ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the ways in which colonial board games represent European-coded atrocities, by way of locating the presence of the white perpetrator. Using as its case study the popular Finnish board game Afrikan Tähti, originally published in 1951, the chapter shows how playful aesthetics and rules can simultaneously lead to the affirmation and the hiding of colonial exploitation. Looking at game mechanics, game board structure, the game’s economy and implied player identity, the chapter recommends new ways of reflecting on game representation in the context of complicity, whitewashing and the ongoing glorification of colonialism in board game culture.
