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Put yourself in the shoes of a Black gamer. You walk up to a demo table, sit down to play, and find zero representation of yourself in the game. When you politely point this out to the designers (which takes a lot of guts!), they come at you with these awful excuses.
How would this make you feel?
Using history as an excuse for lack of representation is tired and I refuse to put up with it. First off, Black people existed during the Middle Ages (yes, in Europe as well: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/12/13/250184740/taking-a-magnifying-glass-to-the-brown-faces-in-medieval-art).
Using history as an excuse for lack of representation is tired and I refuse to put up with it. First off, Black people existed during the Middle Ages (yes, in Europe as well: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/12/13/250184740/taking-a-magnifying-glass-to-the-brown-faces-in-medieval-art).
Second, you're making a BOARD GAME. You're making a work of fantasy, symbolism, and entertainment. NOTHING in a board game is "historically accurate." You let players use one piece of wood and one piece of glass to build a house but you can't include a Black player character?
When you design a game, you make choices about what your components, mechanics, and art represent. Not representing Black people is a conscious design choice, and it's not a good look.
Luckily, there are things that we in the board game industry can do to help right this wrong.
Designers: First and foremost, put diverse representation in your games! Second - we can be the first line of defense when we playtest early prototypes.
Designers: First and foremost, put diverse representation in your games! Second - we can be the first line of defense when we playtest early prototypes.
If you playtest a game without diverse representation, say something - so that a person from a marginalized background down the line doesn't have to.
Publishers: Ask about representation when you see early prototypes of games...
Publishers: Ask about representation when you see early prototypes of games...
Also, let this be a lesson: we are more connected & determined than ever. Don't think that you brushing off the concerns of marginalized people in DMs won't get back to me. I'm paying attention and I'm no longer afraid to bring light to the poor choices you make in the shadows.
