Board Game Arena

Giordano Bruno 1974 wrote: ↑17 November 2020, 21:23 So basically if you delete all the games that could be objected to that basically leaves us with abstract games like 6 Nimmt

I can't believe you are supporting a game that treats live animals (beef) as simply a score mechanism.... The point being that if you look hard enough, you can probably find objectionable material in any game. Even games like Reversi, why is it Black vs White? (Wait, isn't Connect 4 the Reds vs the Yellows?)

But, to stay on topic. BGA has a history of locking threads they find objectionable. Normally this is reserved for threads that look like they are degrading into flamewars, but they have done it for various other reasons as well, sometimes to the point of a child getting upset and saying "I'm taking my ball and going home." It does seem strange that they closed that thread, though. Discussion was progressing, and the reason given for closing it did not list personal attacks. It does not seem that this would foster a gaming community, but rather something else.

Jest Phulin wrote: ↑17 November 2020, 23:30 Even games like Reversi, why is it Black vs White?

And why do whites have the 'privilege' of first move?

Let's try to stay on topic while we wait for a response from the mods. Some of you are completely derailing the initial point of this thread.

Recyclops wrote: ↑17 November 2020, 21:06 I would love to learn about BGA's official stance as well as if they have an action plan to address things like racism and sexism on their website.

An official answer has already been given though. Historical accuracy is irrelevant and the discussion of such has been deemed to be inappropriate as a potential source of 'bad behavior'.

For the purpose of education, I would draw attention to Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission's (TRC) Calls to Action as a valuable read. You can find the calls to action here: http://trc.ca/assets/pdf/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf

Much of it involves government taking action, but in a private corporate context, they call for corporations to:
Provide education for management and staff on the history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations. This will require skills based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.

I appreciate that BGA is based in France, not Canada, so another useful educational read is the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (also known as "UNDRIP"). Much of the Canadian TRC's Call to Action are based on UNDRIP principles. It can be found here: https://www.un.org/development/desa/ind ... _E_web.pdf

Both England and France (and other European nations) were historically part of the colonization of North America, Australia, New Zealand, and many other Indigenous lands. Fun Fact: the Royal Proclamation of 1763 by King George III holds important legal value in the authority of colonial nations to claim ownership of Indigenous lands. The Proclamation was made following the Treaty of Paris which ended the Seven Years' War between England and France. The Proclamation requires colonial powers to make treaties with Indigenous peoples when claiming their land. This is very much at issue on the west coast of Canada because the colonial government did not make any treaties, they simply claimed the land on the legal concept of terra nullius and created the Residential School System in order to systemically eliminate Indigenous peoples which Canadian Judge and Senator Murray Sinclair has recently coined a "cultural genocide".

I hope this post has been educational and that it provides some reading material for everyone to look into in your own historical learning. Perhaps it will inspire you to read even deeper into the literature about what the effects of colonialism are to this very day. Thank you

Recyclops wrote: ↑17 November 2020, 23:54 Let's try to stay on topic while we wait for a response from the mods. Some of you are completely derailing the initial point of this thread.

We are "on topic". We are simply highlighting the absurdity of the demands.

I don't wish to see the politicisation of board games and I don't see the point of placating those who fundamentally refuse to be placated. There will always be some reason why they are upset.

If the history was realistic then it would be disturbing and then everyone would object. You would have to be a bit disturbed to enjoy playing a game where genocide was a game mechanic.

At present, we have a situation where the history is simplified and family friendly but the objection is that it glosses over the hard truth.

Of course we could have a situation where we don't have any games with controversial settings but then the issue would be "lack of representation", Why don't any board games reference colonialism? Why don't Amerindians feature in board games about the history of the USA? This would be an even more sanitised version of history.

So those who are currently upset will always be upset about something. People who find certain games offensive would be better off just not playing them.

Giordano Bruno 1974 wrote: ↑18 November 2020, 04:10 We are "on topic". We are simply highlighting the absurdity of the demands.

This thread questions BGA's response to the other thread, and isn't a direct continuation of it.

N_Faker wrote: ↑18 November 2020, 04:16

Giordano Bruno 1974 wrote: ↑18 November 2020, 04:10 We are "on topic". We are simply highlighting the absurdity of the demands.

This thread questions BGA's response to the other thread, and isn't a direct continuation of it.

And my point is that I agree with BGA's response because I think almost any game can be seen as problematic. What you find offensive comes down to personal taste. There isn't an easy cut off between offensive and non-offensive.

People may think I'm trolling by pointing out that Reversi can be seen as about racial conflict but I'm old enough to remember the game being sold as "Othello". It's not my imagination that this theme exists if you want to see it in those terms.

yeah prematurely closing that thread was a weird reaction by @DrClick. Keep in mind bga is a volunteer-run organization and likely not acting on much guidance. Although, really looking forward to seeing a more thought out response from the bga administration.

Thx for reopening that conversation @Recyclops .
@RibbitWiz super thx for elaborating on your earlier thought!
@ojomojojojojo thx for sharing your experience... that sounds like a very uncomfortable situation and a -10 karma penalty is a joke
@sXePotter yeah.. a wiki-subsection was exactly the kind of bare-minimum / low-hanging fruit I was thinking of.

If you want to do something serious to address what you perceive as inequalities in the world, please go do that.

But don't fool yourself that adding a couple of sentences at the bottom of the screen while you sit around playing boardgames is making any meaningful impact. And don't expect to be taken seriously by anyone else when you suggest it.