by Greyfax

“Now that’s called a ‘unicorn’, see?”As I didn’t get any questions this time, I’ll be discussing “mansplaining” and how to avoid doing it and what to do when it has been done to you.

Mansplaining is called that because typically a man will talk to women at the table as if they need special treatment because they “don’t understand” how to play the game, even if the game has had a teach before play starts or if the woman indicates that she’s played before.

A friend of mine who absolutely loves the old strategy game Titan eventually had to stop playing at the local convention because a man repeatedly tried to tell her the rules and the moves she should make, even though my friend repeatedly asked him not to do this. He simply couldn’t accept that a woman could play a more complex strategy game without assistance.

A few years ago, I read an article regarding the board game renaissance in which the (male) author stated that women don’t play war games. He even discussed this on my Facebook page, claiming that he’d never seen a woman who played war games. Well, that doesn’t mean they don’t play war games and to make that statement is classic bias. Women do play war games, and I wrote to The Atlantic, the publisher of the article, and complained strenuously about the bias in it.

Women can play any game a man can play; games don’t come with a suggested player gender for a reason. When you sit down at the table to play a game you’re really familiar with, I think it’s fine to address the table and mention that you’re familiar with the game and happy to answer questions that anyone might have. At a local convention in 2024, I ran into a woman who was playing in the Star Wars: Imperial Assault tournament, and she told me how much she loved the game. She certainly didn’t need any assistance in learning or playing it.

So leave the stereotypes out of the conversations you may have at the table, and let folks come to you if they need to.

Thanks from a woman!

Ms. Meeple (Jennifer Schlickbernd)

P.S. If there’s a situation in your board game group or at a meetup that you would like advice on, please send me a Geekmail with “Ms. Meeple” in the title.