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The world’s most controversial boardgames
January 20, 2008
How different would christmas day be if, after dinner, your dad gathered the family around the table and opened a game like ‘war on terror’ or ’serial killer: the board game’?
Amazingly, this may have happened for some as all of the board games below have been / are still available to buy and each one has caused some degree of controversy, the reasons for which will quickly become apparent. some of them are pretty horrible and their inclusion in this list does not in any way condone their creation.
1. public assistance: why bother working for a living?
Originally released in the 80s, slammed by many and then banned from most shops. it’s similar to playing monopoly but with some twists, including… there are 2 different journeys on the board: ‘working person’s rut’ or ‘able-bodied welfare recipient’s promenade’. you start off by collecting a $500 welfare check at the ‘collect all benefits’ spot. if you pick up an ‘out of wedlock child’ people who chose to work are obliged to pay you money when you pass the ‘1st of the month’ square.
the game is still available to buy online here.
2. ghettopoly
Released in 2003 by david chang and obviously not endorsed by hasbro, ghettopoly is a parody of monopoly. houses are called ‘crack houses’ and hotels are ‘projects’, chance (i mean ‘hustle’) cards now contain messages such as ‘you got yo whole neighborhood addicted to crack. collect $50 from each playa’ and playing pieces include a gun, a bottle of beer and a marijuana plant. the game was discontinued after mass protest and ghettopoly.com is now defunct. however you can still visit ghettopoly.co.uk although i’m not sure whether your online order would be successful.
3. serial killer: the board game
This extremely grim affair was created by serial killer enthusiast tobias allen in the early 90s and was quickly banned in canada. the board game was packaged in a bodybag and the objective was to kill as many people (originally babies until mr allen realised he may have pushed it a bit far) and ensuring capture by police only took place in u.s. states without the death penalty. unsurprisingly the game is now (officially at least) unavailable to buy.
4. battle to baghdad
here.
5. juden raus
juden raus (jews out) is a hideous and infamous propaganda board game created by the nazis in 1936 and given to as many kids as possible, the object being to take control of jews wearing pointy hats and get them off the board and outside the walled city as quickly as possible by way of a dice throw. that’s all you really need to know apart from the fact that, thankfully, you can’t buy the game anymore.
6. frischfleisch
as you may have guessed, frischfleisch translates as ‘fresh flesh’ or ‘fresh meat’ and with the addition of the illustration on the front cover i reckon either translation works. it’s a board game in which you take control of a group of humans stranded on a deserted island with rescue only a month away. the objective is to stay alive long enough to enjoy the rescue, whether that be through the consumption of fruit, animals or other humans. the game is now discontinued but the makers’ website still has a page devoted to the cannibalism themed rarity here.
7. war on terror, the boardgame
the war on terror game was designed by 2 cambridge entrepreneurs and released to a huge amount of criticism, to which one of the men replied, “some people suggest that turning the war on terror into a board game is a tad insensitive. i always reply that starting a war is insensitive; a board game is just fun for all the family”. players start the game as an empire anywhere in the world and depending on various choices made, the following can take place in the quest for world dominance… ’send secret messages; fund terrorism; make deals; renege on deals; wage war; expand your empire; forge secret alliances; fund regime changes; kidnap politicians; be the terrorists’. the game can be bought here.
8. Bomben auf England (Bombs on England)
published by Spear Spiele, is a board game that was presumably available to German gamers at the star of World War II. The game involves a version of Tiddly Winks in which the tail of a “bomber” flicks chips on to a map of England, where English cities are the targets.
9. capital punishment
released in 1981, each player begins this funfest controlling 4 characters: a murderer, a rapist, an arsonist and a kidnapper. you can win in 2 ways – either 1. ‘maneuver your murderer, rapist, arsonist, and kidnapper along the path of justice into life imprisonment, death row, or the electric chair, or 2. ‘bring your liberals out of their ivory tower” and “use them to ‘spring’ your opponent’s criminals from the path of justice… send them back on the street where their activities make your opponent’s innocent citizens into victims of crime’.
10. blacks & whites
apparently designed for educational use by the psychology department of the university of california at davis, blacks & whites is basically a property-buying board game with a difference. before starting, each player chooses to be black or white, the choice resulting in the following differences…
whites:
- are the majority
- start with a million dollars
- can buy property anywhere.
blacks:
- are the minority
- start with one hundred thousand dollars
- can not buy certain properties
- draw from a separate chance deck
- collect less money for completing a lap around the gameboard.
for more info, go here.
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