Friday, September 08, 2006

Weekend Coming

I traded Goa for Santiago; I finally received my game. Of course, this is also the week that I asked Binyamin to leave me his copy of Santiago until next game night, so now I have two copies lying around for a week.

Weekend is coming. Saarya is with us, and I hope to play something with him. Eitan is also with us, but he doesn't play games except for war games, and only if there is a lot of killing in them.

Rachel and I may play something, and Nadine may come over, too. That would be nice.

Kris Hall has written an interesting article in my field of games and ethics on Gone Gaming. In the article, he covers the game I mentioned about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Apparently, the designer has come under attack for the game and has decided not to print it after all. He then asks the usual questions about game themes: do we stay away from offensive themes in order to avoid the situation of players having "fun" doing something morally problematic, or do we print these games in the hope of educating and memorializing the events?

I've dealt with these issues before, such as here.

Yehuda

2 comments:

The Wandering Author said...

I'm not really a huge gamer, but I've been visiting your blog for a little while and find it interesting. I really liked and agreed with your post on ethics, although I think there are a few lines sane people can agree on.

It reminds me of a question going around the blogosphere; what book do you wish had never been printed? Some bloggers say "none". I can almost agree with them, since I love books. But I always post a comment that reminds them there is one: Mein Kampf. If they don't mind that was ever published, I don't want to be reading their blog anyway.

So I think there are some lines that sane people can agree on, even if there aren't very many of them. I am sure there are some people who could have fun playing a Warsaw Ghetto game without necessarily sympathising with the side they were playing. I don't condemn those people.

And, yes the Uprising ought to be remembered. If nothing else, it showed just what the "Aryan supermen" were really made of. For an unequal contest, the inhabitants of the Ghetto sure put up a great fight! That ought to be commemorated. But, personally, I don't think I could enjoy myself playing the German side of that game. I'd lose, quickly. I'd just surrender; I couldn't help myself.

I'm not saying there aren't quite decent people who would disagree with me; but I think (I hope!) there are also others who would understand just how I feel. What is the answer? I don't know. I wish I did. I see another wave of hatred engulfing the world, and for all my words, I am powerless to stop it.

I am not accusing you, by the way. It was just the thought of playing, even playing, that scenario from the German side that set me off. I fear it would be all too popular with the wrong people for the wrong reasons. I do know there are decent people who wouldn't see it that way. It just resonates wrong with me.

(Sorry for the long comment. The subject punched one of my "buttons" at just the wrong moment...)

Yehuda Berlinger said...

Not accusing me of what? :-)

I agree, and I wouldn't play such a game.

Yehuda