Faced with classics of the genre like Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit, board games seek to open debate on contemporary subjects, notably women’s rights. All with good humor.
Sexism, homophobia, prejudice, even professional inequality… Board games, sometimes militant, try to find a place in families to free speech while having fun. Thus, on the model of the venerable A thousand terminalsthe game The Thousand Steps thus offers participants the opportunity to embody a woman in her professional journey with, on her path, various “red lights” blocking her progress: motherhood, stereotypes, balance between professional and family life, salary inequality, sexism, self-esteem… The game , available online, was distributed to companies, associations, educational and higher education establishments, and 15,000 people were made aware of it, according to Coralie Franiatte, founder of Bejoue, who launched it in 2021.
At the Centrale Nantes engineering school, a game was recently organized between students and former students, an initiative aimed at “addressing sensitive themes that we are not going to talk about naturally, with a lighter tone, under the prism fun,” explains Nicolas, member of Centr’Elles, a feminist association at this school. “Each card became an opportunity for players to share testimonies about a problem of discrimination experienced in high school, in their career… What is worrying is that, even if we are only 21 years old, we had so much to say that we spent ten minutes on each card,” he testifies.
“It feels good! And it’s an icebreaker between students,” continues the young man, who invites members of the rugby association of which he is also a part to these events. Another part also gathered them around Bad Bitches Onlywhich consists, on the model of Time’s Upto recognize feminist figures, first by describing them, then by mimicking them. Sold in 9,000 copies, this game intends to “revisit our culture which has swept many women under the rug,” explains Eva Chancé, president of Gender Games, whose three partners are part of the LGBTQIA+ community. “It’s about getting to know 250 women, what they’ve done for the arts, politics, having fun. It’s intergenerational, because it goes from the queens of France to pop culture,” explains the manager.
The goal? Address sensitive themes with a lighter tone, through the prism of fun
Variants exist: Feminist Warriors centered on “feminist icons” or Queer Icons (LGBTQIA+ personalities). Last released, this year, Geek Legends makes you guess video game heroines, from Aveline de Grandpré (that ofAssassin’s Creed) to Ciri (The Witcher), or manga, like The Major (Ghost in the Shell). Even in the famously macho video game culture, “there are women who are real badasses, positive and inspiring,” underlines Eva Chancé, who presents herself as non-binary. Consent, but also sexual practices: the series Discultons (10,000 copies sold according to Gender Games), created by sex therapist Léa Toussaint, wants to help “discover yourself and discuss sexuality peacefully”.
Running an Instagram account, she received private messages telling her “what you are saying is great, but I don’t know how to talk about it with my partner,” says Eva Chancé. A new version released this year is aimed at “new parents”, to “remove taboos and open dialogue about their privacy” after welcoming a child. Knowing how to respond to derogatory remarks straight away: the Belgian company Si-Trouille has launched the card game TakattakTrash to practice responding to barbs, or even insults with sexist, homophobic, fatophobic or racist connotations.
“The spirit of repartee is purely training!”, assures Geneviève Smal, its founder, trainer in public speaking. The game series Taktaktakaimed at different audiences, sold 60,000 copies, she says. Players draw a card with an aggressive statement and must respond with self-deprecation, a pirouette, insolence, a question, a truth or a compliment. “At a family celebration, instead of letting someone say horrible things about women, the Mazan trial, #MeToo, the idea is to give weapons to dare to respond appropriately, without entering into an argument », assures Geneviève Smal. “Repartee does not add fuel to the fire, it extinguishes the conflict.”
