Horrid cohort. Two words that don’t mean anything, but soon no one will be able to escape from. They have released their first product, and it’s as ambitious and disruptive as any they’ve ever made. It’s a board-game called Stereotyping Black People, a slightly-hyperbolic simulation or black life in America, and it’s available right now on Kickstarter. The game won’t be available for sale after the Kickstarter campaign is over and all the unsold/extra copies will be shredded and sold as saw-dust for hamster cages, or for paper mache replicas of the solar system…reduce, re-use, recycle.
Until then, the game puts players in the middle of the most dangerous job (with the worst pay) in the world, being a black person in America. Stereotyping Black People is not just a board-game, it’s the spark that’s starting a revolution in inter-racial relations. It will do this by taking the activism blacks have been doing for centuries, to its next evolutionary step, that all started with the music.
At the roots of almost every music genre created by blacks in America; Gospel, The Blues, Hip-Hop, there’s a common theme, suffering. During times when blacks have been the most down-trodden, these genres blossomed as a need for people to express themselves and the plight of their situation, some attempting to incite political change through it.
Stereotyping Black People is the evolution of that idea, and does something that can’t be done with a passive media. Instead of just hearing about injustices that may or may not be happening, to people they don’t know or care about, the game puts the player in these situations themselves. Now the player, instead of just being a passive observer, is immersed and being affected by these stereotypes that they themselves may have held about another people. This creates empathy as people experience the pitfalls of being a member of a subjugated group of people. This will lead to more open conversations about race relations and how they can be, personally and universally, improved.
The visual aesthetics of Stereotyping Black People also work to disarm the notion of black people being inherently evil or violent, as the characters are all too brightly-colored and adorable to ever do anything bad, ever. All the characters have a name and their own personality. Add to that, some characters have bad abilities so the players see each character as their own individual person and like or dislike them because of who they are or what they do, not just because they’re black.
The gameplay itself is simple, though constantly evolving strategy through inherent randomness give the game infinite replayability. The objective of the game is simple, just get out of the hood. Each player starts with their totem in the ‘The Hood‘ square. The first player to get their totem to the ‘Not the Hood’ square on the opposite side of the board is the winner.
Players move forward 1 space at a time by matching the color of the item cards they play with the color of the selected event, either black or white. White items include things such as; an equestrian outfit, golf clubs, Bill O’reilly books, or a triple-digit credit score. Playing one of these cards when a white event is selected, such as camping, a book reading, or a dog show, will move the player forward 1 space. Black items such as; fried chicken, xxl condoms, weed, demo tape, and handguns move the player forward when black events like a rap battle, barber shop, or a dice game are selected.
Colored spaces on the board behave differently when landed on and either kill the player’s character, or make the player draw a special card. These cards are ‘Help a Brother Out’ which help the player, and ‘Keep a Brother Down’ which hurt the player. Each card tells the players what its effect is and how to use it.
The humor is the last, and probably most notable component of Stereotyping Black People. The humor in the cards and how they relate not just to injustices and stereotypes about black people, but intertwine with the gameplay which add depth and fun to a game that’s also so relevant and necessary to today’s social climate.
The components of the game include:
• 1 Game Board
• 160 unique cards between 4 different decks (240 cards in total)
• 4 player totems (a watermelon slice, a Bible, an EBT card, and a crack pipe)
• 2 custom dice
• 1 Rulebook
• 1 Spinner
There are 4 reward tiers. The tiers and rewards each backer receives are:
• $5 – Copy of Digital Yearbook featuring backers of the game
• $28 – Copy of Stereotyping Black People board-game
• $58 – Producer credit, photo and business name/social media appear in Digital Yearbook, custom wristbands and stickers, all stretch goals
• $888 – Make backer a character in the game, silver-plated Stereotyping Black People World Champion Belt
Included in each tier are all the rewards from all lower tiers.
The Kickstarter campaign for Stereotyping Black People ends on May 9th, and is the only way to receive a copy of the game.
About Us
Horrid Cohort is a Human Advancement company. We tackle problems that keep mankind from reaching its full potential. We understand that when creativity flourishes, humanity flourishes, so goal is to expedite human progress by getting the most people working on our biggest problems.
Media Contact
Company Name: Horrid Cohort
Email: horridcohort@gmail.com
Phone: (985) 788-5014
Country: United States
Website: http://horridcohort.com/