War on Terror (game)
Encyclopedia
War on Terror, The Boardgame is a satirical, strategic
board game
, produced and published in 2006 by TerrorBull Games
. War on Terror was originally conceived back in 2003 by Andy Tompkins and Andrew Sheerin, two friends based in Cambridge, England. The initial inspiration for the game came from the imminent Invasion of Iraq but, as a whole, was intended as a reaction and challenge to the counter-productive pursuit of the wider War on Terror
. In 2005, Sheerin and Tompkins founded TerrorBull Games
and gathered enough financial support from a mixture of friends and acquaintances to put War on Terror into production.
Widespread notoriety has meant the game has had a colourful and, at times, troubled history. Its initial release was met with a barrage of criticism, particularly from the tabloid press. Other businesses refused to be associated with the game and it was also banned from a number of industry fairs around the world. The British police even confiscated it at one point (see Controversy further down). More recently, however, opinion has turned around and War on Terror is now praised by various highly-respected institutions and individuals, among them Amnesty International and John Pilger (see Cultural Impact - Education below).
The gameplay has been likened to a cross between Risk
, Diplomacy
, Monopoly
and Settlers of Catan
. Like a number of war board games, the basic goal is to dominate the entire world (or "liberate" in the parlance of the game itself). However, the scope of War on Terror stretches to cover all aspects of war-time politics, not just battlefield tactics. The creators of War on Terror have correspondingly claimed it is the most realistic war simulation around.
and geopolitics
. In terms of board game style, it is a mixture of both European and American approaches - utilising elements of chance and chaos as well as strategy and player interactions.
Starting with a tiny presence on the map, each player takes on the role of a budding empire, intent on "liberating" (dominating) countries and continents, controlling oil production and building cities to win the game. An empire controls a region when it has a development there: a village, a town or a city. To expand, an empire can build developments at the border of its current empire if the regions there are unoccupied. Much of the time this will involve some fighting. There are two primary ways to interfere with other empires: fighting wars against them or funding terrorist units in the hope of making them attack your opponent. The game play is essentially card-driven - including the aforementioned warring and terrorist attack. Players obtain two such cards every turn. Additional cards can also be bought using money, which is obtained from oil. Oil is randomly spread out across the map and varies from game to game. An important issue is that when terrorists are no longer dormant and leave the training camp, they act outside the control of the empire which initially funded them, and can turn on that empire if triggered by an opposing empire or the terrorist player. An in-game twist is that defeated players are not out of the game - they become the "terrorist" players, and can still influence the result and perhaps even win. It is also possible to join the terrorist side voluntarily. An important aspect of the game centres around diplomacy and off-board negotiations and dealings. A 'secret message pad' is provided to this end and sees heavy use in a typical game.
An iconic part of the game is the "Axis of Evil": a spinner in the centre of the board which determines which player is "evil" - that player must then wear the Evil balaclava and gets two terrorist cards per turn. Other empires also have a financial incentive to fight wars against the evil empire.
The 'Evil Balaclava' itself has developed a life outside of and independent of the game - something the designers encourage with the Gallery of Evil - and was responsible for the police classifying the game as an offensive weapon (see below).
because the balaclava included in the box "could be used to conceal someone's identity or could be used in the course of a criminal act".
of its theme and the prevalence of the real-life War on Terror
, War on Terror, the boardgame has also attracted support and attention precisely because it is so rare for a board game to deal with such sensitive and political themes.
(look on top of the shelves behind Moss's desk). Roy and Moss are seen playing the game briefly in season 2. The show's creator, Graham Linehan
, is a keen gamer and an open supporter of War on Terror.
. Woolley paid especial attention to War on Terror, noting that while it continued a certain historical tradition - going back to ancient times - of games that attempt to interpret the world around them, War on Terror was different in using satire to examine its chosen themes.
commented, "this board game is in very bad taste and it appears as though somebody has gone too far". Jim Paice, Conservative MP for South East Cambridgeshire, meanwhile claimed he "[didn't] like the sound of it". Around the same time (i.e. before release) a spokesperson for the American Embassy in London was quoted by Mason's news service as saying the game was "beyond belief".
.
Amnesty International
have stocked War on Terror in their catalogue under the banner of 'educational' for two years, while publications like the New Internationalist
and The Guardian
have emphasised the game's educational potential.
Renowned and respected journalist and documentary maker, John Pilger
, has also shown his support and enthusiasm for the game, labelling it 'extraordinary'.
During 2010, the publishers of War on Terror started speaking publicly in higher education circles about the game and the role that games have to play in politics and activism; this appears to be an area in which they are gaining increasing recognition.
In February 2011 War on Terror appeared on its first major syllabus. The game formed part of a core module in Political Simulation and Gaming run by Dr Richard Barbrook, at the University of Westminster.
and the Victoria & Albert Museum of Childhood
in London. War on Terror also forms part of the collection at the Bradford Peace Museum
.
In April 2010, War on Terror was accepted into the John Johnson collection of the Bodleian Library
in Oxford.
War on Terror is unique amongst board games for being accepted into such a diverse range of collections while still in its first print edition.
Strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome...
board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
, produced and published in 2006 by TerrorBull Games
TerrorBull Games
TerrorBull Games is an independent games studio, based in Cambridge, UK. TerrorBull Games was founded in October 2005 by Andrew Sheerin and Andy Tompkins in order to self-publish their first board game, War on Terror. According to their own blog, TerrorBull approached several existing publishers...
. War on Terror was originally conceived back in 2003 by Andy Tompkins and Andrew Sheerin, two friends based in Cambridge, England. The initial inspiration for the game came from the imminent Invasion of Iraq but, as a whole, was intended as a reaction and challenge to the counter-productive pursuit of the wider War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
. In 2005, Sheerin and Tompkins founded TerrorBull Games
TerrorBull Games
TerrorBull Games is an independent games studio, based in Cambridge, UK. TerrorBull Games was founded in October 2005 by Andrew Sheerin and Andy Tompkins in order to self-publish their first board game, War on Terror. According to their own blog, TerrorBull approached several existing publishers...
and gathered enough financial support from a mixture of friends and acquaintances to put War on Terror into production.
Widespread notoriety has meant the game has had a colourful and, at times, troubled history. Its initial release was met with a barrage of criticism, particularly from the tabloid press. Other businesses refused to be associated with the game and it was also banned from a number of industry fairs around the world. The British police even confiscated it at one point (see Controversy further down). More recently, however, opinion has turned around and War on Terror is now praised by various highly-respected institutions and individuals, among them Amnesty International and John Pilger (see Cultural Impact - Education below).
The gameplay has been likened to a cross between Risk
Risk (game)
Risk is a strategic board game, produced by Parker Brothers . It was invented by French film director Albert Lamorisse and originally released in 1957 as La Conquête du Monde in France. Risk is a turn-based game for two to six players...
, Diplomacy
Diplomacy (game)
Diplomacy is a strategic board game created by Allan B. Calhamer in 1954 and released commercially in 1959. Its main distinctions from most board wargames are its negotiation phases and the absence of dice or other game elements that produce random effects...
, Monopoly
Monopoly (game)
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
and Settlers of Catan
The Settlers of Catan
The Settlers of Catan is a multiplayer board game designed by Klaus Teuber and first published in 1995 in Germany by Franckh-Kosmos Verlag as Die Siedler von Catan. Players assume the roles of settlers, each attempting to build and develop their settlement while trading and acquiring resources...
. Like a number of war board games, the basic goal is to dominate the entire world (or "liberate" in the parlance of the game itself). However, the scope of War on Terror stretches to cover all aspects of war-time politics, not just battlefield tactics. The creators of War on Terror have correspondingly claimed it is the most realistic war simulation around.
Concept
War on Terror, The Boardgame can be described as a Risk-like war board game inspired by modern day imperialismImperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
and geopolitics
Geopolitics
Geopolitics, from Greek Γη and Πολιτική in broad terms, is a theory that describes the relation between politics and territory whether on local or international scale....
. In terms of board game style, it is a mixture of both European and American approaches - utilising elements of chance and chaos as well as strategy and player interactions.
Starting with a tiny presence on the map, each player takes on the role of a budding empire, intent on "liberating" (dominating) countries and continents, controlling oil production and building cities to win the game. An empire controls a region when it has a development there: a village, a town or a city. To expand, an empire can build developments at the border of its current empire if the regions there are unoccupied. Much of the time this will involve some fighting. There are two primary ways to interfere with other empires: fighting wars against them or funding terrorist units in the hope of making them attack your opponent. The game play is essentially card-driven - including the aforementioned warring and terrorist attack. Players obtain two such cards every turn. Additional cards can also be bought using money, which is obtained from oil. Oil is randomly spread out across the map and varies from game to game. An important issue is that when terrorists are no longer dormant and leave the training camp, they act outside the control of the empire which initially funded them, and can turn on that empire if triggered by an opposing empire or the terrorist player. An in-game twist is that defeated players are not out of the game - they become the "terrorist" players, and can still influence the result and perhaps even win. It is also possible to join the terrorist side voluntarily. An important aspect of the game centres around diplomacy and off-board negotiations and dealings. A 'secret message pad' is provided to this end and sees heavy use in a typical game.
An iconic part of the game is the "Axis of Evil": a spinner in the centre of the board which determines which player is "evil" - that player must then wear the Evil balaclava and gets two terrorist cards per turn. Other empires also have a financial incentive to fight wars against the evil empire.
The 'Evil Balaclava' itself has developed a life outside of and independent of the game - something the designers encourage with the Gallery of Evil - and was responsible for the police classifying the game as an offensive weapon (see below).
Media
Before the game was released, the story broke and was seized upon by the world's tabloid press as a sensationalist example of a "sick product". There are numerous examples; generally the tabloid press derailed any discussion of the themes contained within the game onto more emotive and emotional lines. Following these reports, the creators of the game received numerous death threats and threats not to go ahead with productionBusiness
Several major game and toy fairs, as well as several retailers, have refused to stock this product. The justification in all cases is some variation on the claim that the topic is highly inflammatory and may be offensive to some.Police
In August 2008, a copy of the game was seized by the British Kent PoliceKent Police
Kent Police is the territorial police force for Kent in England, including the unitary authority of Medway.-Area and organisation:The force covers an area of with an approximate population of 1,660,588 . The Chief Constable is currently Ian Learmonth, who was appointed in 2010 and is the former...
because the balaclava included in the box "could be used to conceal someone's identity or could be used in the course of a criminal act".
Cultural Impact
War on Terror has achieved a level of cultural penetration that is relatively rare for a board game. Due in part to the ZeitgeistZeitgeist
Zeitgeist is "the spirit of the times" or "the spirit of the age."Zeitgeist is the general cultural, intellectual, ethical, spiritual or political climate within a nation or even specific groups, along with the general ambiance, morals, sociocultural direction, and mood associated with an era.The...
of its theme and the prevalence of the real-life War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, War on Terror, the boardgame has also attracted support and attention precisely because it is so rare for a board game to deal with such sensitive and political themes.
The IT Crowd
War on Terror has formed part of Roy and Moss's office set dressing since season two of the award-winning, British sitcom, The IT CrowdThe IT Crowd
The IT Crowd is a British sitcom by Channel 4, written by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson and Matt Berry...
(look on top of the shelves behind Moss's desk). Roy and Moss are seen playing the game briefly in season 2. The show's creator, Graham Linehan
Graham Linehan
Graham Linehan is an Irish television writer, actor, comedian and director who, often in partnership with Arthur Mathews, has written or co-written a number of popular television comedies...
, is a keen gamer and an open supporter of War on Terror.
Games Britannia
In December 2009, TerrorBull Games were featured on the BBC series, 'Games Britannia', presented by historian Benjamin WoolleyBenjamin Woolley
Benjamin Woolley is an author, media journalist and television presenter.- TV programmes :Woolley presented Games Britannia, a documentary on the painting An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump for BBC Four, and an episode of the The Late Show, Libraries and Civilization. Youtube. Uploaded by...
. Woolley paid especial attention to War on Terror, noting that while it continued a certain historical tradition - going back to ancient times - of games that attempt to interpret the world around them, War on Terror was different in using satire to examine its chosen themes.
Politics
Before the game was even released, it had created enough of a stir to warrant a response from the Houses of Parliament. The Conservative MP for South Cambridgeshire, Andrew LansleyAndrew Lansley
Andrew David Lansley, CBE, MP is the UK Secretary of State for Health, who has been the Conservative Member of Parliament for South Cambridgeshire since the 1997 general election, and was Shadow Secretary of State for Health from June 2004 until becoming Secretary of State for Health in May 2010...
commented, "this board game is in very bad taste and it appears as though somebody has gone too far". Jim Paice, Conservative MP for South East Cambridgeshire, meanwhile claimed he "[didn't] like the sound of it". Around the same time (i.e. before release) a spokesperson for the American Embassy in London was quoted by Mason's news service as saying the game was "beyond belief".
Art
War on Terror formed part of the 'Embedded Art' exhibition at the Berlin Academy of Arts in January 2009. This popular exhibition looked at the effects of wartime and security on art. The creators of War on Terror and the illustrator were invited to the gallery to take part in a live, interactive game during the gallery's annual open nightLong Night of Museums
The Long Night of Museums or the Night of Museums is a cultural event organized together by multiple museums and cultural institutions in a location during which the establishments remain open late into the night...
.
Education
War on Terror is used regularly by educators around the world as a tool for broaching and examining the often complex issues contained within. War on Terror has been used in the following disciplines: geography, geopolitics, international relations and politics.Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
have stocked War on Terror in their catalogue under the banner of 'educational' for two years, while publications like the New Internationalist
New Internationalist
New Internationalist is a magazine from New Internationalist Publications, a co-operative-run publisher based in Oxford, England. It has editorial and sales offices in Toronto, Canada; Adelaide, Australia; Christchurch, New Zealand; and New York, USA....
and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
have emphasised the game's educational potential.
Renowned and respected journalist and documentary maker, John Pilger
John Pilger
John Richard Pilger is an Australian journalist and documentary maker, based in London. He has twice won Britain's Journalist of the Year Award, and his documentaries have received academy awards in Britain and the US....
, has also shown his support and enthusiasm for the game, labelling it 'extraordinary'.
During 2010, the publishers of War on Terror started speaking publicly in higher education circles about the game and the role that games have to play in politics and activism; this appears to be an area in which they are gaining increasing recognition.
In February 2011 War on Terror appeared on its first major syllabus. The game formed part of a core module in Political Simulation and Gaming run by Dr Richard Barbrook, at the University of Westminster.
Historic Importance
In March 2008, War on Terror was accepted into the permanent collections of both the Imperial War MuseumImperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
and the Victoria & Albert Museum of Childhood
V&A Museum of Childhood
The V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green in the East End of London is a branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum , which is the United Kingdom's national museum of applied arts.-History:...
in London. War on Terror also forms part of the collection at the Bradford Peace Museum
Peace Museum, Bradford
The Peace Museum is a peace museum located in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1994 and has a collection of over 5,500 items relating to the history and development of peace, non-violence and conflict resolution....
.
In April 2010, War on Terror was accepted into the John Johnson collection of the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
in Oxford.
War on Terror is unique amongst board games for being accepted into such a diverse range of collections while still in its first print edition.