I am pretty sure I can log on the any game convention preview list and pull out a handful of games that appropriate, stereotype, and misrepresent groups of people, particularly based on culture. This phenomenon is not new the board gaming as European and American companies who dominate the market have historically picked themes they … Continue reading
For the past week, I have been thinking about a tough question about representation in all forms of media – TV, movies, books, and in particular board games. This mainly stems from the idea of the #ownvoices movement in literature. This means that an author is writing characters from their own experience. So for example, … Continue reading
My event for Hawaiian #OwnVoices finished up at the end of November, but I still have some posts I wanted to share about Hawaii. This time it’s about board games! Thank you for reading along!! It may be odd to think about board games and its relationship to Hawaii and Native Hawaiian peoples. You may … Continue reading
I wrote a post last month about appropriation and amalgamation of indigenous cultures to use as board game themes. A short while after, I saw a new game, being brought to the United States by Cool Mini or Not, designed by Bruno Faidutti, Waka Tanka. This is a small bluffing card game with some sort … Continue reading
There is a huge glaring gap in the conversation about representation and co-option of culture in the board gaming hobby. I hear a lot about the representation of black, latino, and asian peoples, but I rarely hear about co-opting, stereotyping, and tokenizing of indigenous culture to use as board game themes. To me, it seems so … Continue reading
Board games have a multitude of themes. Farming, pirates, zombies, civilization building… And don’t forget… NINJAS! Ninjas have been a relatively popular theme in board gaming. Some of those board games include… Smash Up (Ninja Faction) Ninja Dice Ninjato Ninja vs. ninja Ninja Burger I do like the ninja theme and have games that include … Continue reading
When I talk about my attempts to diversify my book and tabletop game collection, I almost always am faced with the question… “Why bother?” These folks proceed to explain there are plenty of high quality authors and board game designers who create and end up publishing a significant amount of work. While I agree, I … Continue reading
