Speaking only as an American I personally feel, that as gamers, a great many of us are quite a bit more open minded to different international cultures and mindsets than the average Joe or Jane on Main Street USA. Maybe it’s because, regardless what we might believe, our pastime truly is still a niche hobby here in the States. Because of that fact we may find ourselves going outside our usual comfort zone in order to find people to game with and expose ourselves to a variety of personal viewpoints that are contrary to our own. It’s not too hard to find folks very similar to ourselves who are will to get together to cheer on the local sports franchise; looking to find seven people who are willing to spend an afternoon playing Diplomacy is a completely different beast altogether.
I suppose even the games we invest our time in help expand our horizons as well. You could easily spend your day as a pilgrim on the way to Mecca (Nomads of Arabia), a cathedral builder (Pillars of the Earth), a WWI ace (Wings of War – among many), a farmer raising his family and expanding his farm (Agricola), and finishing up by plundering merchants in the age of piracy (Blackbeard). I’m just mentioning only a handful of thousands upon thousands of possibilities. There are so many themes and genres out there that if you spent a moment to think about them your head may begin to spin.
I’m certainly not saying that fellow gamers can’t be the most opinionated, bigoted, politically narrow minded individuals you’ll ever encounter – they’re out there, believe me they are out there – but I think our hobby lends itself to more acceptance of others than just about anything else that comes to mind. Nor am I saying that if someone enjoys getting around the table to play the latest release they don’t follow the news because they’re overly focused on getting in another game of Dominion. I’m pointing out that we’re a bit less likely to walk through the world around us with blinders on. I guess you could say it’s because we know what to bring to the table and everything else is to be simply left behind. Most of us just don’t have the time or the energy to devote to intolerance of any kind because we’re too busy involving ourselves in much more constructive pursuits.Or enjoyable pursuits at least.
In the end, I think regardless of where you may call home, the game and playing it right is the thing; be it on a table top, a board or in a hand of cards.
Or in life…
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