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dc.contributor.authorBorit, Cornel
dc.contributor.authorBorit, Melania
dc.contributor.authorOlsen, Petter
dc.date.accessioned2018-07-30T12:36:57Z
dc.date.available2018-07-30T12:36:57Z
dc.date.issued2018-04-10
dc.description.abstractWith all its intricate processes, colonialism, both as an ideology and a historical period, has been a rich source of inspiration for contemporary popular culture, whether in the form of movies, novels, digital games, or analogue games. This article presents a critical analysis of colonial representations in three examples of the latter: <i>Puerto Rico</i> (2002), <i>Struggle of Empires</i> (2004), and <i>Archipelago</i> (2012). These three games are simulation, strategy type Eurogames, with rules designed to emulate and reproduce two time periods: first-wave European colonialism (<i>Puerto Rico; Archipelago</i>) and 18th-century European colonial expansion (<i>Struggle of Empires</i>). On <a href=https://BoardGameGeek.com> https://BoardGameGeek.com</a>, where users have ranked more than 87,000 board games and extensions, these three are in the top threehundred overall, with more than 3,000 votes each. Building on John McLeod’s definition of colonialism and interpretation of colonial economies, Edward Said’s theory of Orientalism, and Gayatri Spivak’s theory of subalternity, this comparative study examines representations of: a) the otherness of colonial subjects in relation to colonisers; b) indigenous peoples’ agency and subaltern voice; c) expressions of the indigenous culture; and d) Eurocentrism. The analysis investigates the denotative and connotative meanings of game rules, game mechanics, artwork, and tiles, critically assessing how these might influence the player’s cultural, social, and aesthetic experience of the ideological and historical context. In so doing, the article attempts to raise awareness about how these games (mis)represent colonial realities and relations.en_US
dc.descriptionSource at <a href=https://doi.org/10.16995/olh.211> https://doi.org/10.16995/olh.211</a>. Accepted manuscript version, licensed <a href=http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/> CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.</a>en_US
dc.identifier.citationBorit, C., Borit, M. & Olsen, P. (2018). Representations of Colonialism in Three Popular, Modern Board Games: Puerto Rico, Struggle of Empires, and Archipelago. Open Library of Humanities, 4(1), 17, 1-40. https://doi.org/10.16995/olh.211en_US
dc.identifier.cristinIDFRIDAID 1578725
dc.identifier.doi10.16995/olh.211
dc.identifier.issn2056-6700
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10037/13311
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherOpen Library of Humanitiesen_US
dc.relation.journalOpen Library of Humanities
dc.rights.accessRightsopenAccessen_US
dc.subjectVDP::Humaniora: 000::Kulturvitenskap: 060en_US
dc.subjectVDP::Humanities: 000::Cultural science: 060en_US
dc.titleRepresentations of Colonialism in Three Popular, Modern Board Games: Puerto Rico, Struggle of Empires, and Archipelagoen_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.typeTidsskriftartikkelen_US
dc.typePeer revieweden_US


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