!

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]]> By: Life of a Female Bibliophile https://gamingforjustice.com/2017/03/13/representation-and-appropriation-board-games/#comment-670 Tue, 14 Mar 2017 23:08:53 +0000 http://gamingforjustice.com/?p=9309#comment-670 This is a fantastic post! Though I don’t play board games actively, it’s definitely a good discussion to bring up. I do think it is possible to write/create outside of one own’s identity and have positive representation, but I think there needs to be research and consultation with people of that ethnicity. I’ve seen it done properly books wise (I’m not too sure about board gaming), but sometimes it can come off as cultural appropriation. Like you said it comes to your post, whether its board games, books, TV, etc. creators need to take that initiative to and not be afraid.

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]]> By: whatthelog https://gamingforjustice.com/2017/03/13/representation-and-appropriation-board-games/#comment-669 Tue, 14 Mar 2017 22:25:43 +0000 http://gamingforjustice.com/?p=9309#comment-669 Oh wow. Your post was ABSOLUTELY needed. The rep in that game sounds appallingly bad. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised – entertainment in many of its forms has tended towards racism and appropriation – but I never realised how bad it was in this case.

Now, to follow up – are there any (preferably cheap) games that have good representation that you can recommend me? 😀

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]]> By: Brendon https://gamingforjustice.com/2017/03/13/representation-and-appropriation-board-games/#comment-668 Tue, 14 Mar 2017 22:01:04 +0000 http://gamingforjustice.com/?p=9309#comment-668 One comes to mind right away, Waka Tanka. I wrote an article that got a lot of buzz last August (https://gamingforjustice.com/2016/09/09/waka-tanka-a-response/) and I still think it has abysmal representation A lot of the bad rep actually takes Indigenous Peoples culture (Waka Tanka, Pow Wow, Tzolk’in) although ‘Asian’ themes are also popular (At the Gates of Loyang, In the Year of the Dragon, Chinatown, Ninjato). Can’t forget about Pacific Islands (Hawaii, Vanuatu, Tiki Island, Spirit Island). And generic ‘Africa’ (Jambo, Asante, Mombasa, Botswana).

It happens a lot. And most of those games are designed and published in Europe or the United States (with White designers). I could go on and on but I’ll stop there!

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]]> By: whatthelog https://gamingforjustice.com/2017/03/13/representation-and-appropriation-board-games/#comment-667 Tue, 14 Mar 2017 20:44:55 +0000 http://gamingforjustice.com/?p=9309#comment-667 Huh, I’ve never really thought about representation in board games before. Are there any that you’ve played where the representation has been shockingly bad? The only thing that springs to my mind are board games where you have to conquer the world with armies – if that’s not ‘playing’ at colonisation, what is?! However, I don’t play that many board games, so I’d be really interested to hear more about this.

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