Xenophobia, racism, sexism, stereotypes: board games also give rise to criticism in individual cases. Independent authors and publishers publish board games or games at regular intervals Roleplaying games, which at least make use of stereotypical simplifications and clichés: the woman in the tight dress, the intelligent white man, the blonde giant as a swordsman, the dark-skinned native with a raffia skirt and bone piercing. This is not appropriate for a cultural asset, and what's more: Despite the ever-increasing focus on stories, authors and editors fail to critically examine backgrounds and topics.
"Questionable topics" is something like the fine expression for racism, xenophobia, stereotypes or sexism, among other things. Topics that also appear in board and card games - sometimes more, sometimes less clearly. Yes, there are obviously racist parlor games that are propaganda tools, not toys - most of which were released during the Nazi era to deliberately attack people. The ravages of time have gnawed most of these actual Nazi board games from history. Swastikas and similar symbols do exist in parlor games, mostly in historical war games. There, the representations sometimes provide topics for conversation. Players usually react sensitively to military board games, even more sensitively when the titles then also want to depict the history of the material. The arguments usually range from “glorification of the Nazi dictatorship” on the one hand to “unmasking the Nazi regime” on the other.
However, it does not always have to be such offensive topics that prompt players to take a critical look at a work. The discussions are long, the matches are short: There is a lot going on in social media when xenophobia, racism, sexism or stereotypes are reflected in the rules, material or the course of a board game. Are board players completely over the top these days? Not at all: You are more enlightened and are more attentive to the content you have consumed.
Dark skin, bast skirt, bone piercing: that must be Umdidumdi
Recently affected was the card game “Tukdatu – Who Survived the Jungle?” by the authors Heim, Jonas P. and Thao Pham, published by Verlag Riva. The fact that tempers in the social media heated up again is more due to a coincidence. The card game was released in mid-November and was criticized in some online shops shortly after publication. "Very questionable, racist and sexist graphics and 'story'," said one of the online users in the customer reviews section. The publisher and authors could have pricked their ears at this point. However, they weren't. The card game eked out an unchanged existence on the market – until coincidence led to the work becoming a topic in a Facebook group. Long discussion, short fuse: tempers heated up. Covers, character names, even the publisher became the main points of criticism. The arguments expressed are by no means always accurate, but they do give food for thought.
And indeed: the criticism expressed by Tukdatu cannot be dismissed out of hand. The characters are particularly noticeable. There's Professor Whity, a clever man - more precisely, a clever white man. White hair, white mustache, old age, fair skin. He uses the stereotype of intelligence. Also part of the group: tourist Tiffany as the epitome of the overwhelmed woman in the jungle. Blond, tight dress, unsuspecting, innocent gesture. And then there is the figure that really gets the discussion going: Umdidumdi, the dark-skinned native with a bast skirt and bone accessories, tooth gaps and childish, stupid facial expression included.
Many players have spoken out loud and clear. Others, however, still see no cause for criticism. Are publishers and authors, but also gamers, still too uncritical when it comes to dealing with stereotypical topics? In fact, there is an often-voiced, supposed argument in favor of it: It's just a game!
In any case, it becomes clear how different the opinions of the players are when it comes to stereotypical representations in games.
Tukdatu: "Shouldn't have happened like that"
Yes, one could have dealt with the illustrations more critically, even had to. Confronted with the criticism, the Riva Verlag showed understanding. Even the first reaction was corresponding: Neither the character of Tiffany corresponds to the image of women that we have - nor "Umdidumdi", whose portrayal "really completely failed", according to the first statement by press spokesman Julian Nebel, "there it can don't give two opinions".
A little later it became more specific: "The portrayal of the characters should not have happened like this," said the publisher's spokesman. "We are all very sorry, the authors as well as us as a publisher." Even if it is conveyed differently in the discussions on social media, there is no malicious intent behind the clichéd treatment of the topic. "It can be explained a little by the fact that we are all newcomers to the world of games," said spokesman Julian Nebel in an attempt to explain. The focus was very much on the playability, the gameplay and the production, so that "we didn't notice what we absolutely should have noticed". The authors themselves approached the publisher some time ago and asked to change the representations. "We agreed to this immediately," says Riva Verlag. However, the setting - escape from the jungle - was successful and allows for other representations, explains press spokesman Julian Nebel. "We will also implement this as quickly as possible."
What the authors and the publisher want to make clear: “Choosing these depictions was definitely a mistake, there are no excuses. They don't stand for the values that we, the publisher and the authors, believe are right."
In the meantime, author Jonas P. Heim, also representing co-author Thao Pham, has commented in the Facebook group and pointed out that the representations will be changed for a second edition. "It was tough words for us, because we were very happy about our first game," writes Heim. "Nevertheless, we want and must take such relevant criticism of racism seriously. Even though we didn't create the graphics for Tukdatu, we must not reinforce stereotypes and prejudices. Not now. Not ever.”, the author clarifies. It could have been some kind of happy ending. Long discussion, short fuse: The second round is on Facebook.
Game design challenge: still humor or already agitation?
It usually takes far less reason than Tukdatu for a discussion to break out over a board game. Near Istanbul from Pegasus Spiele it was the title in combination with the cultural representation à la Gelsenkirchen Baroque; in Mombasa it was colonialism. There are always board games that call for more information and editorial treatment of the topics.
Would slavery in a board game be a stumbling block if the plot and representation were critically embedded in the gameplay? Probably far less than is the case if such settings are presented completely without comment. Publishers often act neutrally when it comes to editorial design, even though the topics are anything but neutral. If board games want to be a cultural asset, then they should convey cultural values. Whether you take the path of less resistance: Instead of a clear message, there are changes in new editions that make any points of criticism invisible. The discussion should at least show one thing: embedding the mere game mechanics into fully-fledged board and card games is a real challenge for publishers, editors and authors.
Authors and publishers do not act in discussed cases because they are evil per se, want to discriminate or represent questionable positions. Exaggerated representations are often intended to underpin a humorous game concept. However, the line between humor and agitation has narrowed because players no longer accept without comment what games, topics and material are presented to them. The work “Tukdatu” recently proved that an all too obvious joke can sometimes become a boomerang. With all the criticism leveled, the insight that followed, and the eventual initiation of changes: the game now serves another purpose. It can serve as a reminder to small publishers and authors in particular.
