(Clic the paper to flip it !)
The Metaludic Manifesto was written and published to initiate a reflexion and a debate about the cultural impact of board games, and the potential of the media. It was first designed as a paper flyer to be given, to be physically played. It can seem a bit more clumsy here on the web. We are planning to fully translate this website in english in the near future, but until then, here is the text version of the manifesto in english :
Metaludic Manifesto
Board Games are not defined by entertainment and are not limited to commercial objects.
Board Games can have aims other than amusement, escapism or strategic thinking. The various commercial actors are pushed by financial imperatives to restrict Board Games to these functions, which leads to designers being enticed to respond to the assumed expectations of an audience who is offered only few alternatives.
Board Games can be experimental: moving, philosophical, surrealistic…
Contemporary Board Games offer a multitude of shared fictional experiences. Having proved that they are not just for children, Board Games are now in a position to come of age in a more culturally diverse way. A game can be realistic, surrealistic, absurd, philosophical, politically committed, serious, documentary, moving, pervasive, unrewarding, unstructured, sad, critical, emancipatory, and much more.
Board Games are political – the game plays us as much as the other way round.
Board Games affect the player as much as the player affects the game: through the representations it contains and the mechanics and objectives it imposes, the game has a cultural impact on the players who play it. We should be aware of its political significance, of the harmful social norms it can reinforce, or of the desirable futures it can help to build. As authors and players, we cannot ignore this responsibility on the grounds that “it is just a game”.
Click here to download the Metaludic Manifesto in pdf