War on Terror boardgame branded criminal by police
I missed this when it was published 10 days ago ..
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War on Terror boardgame branded criminal by police
By Jerome Taylor
Saturday, 9 August 2008
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/war-on-terror-boardgame-branded-criminal-by-police-889287.html
http://tinyurl.com/55dvgg
It may not be fun for all the family â well, not in the same way as
Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit or Mousetrap, say. The themes of empire building
and terrorist-style attacks on opponents would probably provoke an outbreak
of spluttering over the Christmas sherry.
It is rare, however, for a board game to be seized by the police. This week
that distinction befell War on Terror: The Boardgame; a set was confiscated
from climate protesters in Kent.
Following a series of raids on the climate change camp near Kingsnorth power
station, officers displayed an array of supposed weapons snatched from
demonstrators: knives, chisels, bolt cutters, a throwing star â and a copy
of the satirical game, which lampoons Washington's "war on terror".
For the game's creators, Andrew Sheerin and Andy Tompkins, web designers
from Cambridge, the inclusion of their toy was a shock.
"When I saw the pictures in the papers I was absolutely baffled," said Mr
Sheerin, 32. "I thought: surely no member of the public is going to believe
that a board game could be used as a weapon?"
You won't find the game in high street stores; retailers have all declined
to stock it. The high street chain Zavvi bought 5,000 sets but strangely
withdrew them for sale after one day, citing "poor sales". But since its
low-key launch two years ago, War on Terror: The Boardgame has sold 12,000
copies online and through independent stockists, prominently featuring in
student bedsits.
Distribution deals have been set up to sell the game in Europe and the
United States, where war fatigue has ensured a keener reception than in
Britain.
Much like games such as Risk or Diplomacy, War on Terror revolves around
players creating empires that compete and wage war against each other for
resources and land. The controversial twist allows them to "train"
terrorist cells that either attack your enemies or, if you're unlucky, turn
against you â like some anti-Western terror groups have done.
There is an "Axis of Evil spinner" intended to parody international
diplomacy by randomly deciding which player is designated a terrorist
state. That person then has to wear a balaclava (included in the box set)
with the word "Evil" stitched on to it.
Kent police said they had confiscated the game because the balaclava "could
be used to conceal someone's identity or could be used in the course of a
criminal act". Mr Sheerin was unconvinced. "That's absurd," he said. "A
beard can conceal someone's identity. Are the police going to start banning
beards?"
The game's slanted political overtones were fostered in the build-up to the
Iraq war. "When we watched the news there was this endless sense of
frustration and disbelief that, despite the mass marches and protests, we
were off to war," Mr Sheerin said. "We thought it was a ridiculous process
that needed to be ridiculed."
After two years of tinkering Mr Sheerin and Mr Tompkins were ready to find a
producer; friends helped raise the £30,000 needed to order the first 5,000
copies from a factory in China.
Most high street stores and toy fairs declined to stock the game; those
managers who expressed initial interest were overruled by head office.
"The manager of the local Borders bookshop in Cambridge thought it was a
great idea and wanted to trial it," said Mr Sheerin. "A day before it was
due to appear, head office said not to stock it. That happened time and
time again." Zavvi was on the verge of becoming the first major high street
store to stock the game and ordered 5,000 copies last year. But a
subsequent decision was made to withdraw it, forcing the store to return
the order.
A spokesman for Zavvi said the group had bought the game when it was part of
the Virgin Megastore network. "We don't censor our products. The game just
wasn't selling."
Rules of the game
The game is for two to six players.
All players begin with fledgling empires on a world map which they expand
through the acquisition of land, oil and cities. At any time players can
abandon the "pursuit of liberty and oil" in favour of becoming a terror
state â or they are designated a terror state by a random "Axis of Evil"
spinner.
Empires can also train their own terrorists to target rival empires,
although these groups often turn on you later in the game. Terrorists can
use special cards such as "suicide bomber", "plane hijack" and "WMDs" to
advance themselves. Empires rely on tactics such as "espionage", "regime
change" and forcing other empires to sign up to the Kyoto protocol to
bankrupt their competitors. "The idea is to encourage the sort of
short-term, selfish thinking that led us into war," says Andrew Sheerin,
the co-creator of the game.
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Facts are sacred ... but comment is free
date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:21:12 GMT
author: Robin T Cox
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