http://www.waronterrortheboardgame.com/
A bit of satirical fun in a similar vein to the classic Nuclear War card game I thought (and bought one). When I read the press links on the above site, I was amazed at the vitriolic outpouring against this game. Sure it's not exactly in the "best possible taste" but the UK has a long tradition of tolerance for satire, or has that now been forfeited along with the rest of our civil rights?
War on Terror Boardgame
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Sophia
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Re: War on Terror Boardgame
What's your point?Des wrote:Sure it's not exactly in the "best possible taste" but the UK has a long tradition of tolerance for satire, or has that now been forfeited along with the rest of our civil rights?
Nobody's tried to make this illegal.
It's perfectly legitimate to make a game in poor taste, and it's just as legitimate to call a spade a spade and criticize it.
There have been a lot of people shrieking for it to be banned, particularly in the right-wing press. It was banned from the Essen Games Fair this year, and UK shops are refusing to stock it.
The thing with satire is that it has to be topical to work. The Nuclear War game was originally made in 1968 when there was a real danger of a nuclear holocaust. That was why it was dubbed as "sick" and banned quite a bit. Supporters of the game claimed that as the most common result is M.A.D. it demonstrates the futility of Nuclear War.
The War on Terror game is about the current terrorism-related conflicts in the world, and it highlights the hypocracy of neoconservative western foreign policy, and thus the plight of servicemen dying in its name. That said, the makers do not make any noble claims for the reasoning behind the game. It is supposed to be tastless, and as such is always liable to offend people, especially as the casualties of the conflict are so recent. On that basis I can understand people slagging off the game as they have a right to do, but I don't think its right to ban it.
The thing with satire is that it has to be topical to work. The Nuclear War game was originally made in 1968 when there was a real danger of a nuclear holocaust. That was why it was dubbed as "sick" and banned quite a bit. Supporters of the game claimed that as the most common result is M.A.D. it demonstrates the futility of Nuclear War.
The War on Terror game is about the current terrorism-related conflicts in the world, and it highlights the hypocracy of neoconservative western foreign policy, and thus the plight of servicemen dying in its name. That said, the makers do not make any noble claims for the reasoning behind the game. It is supposed to be tastless, and as such is always liable to offend people, especially as the casualties of the conflict are so recent. On that basis I can understand people slagging off the game as they have a right to do, but I don't think its right to ban it.
