Colonialism is a complex theme, from both an ideological view as well as a game theme and historical perspective. It has become a rich source of inspiration for modern popular culture through its representation in films, books and podcasts. A form of of this modern culture representation that can be disregarded is table top games.
This blog will focus on a critical analysis of how colonialism is explored in the TBG ‘Settlers of Catan’, whilst incorporating the concept of how history has shape the board game.
Modern games, commonly known as ‘Eurogames‘ like Settlers of Catan focus on competition and resource management as opposed to conflict. Resource management is defined as “acquiring, allocating and managing the resources, such as technology, materials and natural resources“. From a historical perspective this also relates to Colonialism, which is defined as “the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically“.
When focusing on games through a colonialist perspective it allows the game to be viewed as more structured, through the attention of both the theme and design of the game. Through this focus a distinct relation to cultural memory is defined.
Developed by Klaus Teuber in 1995, Settlers of Catan is based on a “concept that better conforms with the hierarchical inversion performed by the settler revolution” (Veracini, 2013). The game is about developing self-supporting colonies, with players beginning with ready made skills, technologies and resources. These resources can be traded to establish permanent settlements and can be used to purchase other resources such as brick, lumber, wool, grain, and ore.
“The controversy around colonialist themes in board games is not new. It has been a drawn out, protracted event, and nobody working in board games design has an excuse to be ignorant of it.” – Jon Bolding
When playing the game it is vital to comprehend the setting and themes to gain a thorough understanding of its game play and thus understand its relation to colonialism. The game is set on an island, surrounded by water and emphasising the idea of colonialism and settlement distinctly through its setting. Jon Bolding wrote an article for VICE, where by he explains how the “modern board games trace most of their heritage to Europe, where distinctly European and historical themes dominated” (Bolding, 2019).
Discussion forums emphasise the theme of colonialism through the representation of colours seen in TBG.
Although the land being built on it ‘terra nulius’ “a ‘new’ land that is as empty as it should be, different from the new lands that real settlers usually encounter, which are actually filled with the prior claims of indigenous peoples”.
There are no indigenous land owners mentioned in the game, so seemingly the historical concept of stealing from the tradition owners is blurred. Lorenzo Varacini wonders if these robbers are the indigenous landowners through commenting on their representation in the game as black pieces, regardless of being remade as grey in 2007.
Overall, the ‘robbers’ role is to disturb the development of settlements by preventing resource expansion. These robbers are “moved-on through military means towards the periphery of settlement; like indigenous peoples in exclusivist settler frontiers” (Varacini, 2013). This highlights the robbers incompatibly with the settlement processes on the island. Varacini (2013) highlights how “their role is primarily to disappear”, further emphasising the colonialist impact on these modern board games, a game that Jon Bolding describes as “certainly fires up the European imagination on themes of colonisation”.
In all, Settlers of Catan is about settler colonialism, “a particular system of relationships designed to reproduce social bodies in putatively ‘empty’ locations” (Varancini, 2013). The game is a notable yet argued notorious TBG, not only due to its superior game play but as well as its historical reference in todays society, known as cultural memory.
Its notoriety comes from the exploration in ‘Unsettling Settlers of Catan’ by Nicole H which aims to address the abstraction of Catan from real-world history and how it could be utilised for education purposes and the games defining concepts and themes. Settler colonialism is still foundational within the world we live in, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson highlight how this settler colonialism provides the ‘metaphors we live by’ and thus representing cultural memory in TBG form.
References:
Boardgamegeek.com, 2020. Eurogame | Wiki | Boardgamegeek, (online) <https://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Eurogame> (viewed 25 April 2020)
Boardgamegeek.com, 2020. Eurogame | Wiki | Boardgamegeek, (online) https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/73847/article/572479#572479 (viewed 25 April 2020)
H N, 2017, Unsettling Settlers Of Catan, The Daily Worker Placement (online) Dailyworkerplacement.com <http://dailyworkerplacement.com/2017/05/19/unsettling-settlers-of-catan/> viewed 25 April 2020
Lexico Dictionaries, English 2020, Colonialism, Meaning Of Colonialism (online) <https://www.lexico.com/definition/colonialism> (viewed 25 April 2020)
Reddit.com, 2015, Can’t Help But Think The Inventor Of Catan Was A Little Racist: Catan. (online)<https://www.reddit.com/r/Catan/comments/2bic7q/cant_help_but_think_the_inventor_of_catan_was_a/> (viewed 25 April 2020)
Veracini, L 2013, ‘Settlers of Catan’ Settler Colonial Studies , vol. (3), no. (1), pp. (131-133)
Vice, 2020, ‘A Cancelled Board Game Revealed How Colonialism Inspires And Haunts Games’ (online) <https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/vb9gd9/a-cancelled-board-game-revealed-how-colonialism-inspires-and-haunts-games> (viewed 25 April 2020)
Wrike.com. 2020. What Is Resource Management & Why Is It Important? (online) <https://www.wrike.com/blog/what-is-resource-management/> viewed 25 April 2020
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