Episode 39: The 7 Deadly Sins of Board Gaming

Daniel Hilty & Kevin Taylor — Sun, 24 Sep 2023 15:00:00 -0400

Defining sin

What is sin in the Christian tradition?

What do we mean by “7 Deadly Sins”? 7 deadly sins: pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth. Developed in the 300s with the Desert Fathers, especially Evagrius Ponticus. The 7 capital virtues were chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility. In Dante’s Inferno there are 8 categories of sin: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Wrath, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, Treachery.

The Sins of Board Gaming

1 - It’s All About Winning (Pride and Wrath)

Winning as ontological end and not functional end (trading seriousness for delight)
Fraud and treachery were the worst sins in Dante’s mind
For games to work, you have to try to win, but winning is no more the point of games than framing is the point of a house or the engine is the point of a car

2 - It’s All About Owning (Greed and Envy)

Hyper consumption of games - materialism
How does this game fit in my collection?
This is not a cheap hobby (no hobby is cheap, in the end), so what fits in your budget and priorities?
I love the idea of a game swap or trade or market so you get some value out of them and they don’t clutter up your life (Marie Kondo)
Seeing ourselves first and foremost as consuming beings can rob us of delight and gratitude over what is before us. World in a cup of tea.

3 - It’s All About You Being Right (Pride)

Arrogance about different games (trading exclusion for inclusion) - tribalism. My games are better than your games. My people are better than your people. My god is better than your god.
Assumption that everyone should play games

4 - It’s All About You Being in Control (Pride)

Alpha player (trading control for agency)

5 - It’s All About You (Pride)

Putting the games over people - Buddhist concept of valuing people over principles
Flexing your games or knowledge
Putting principles over people - Buddhist teaching, Jesus tooTurning play into work

6 - People Not Taking Gaming Seriously (Sloth)

Bringing the wrong attitude to the table
Not respecting other’s property
Cheetos
Agreeing to play a game but not really focus on it

7 - Turning Play into Work?

The nature of sin is that it takes something and good and twists it
There’s more to life than games
Anything can become your god

Next Episode - Liz Davidson - Value of Solo Gaming

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Links:

Seven deadly sins - Wikipedia

Episode 34: Games with Religious Themes, with Alice Connor

Daniel Hilty & Kevin Taylor — Sun, 09 Jul 2023 15:00:00 -0400

Alice is the author of several books. http://aliceconnor.com/#about-the-author. She also writes for Daily Worker Placement, including a series titled “Playing at Religion”, and co-hosts the podcast "Table Talk."

Defining a Religiously Themed Game

Your definition: “One whose theme is primarily but not exclusively exploring the practice, history, or theology of any religion or spiritual tradition.”

Some examples

The Settlers of Zarahemla
Ierusalem: Anno Domini
Ezra and Nehemiah (forthcoming)
Nicaea

What Makes a Great Religious-Themed Game?

It succeeds at what it’s trying to do.
It explores its theme complexly and appropriately for its weight.
It is joyous.
It comforts the player and/or exhorts them to a higher good.

Your hypothesis: “Games that tend to intend to convince the player of something tend to be worse than games that play in the space.”

What are Our Top 3 Religiously Themed Games?

Kevin: Frostpunk, Freedom: The Underground Railroad, Sleeping Gods
Daniel: Red Cathedral, Biblios, Heaven & Ale
Alice: Acts of the Evangelists, Nuns on the Run, Zen Tiles