“Board Games Aren’t Just for Geeks Anymore”...

Vysetron wrote:

Legomancer wrote: It was fine. About what I expected. Nerds celebrating nerdery is always pretty embarrassing.

It of course does the weird thing that nerds do where they assume that people who aren't into the things they're into aren't into anything. Like, how can someone claim they enjoy a TV show or a hobby unless they have t shirts and action figures and do quotes and discuss online and so forth. Geeks seem to think that people who aren't geeks just sit motionless on the sofa until it's time to sleep.

Don't forget the arcane acts of THE SPORTSBALL.

Ah yes, the sportsball. And I should also point out that non-geeks don't sit motionless, they take selfies and watch Kardashians. Apparently Kardashians are the only option if you don't want to be a nerd.

Legomancer wrote: Ah yes, the sportsball. And I should also point out that non-geeks don't sit motionless, they take selfies and watch Kardashians. Apparently Kardashians are the only option if you don't want to be a nerd.

Drinking wine or microbrews is also acceptable. See also: going out, partying.

I'm not going to watch the video. It sounds like a misguided mixture of navel-gazing and gatekeeping. However, it sounds like they have missed a larger and more interesting point, which is that geek has gone relatively mainstream since the internet became accessible to the masses.

If you're referencing "This Is America", maybe move your one token person of color closer to the center of the frame?

And where does he go for the final chorus line? To hold the camera?

JonathanVolk wrote: If you're referencing "This Is America", maybe move your one token person of color closer to the center of the frame?

I am so afraid that this is what he is doing that I haven't watched the video. The reflected glory is sufficient.

Clearly the video is fan-service to other board gamers and is intended to make them feel better about themselves, not as a welcome video to non-gamers. "Look, this geeky hobby of ours is more mainstream then you think!"

As for the lack of "color" in the video, clearly he's making this with his real-life friends. If he was "casting" the video I would fault him more for that.

Edited to not be 100% a dick.

Jon Purkis (Actualol), is a very good dude.

I don't disagree with Michael's observations, but c'mon. This place is outrageous.

Seriously, this is insane. Imagine actually getting this mad at a goofy show tune. Holy shit.

Just seemed like the Monopoly joke wasn't as funny as some of the others. All of them are standard tropes. He stayed on remarkably solid ground, which is probably wise to appeal to a bigger audience.

Struck me as specifically aimed at hobby gamers that could enjoy some support that maybe they're not as goofy as they perceive themselves to be.

The "chit boardgamers say" video is in the same vein, but is a little more self-depracating. Oddly enough, it opts to defend Monopoly in the standard play-by-the-rules gamer argument.

charlest wrote: Jon Purkis (Actualol), is a very good dude.

Probably is an otherwise decent person. I wouldn't know as I don't watch whatever he's famous for. Can only judge what I've seen, which is a song/video that came across as very anti-anyone in the hobby more than a few years.

ChristopherMD wrote:

charlest wrote: Jon Purkis (Actualol), is a very good dude.

Probably is an otherwise decent person. I wouldn't know as I don't watch whatever he's famous for. Can only judge what I've seen, which is a song/video that came across as very anti-anyone in the hobby more than a few years.

The anti-monopoly thing is tone deaf, for sure. But I don't think what you're inferring is the attention at all. Stuff like placing the copy of Codenames on the bored couple's table doesn't display that attitude for instance.

Look at the games he's highlighting. If he intended what you are saying he'd have heavier, more niche titles out of the mainstream.

I understand the pleas to tone down the invectives a bit but I would also ask the “geez lighten the f up” people to understand where some of this is coming from.

I’m pretty sure a large part of the readership here doesn’t check their YouTube feed on a daily basis for the latest “Take Your Chits” video, or whatever, but are pretty aware of the general slant of YouTuber culture as it intersects with board gaming. And a good number of us are actually aware of it enough to willfully unsubscribe from it. This is a writing-centric site, after all, and it attracts a certain kind of skepticism toward the “product endorsement wrapped in sketch comedy” genre that has come to dominate most YouTube content for board gaming.

Imagine adapting this video into a written pastiche from different contributors. A couple of things would happen. The kind of analysis & picking apart of the messaging that makes it “work” (or not, as the case may be) would look a lot like what we’re seeing here. And if we did successfully reverse engineer it into a written sketch it would come off as the most off-color and simultaneously cynical & naive piece of writing this site had published.

So there you have it. I understand the humor and the lightheartedness of the video’s intent, but to me there’s a gross heaviness to it’s assumptions that just makes it frustrating to watch, partly because it’s an already over-represented funhouse mirror. It’s facile in a sad way that makes me think “is this really what we think of ourselves?”