From: "Eric" <ericandmary-AT-earthlink.net>
Subject: the Game of Life
Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2004 10:05:45 -0600


Geof,

I agree it appears the board game has declined in popularity in the US.
I have read, however, that there are new board games, very different
from Monopoly, which have become very popular in Europe, but never
really made it over here. These appear to be more like real-world
simulations than Monopoly and some of the big names are games like 'The
Settlers of Catan', 'Carcassonne', 'Bohnanza'.  It appears they often
use tiles rather than just a board.   

What I find interesting about this is that although we often speak about
the homogenization of Western Culture and the vanishing of differences;
(My wife lamented to me only a few days ago that Paris now has a
Starbucks!) there remain pockets where all is not the same.  

Certainly there are difference between the US and Europe, as the game
phenomenon illustrates in a very small way, the horizontal dimension.
There are also class differences based upon status, the vertical
dimension. 

I recently went to a play where the characters in a small town talked
reverently about going to Applebees and Red Lobster and this only
brought guffaws of laughter from the more sophisticated urban audience;
but aren't Sushi bars and Haute French cuisine still coexisting in the
same Mall of America, even if they are accessible only on the higher
floors. 

Is this so-called homogenization of culture really occurring or is there
something else going on?

eric 

 

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