The Ascent of Board Games

Episode 72 - Games With a Message


Listen Later

Welcome back, everyone! This month we're talking about games with a social or political message. It's not JUST because it's Pride Month in the USA, and it's not JUST because tariffs are currently wreaking havoc on the entire board game industry...but it's not NOT because of those things, either. 

Many links follow:

  • Amabel Holland's great video about, among other things, the REAL origins of Monopoly
  • The games that made Jayson say, "It's awful. I hate this company. I hate it so much."
  • KamSandwich agrees that both of these games are pretty awful.
  • This game (and the rest of the games in its series) are also awful experiences, but for a very different reason.
  • Joe appears to be of the opinion that subtlety is dead.
  • Is this what a Phil Eklund game from the evil mirror universe would look like?
  • More Amabel Holland, discussing her games about Big Tobacco and kaiju as a trans metaphor.
  • What messages did we miss? Does a sociopolitical statement distract you from a game, or enrich the gameplay? Come visit our Discord server to chat with us and other like-minded game nerds!

    As always, thank you for listening. Please consider writing us an iTunes review if you like what you hear! We'd also love to have you visit our website and let us know what kinds of games we should discuss next. You're also more than welcome to comment on the episode page, or our Discord, or our Facebook page, or tag @ascentofboardgames on Bluesky. Whatever way you prefer to share your opinions with us, we'd love to hear them.  As always, we appreciate your listening - stay safe out there, and happy gaming!

    • Website: https://www.ascentofboardgames.com
    • Discord: https://discord.gg/tdH3QAn 
    • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ascentboardgames/
    • Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ascentofboardgames.bsky.social
    • Discord: http://discord.ascentofboardgames.com
    • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ascentofboardgames/
    • And, very occasionally, Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ascentofboardgames
    • Intro and outro music is "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under a Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.

      The Ascent of Board Games is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Some rights reserved.

      Thank you for listening!

      ...more
      View all episodesView all episodes
      Download on the App Store

      The Ascent of Board GamesBy The Ascent of Board Games

      • 4.9
      • 4.9
      • 4.9
      • 4.9
      • 4.9

      4.9

      16 ratings


      More shows like The Ascent of Board Games

      View all
      The Dice Tower by Tom Vasel and Eric Summerer

      The Dice Tower

      1,142 Listeners

      On Board Games by Donald Dennis

      On Board Games

      90 Listeners

      Board Game Top 10s by Remy Gibson

      Board Game Top 10s

      11 Listeners

      Rolling Dice & Taking Names Gaming Podcast by Rolling Dice & Taking Names Gaming Podcast

      Rolling Dice & Taking Names Gaming Podcast

      233 Listeners

      Talk Cardboard by No Pun Included

      Talk Cardboard

      128 Listeners

      One Stop Co-Op Shop by Peter Gousis, Michael Kelley, Steve Kingsley

      One Stop Co-Op Shop

      108 Listeners

      Shut Up & Sit Down by Shut Up & Sit Down

      Shut Up & Sit Down

      1,601 Listeners

      So Very Wrong About Games by Mike Walker & Mark Bigney

      So Very Wrong About Games

      290 Listeners

      Five Games for Doomsday by Ben Maddox

      Five Games for Doomsday

      67 Listeners

      Which Game First: A Board Game Podcast by Which Game First

      Which Game First: A Board Game Podcast

      33 Listeners

      Game Brain: A Board Game Podcast About Our Gaming Group by Game Brain

      Game Brain: A Board Game Podcast About Our Gaming Group

      174 Listeners

      The Gamecasters: A Board Gaming Podcast About Board Games by The Gamecasters

      The Gamecasters: A Board Gaming Podcast About Board Games

      48 Listeners

      The Board Game BBQ Podcast by Board Game BBQ

      The Board Game BBQ Podcast

      26 Listeners

      Board Game Hot Takes by Board Game Hot Takes

      Board Game Hot Takes

      180 Listeners