Board gamingis generally considered to be a harmless, even wholesome activity (furious games ofDead of WinterandSheriff of Nottinghamaside). However, there are someboard gamesthat were pulled from sale because they were considered to be too offensive.
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Some games on this listwere technically pulled for copyright reasons. Others were so offensive they caused a public outcry. There are a surprising number of board games that are hard (or even impossible) to buy nowadays, mostly for very good reasons.
Some of these games have harmful stereotypes and deal with difficult stereotypes
8Escape From Colditz
Released back in 1973,Escape From Colditzis a strategy game. Players can choose to play as Allies, attempting to escape the famous castle, used as a prisoner-of-war camp in 1939. Or, they can join the German team, attempting to stop the other players from being able to escape. The game was popular in the ’70s, as was the BBC TV show,Colditz, which inspired the game’s creation.
Understandably,Escape From Colditzcaused a stir, especially in Germany. The original game had a swastika on the box. The rules around Nazi memorabilia, particularly swastikas, are complicated in Germany, and the game was banned for this reason. Later versions had an Imperial eagle on the box instead, and the game was updated and released by Osprey Games in 2016.
7War On Terror
War On Terroris asatirical board game, published in 2006. Inspired by the Iraq invasion, it’s a political strategy game in which players have to control an empire. Players must liberate (or rather, invade) countries to develop towns or cities there. Where the gameplay gets particularly controversial is the terrorism aspect. Players can fund terrorist groups to attack their opponents, which is obviously a sensitive subject in general, but especially back in 2006 when the game was first published, given that the London bombings of 2005 were still very recent at the time.
The game was banned from major industry fairs, including Essen, Nuremberg, and New York. Some critics went as far as to call the game’sick and ridiculous', and UK police evenseized copies of the game. However, the game remains popular and was described as ‘genius satire’ by Amnesty International,according to TerrorBull Games.
6Hart An Der Grenze
Published in 2006,Hart an der Grenze(which translates to ‘Right at the Border’) is a game about smuggling goods across the border. Players take turns to play the role of the border Sheriff trying to catch the other players in the act of smuggling. It’s a game involving a lot of bluffing, and it gets pretty silly, making it a great party game to play with friends.
Hart an der Grenzewas apparently banned in Brazil. Authorities argued that the game may encourage children to defy authority, which is an interesting take on a light-hearted party game. The game has been re-themed asRobin Hood, keeping the same game mechanics.
5Public Assistance
With the tagline ‘why bother working for a living?’ you may see why some people foundPublic Assistanceoffensive. A satire on the American welfare state, it’s aMonopoly-like game that pits working people against ‘able-bodied welfare recipients’ to see who can get the most money after taxes.
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After an outcry (including criticism from the then-Secretary of Health and Human Services, Patricia Harris, who called out the game for being racist and sexist), there was acomplicated court case, and some stores withdrew the game from sale. It was re-released years later. Second-hand copies can be found online, but most people find it pretty distasteful.
4Quest Of The Magic Ring
Readers can probably figure out where this one is going based on the name!Quest of the Magic Ringwas caught up in a copyright battle as it is based on - no surprises here - Tolkien’sThe Lord of the Rings. The game has a large (and,it has to be said, quite pretty) paper board,with playersrolling diceto move along the path, engaging in combat, and trying to complete their quests.
It’s no surprise that this triggered a copyright claim, and therefore copies are hard to come by. Copies that do pop up from time to time are pretty expensive, and they’re sought after by some Tolkien fanatics.
3Assassin
Assassin(orKiller) is a role-playing game. Players have to ‘kill’ their opponents, with the game taking place in real-time. Players are given the name of another player and some kind of prop gun (like a water gun). If players kill their target, they take on the defeated player’s target as their own, and it goes on until there is one winner left. It’s afun party gamethat can take days to complete.
Assassinhas been banned from several college campuses over the years. Campus security teams have been caught up in some incidents with students taking water guns or Nerf guns into class.Police have been summoned to games ofAssassinin the past, so you may see why college campuses want to avoid any potentially dangerous situations cropping up by accident.
2Serial Killer: The Board Game
Perhaps unsurprisingly,Serial Killer: The Board Gameraised some eyebrows when it was first published. A dark and twisted game, it involves players traveling around a map of the US, trying to kill people without getting caught (or at least avoiding states with the death penalty).
The game was banned in Canada. Perhaps unsurprising, given the very dark content, and it’s currentlyout of print. It’s too morbid for most people to enjoy, although some players have created their own versions with slightly more tasteful themes, using the game’s core mechanics.
1Ghettopoly
Ghettopolyis anotherobviously offensive board game.It’s aspin onMonopoly, and it’s packedwith racist stereotypes, with most gamers finding it tasteless at best. It was called ‘offensively racist’ by alocal chapter of the NAACP, and was pulled from retailers including Urban Outfitters.
Hasbrosued the game’s creator over the similarities toMonopoly. The court awarded damages of $400,000 to Hasbro. Many places refuse to stock it online, even second-hand, for obvious reasons.
