Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share a virtual kitchen table with other readers of Daily Kos who aren’t throwing pies at one another. Drop by to talk about music, your weather, your garden, or what you cooked for supper…. Newcomers may notice that many who post in this series already know one another to some degree, but we welcome guests at our kitchen table and hope to make some new friends as well.
Please do not attack Democratic candidates or drag primary fights into our community.
One of the things I like about playing board games is the social aspect — bringing people around a table in the spirit of play is so much fun. And the kitchen table is the perfect place to play.
In this moment, lots of people are asking what they can do to about the cruel dysfunction of racism in our society because Black Lives Matter. The news is full of demonstrations for justice across the country. People are risking their very lives to demand long overdue change. But there are hopeful changes happening in small areas, too. Even in niches such as the board game hobby, which I am writing about tonight because I visit Board Game Geek most every day, people are self examining and trying to make a difference.
There is no question, the hobby of modern board games is very, very white. (And pretty male, too, but that’s another subject.) But signs are good that this is changing, starting now
The work place is an obvious place for change. In the spirit of this, the folks that run the Board Game Geek website (truly information central for the hobby) decided it is the right thing to do going forward to hire more people of color:
Black Lives Matter. We need to do better, and that includes us here at BoardGameGeek. We are committed to grow the BGG team to include more diverse voices and perspectives. We can only meaningfully say we show solidarity with those who struggle for equality and justice when we demonstrate that through our actions.
They followed through on that decision immediately and hired Candace Harris. I’m personally excited about that, too, because Candace writes about heavier games, the type that I gravitate toward.
The other thing that has happened for diversity in the board game hobby is the very promising entrance of a new YouTube channel, Our Family Plays Games, featuring Starla, Mik, and their teenage son, Grant. Below, I have posted Starla and Mik’s episode in honor of Black History Month in which they discuss games that they have found to be particularly appealing to African American people. In this video, they also showcase Black game designers and games that do a good job of depicting people of color as characters in the game. I subscribed to their channel because their enthusiasm about our mutual hobby is so infectious. They are certainly great ambassadors for the hobby.
There is one more hot topic from Board Game Geek to mention — a personal story from a well known member that is resonating with the whole community and opening eyes. This personal testimony is that of one of the black designers Starla and Mik talk about in this video, Eric M. Lang. Eric Lang has designed over a hundred games and several classics. Blood Rage (which is about Vikings) is five years old now and it is still number 32 in the list of most popular games. In short, Eric Lang is a big name in modern board game design. And, although he is Canadian, he has had cause to visit Minneapolis frequently because his publisher, Fantasy Flight Games, has an office there. I was chilled by this thread in which Eric Lang’s encounters with Minneapolis police are told. Yes, he was profiled. Several times. And he was lucky that he wasn’t physically hurt although such vile and frightening interactions cannot not haunt a person. He closes by saying,
I told very few friends about these encounters, assuming for many years that I was just acting reckless and shouldn’t be walking around alone, or find a way to dress less suspiciously.
Minneapolis, I love you. And you have a problem. You need help.
What can we do?
As I said, this diary is about positive changes for inclusiveness going on in a hobby, a small thing, really, in the greater scheme of things. But there is no doubt from the news all around us that we are at a moment of huge, pivotal change. It is a truly seismic moment. I pray we get things right, for all our sakes, but especially and most importantly for our black brothers and sisters who have suffered terribly for centuries.
The weekend begins now. Come in, be comfortable, and share your day, your weekend plans, your menus! If you play boardgames, what is on your table? This is an open thread.