Black humor has a good back. The board game Quandmemes, whose principle is based on this type of humor, is accused of propagandizing rape culture on social networks. And for good reason, the game published by Amosdee banned to under 16s and described as "transgressive", simply goes too far.
On paper, the principle can make you smile. The player has six cards in hand with written proposals, all in the following form: "When..." ». An image is then unveiled, the goal is to add the sentence that makes the game master laugh the most. But between rather soft proposals: "When you are asked what you want to do after your studies", "When you have a conversation with 3 and the other two just talk to each other", "When you are in a relationship but you have love at first sight every 10 minutes", hide other much more problematic sentences...
Among the 220 cards proposed, three really cross the line and are accused of spreading rape culture: "When he changes holes unintentionally", "When she begs you not to end up in her", "When you get sucked, that you will, but you do not warn her". If the game claims to be "not politically correct", these proposals have provoked the anger of Internet users after the tweet seen more than a million times by a former candidate in the legislative elections, Noé Petit.
"When you get AIDS... »
"I discovered Quandmemes in a gambling bar. There are many cards, most are more or less funny, to take at the second degree but some go far beyond the limits, which poses a real problem. Even without alcohol we read 2 or 3 times to be sure, and no we do not dream unfortunately. That's what is written," says activist Nupes, who has kept eight cards from the game that he considers problematic.
Other cards include: "When you get AIDS but realize you can pass it on to all the people you hate," "When, after flirting with you all evening, she tells you she has her period," "When you're already on your 15th date and he still doesn't want to fuck you."
"When she begs you not to end up in her" Rape culture in a despicable board
game@Asmodee_fr pic.twitter.com/iJeoiT0VpZ
— Noé Petit (@NPetit_41) May 29, 2023
In the comments, many Internet users are already calling for the removal of the game and claim to have contacted Asmodee's customer service. Proof of this, we did the test several times, we came across the messaging of the switchboard because of too many calls.
This controversy is reminiscent of the debates around other black humor games such as Blanc Manger Coco, Limite Limite or Juduku, but these three games did not go as far, especially concerning rape. Last November, Fnac had withdrawn for some time from its shelves the game "Antifa" which offers players to embody a group of antifascists, movement including some of the members accused of violent acts.
This time, the "Quandmemes" is not officially removed from the shelves, but it is out of stock or unavailable for sale in stores or online in the largest sales chains. Contacted several times, Asmodee editions did not wish to respond to our requests.