Theme

The theme of a board game creates an atmosphere, tells a story, and shapes an immersive experience. It captures players’ imagination and encourages them to engage with the game fully. This emotional connection to the game and its characters makes board games a unique medium for conveying values—through illustrations, text, and gameplay. By carefully choosing and thoughtfully executing a theme, it becomes possible to design engaging, inclusive, and meaningful games.

To achieve this, asking questions about the groups represented within the theme and how they are portrayed is essential.

Avoid Normalizing Harmful Practices

If harmful practices—such as discrimination, oppression, or slavery—are trivialized or treated as playful game elements, this can contribute to desensitization and a lack of awareness about the seriousness of such actions. This also risks downplaying their real-life impact on individuals and communities who have been directly affected by them. 

Don’t Minimize Consequences

Additionally, incorporating these harmful practices into a game without clearly highlighting their negative aspects risks separating the actions from their historical context and real-world consequences. This can distort historical understanding and diminish the suffering experienced by the people or groups involved. This is particularly relevant when thinking about Indigenous peoples, who are often erased or misrepresented in narratives around colonization.

Represent Cultures with Care

It’s also essential to approach cultural representation with sensitivity. When choosing to depict a culture that is not your own, there’s a real risk of falling into stereotypes. This is particularly common in depictions of Southeast Asia, where orientalist representations—rooted in colonial and xenophobic views—have historically shaped how these cultures are perceived in the West. These stereotypes perpetuate outdated and reductive ideas, rather than celebrating these cultures' true richness and diversity. Instead of relying on clichés, it’s better to conduct thorough research and seek inspiration respectfully and authentically. We will further discuss character stereotypes in the next section.

Innovate by creating themes that celebrate communities and reflect the positive, inclusive society we strive to build. Ethical and social responsibility should always be considered when designing games. Board games are powerful tools for education, awareness, and social change—but to fulfill that potential, creators must think critically about the messages they are conveying and the values they are reinforcing.