Irritation with Dominion card choices

[rax]

I understand that Dominion is set in medieval Europe and as such is likely to depict limited numbers of women and people of color, especially in powerful roles. But... did they really have to pick the things they did?

Here are all of your women (unless I missed some):

• Witch (hands out curse cards, is an attack card)
• Sea Hag (hands out curse cards, is an attack card)
• Harem (worth money! and victory!)
• Herbalist (can't really complain about this one)

Here are your people of color (unless I missed some):

• Harem (don't lean on me babe, 'cause I can't afford the ticket...)
• Native Village (...back to stereotype city!)
• Pearl Diver (actually the kid on the card looks sort of white to me, but I figure this is meant to pair with "Native Village")
• Noble (one of the advisors, not the noble himself)
• Navigator (this one's fine!)

This is arguably one of the more minor things in the history of minor things, but it makes me grumble, so. Only the Witch, of all eight of those cards, is in the base set. Assuming this universe has a Harem (ugh), there must be contact with non-Western-European communities, so some of the trader/market type cards could have had people of color on them, maybe? Or something? I dunno. Anyway, it's still an awesome game that I intend to play hundreds of times, and now that I have expansions we can have giant eight-person games, which is good, since I was really lacking in games that play well with more than four or five. It's just... irritating that it is not better in this regard.

Comments

[chagrined]

Bang! plays with eight people. It also fails in many many ways on race. Basically in ways similar to Calamity Jane.

Sequence can also be played with eight people (or up to twelve) but then you have to play in ~teams~.

Those are the only two games ~I've~ got that can play with eight people, though maybe some of the games my housemates have can also be played with eight, and maybe I could borrow some if you think I should bring any of them along to a game night. :)

[rivenwanderer.livejournal.com]

The next expansion (which my office has because some of my coworkers went to Gen Con) has a female Peddler card. But yes, in general you're right, and it's bugged me too (but not enough to keep me from playing a lot).

[eponis.livejournal.com]

All I can say is that other games are worse.

(Like Citadels, an otherwise-great game, where the "merchant" card is a grossly anti-Semitic caricature (http://media.photobucket.com/image/citadels%20merchant%20card/ticopelp/citadels_merchant.jpg) with money-lust in his eyes and glinting coins in his fingers.)

But yeah, it bugs me a lot too. Unfortunately, as long as game designers keep being predominantly white males, they're unlikely to notice (or care that much).

(Wish you were still in the Boston area, or I'd offer to play!)

[eredien]

* Harem (worth money! and victory!)
* Herbalist (can't really complain about this one)

Harem? This is set in medieval Europe? Do they mean "the wives and women who follow military encampments around?" Or is it some kind of "Islamic thought and influence in 12th-century Spain" expansion pack?

I can actually complain about "Herbalist"--there are so many fantasy books and comics where the only non-military role for smart, intelligent, single women turns out to be nurse "herbalist" that it's become a cliche. I can't think of anything I've ever read set in that era or in the fantasy genre that features a male herbalist, actually. I understand that such was probably considered actually womens' work more often than not, historically, but I'm tired of "herbalist" being a stand-in for "sassy intelligent good female character."


* Native Village (...back to stereotype city!)
* Pearl Diver (actually the kid on the card looks sort of white to me, but I figure this is meant to pair with "Native Village")

This is, again, medieval Europe, just to make sure? I can kind of see "pearl diver," along the Mediterranean coast, but "native village?" What does that card even look like [edit: I looked it up and there's huts and palm trees and a "generic islander with crazy hair".]Why is this in a card game about medieval Europe? Most people didn't go more than 10 miles from their hometown at any time in their lives...Is there some kind of "new world explorer" expansion pack this comes from?

[laura47.livejournal.com]

i have been bitching about this for ages! of course you noticed. :-)

but there's actually one straight up positive looking woman in seaside, she's even on the box, http://www.boardgamenews.com/oldsite/gamepreviews/dominionseaside/large/explorer.jpg

[perbac.livejournal.com]

Perhaps you could commission someone to create a new set of pictures that you paste onto all of the cards? A new .. furry set of pictures? Furry woman of color spy! Furry woman of color chancellor! Etc.

[postrodent.livejournal.com]

Back to stereotype city!

*throws up the horns*