Makers of War On Terror game in street protest

[Raineyrocks]

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn_news_home/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=341095

Makers of War On Terror game in street protest
raymond.brown@cambridge-news.co.uk
Home - War On Terror board game with its creatorsTHE makers of board game War On Terror will today take to the streets after it was banned by a High Street giant.

Co-creator of the game, Cambridge web designer Andrew Sheerin, has decided to hit back asking why it is shops will sell games which depict violence - but will not sell his tongue-in-cheek creation.

The game has been shunned by toy fairs, branded criminal by police and recently recalled from 130 shops nationwide.

When High Street chain Zavvi ordered 5,000 copies of the controversial game, publishers TerrorBull Games thought their luck had changed.

However, the celebrations were short-lived when the games were recalled the very day they went on sale.

A Zavvi spokesman claimed "poor sales" lay behind the same-day recall.

The games were returned and now the makers are to give some away for free - right in front of the chain's flagship store on Oxford Street.

Zavvi does sell games such as Stealth Force - The War on Terror by Playstation. Mr Sheerin, said: "Zavvi are the latest in a long line of big businesses desperate to hide this from their customers.

"If we'd called the game 'Kill the Terrorists' we wouldn't have any problems, but it's politically sensitive and that's what this is about.

"You've got to ask yourself, why do Zavvi feel the need to protect their customers from a board game that is critical of war and violence, when they have no problem pushing computer games that celebrate and reward brutal and aggressive behaviour?"

The satirical game designed in Cambridge was seized among a stash of "dangerous items" by Kent police at this year's Climate Camp.

Officers claimed the balaclava in the set could be used in a criminal act.

It was confiscated along with knives, chisels and bolt cutters, from climate protesters during a series of raids near Kingsnorth power station, earlier this month.

War On Terror revolves around creating empires that compete and wage war.

Players can poke fun at the rhetoric of world leaders like George Bush and Tony Blair.

The game was born from the frustration of its creators as they sat watching the news in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

All High Street retailers refused to stock the game, but more than 12,000 copies have sold online or through independent stockists.

:: War On Terror board game seized by police

:: Just a game or dicing with death?


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And you can get one from their web site. They will happily ship to the U.S.

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Actually it looks like they have a pretty decent U.S. distribution already, so it should be easy to find without having to have it shipped across the pond.

[Raineyrocks]

And you can get one from their web site. They will happily ship to the U.S.

Wow, is that good or bad?  I really don't understand the article.

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And you can get one from their web site. They will happily ship to the U.S.

Wow, is that good or bad?  I really don't understand the article.

It's written in UK English.

[Raineyrocks]

And you can get one from their web site. They will happily ship to the U.S.

Wow, is that good or bad?  I really don't understand the article.

It's written in UK English.

Oh, that makes everything much clearer to me, thanks!

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I think you should buy your kids one of these board games for Christmas.

[Raineyrocks]

I think you should buy your kids one of these board games for Christmas.

Nah, I think you should buy my kids one of them for Xmas!