Board games: The politics of play

The Cultural Frontline

How do board games encourage players to explore ideas, politics and morals?

We meet Matt Leacock, designer of the game Pandemic, which has been used at medical schools to encourage co-operation, communication and strategy for trainees.

Reiner Knizia, designer of 700 board games, talks about how making a game out of tasks can change players' behaviour in daily life.

We explore the rise of a new generation of games where players collaborate, rather than oppose each other, in titles that deal with politics, hip-hop, ecology, employment, climate change and more. Quintin Smith from Shut Up & Sit Down discusses new trends in design, while Michelle Browne, designer of World of Work, tells us about the game that explores employment and social benefits.

Presented and produced by Zoë Comyns.

A New Normal production for the BBC World Service

Image: The board game Pandemic (Courtesy of Matt Leacock)