Photo by Khashayar Kouchpeydeh on Unsplash

The game glorifies tasteless things in the name of “humour”

I’m a garage sale junkie.

Every Saturday from May to September, I rise early and head out the door in search of local garage sales. I love finding a deal.

At one sale, I found a number of board games still in their original packaging. The seller pointed to a black box with white lettering. “That one is for adults only.” I read the title, Cards Against Humanity — A Party Game for Horrible People.

He continued, “It’s quite vulgar.”

I passed on buying the game.

The following weekend, I joined my neighbours for a friendly barbecue. Sitting on their back deck, a friend suggested we play a board game. They produced a black box with white lettering.

My curiosity got the better of me and I agreed to play. Each player received white cards with a variety of words or phrases typically deemed offensive or politically incorrect. The dealer had a black card with a fill-in-the-blank phrase they read out loud. The players chose one white card that they felt answered the fill-in-the-blank best and passed it, face down, to the dealer. The dealer read all the answers out loud and chose which one they thought was the funniest.

To say it is a party game for horrible people is an understatement. Not that I’m a prude, but the game encourages players to poke fun at practically every sensitive subject including race, religion, gender, poverty, torture, alcoholism, drugs, suicide, sex, abortion, and child abuse.

The more vulgar the answer, the more raucous the laughter. I tried to keep my answers “clean” but the cards I was dealt didn’t leave many options. I felt relieved when the food was finally ready and we quit the game.

I truly love my neighbours. They are supportive, encouraging, and fun people to be around. But that game reduced us all to say the most controversial, tasteless things in the name of “humour”.

I felt icky playing the game.

The next morning at church, the pastor preached on Galatians 5, Life by the Spirit.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:16–21, NIV).

These works of the flesh can be broken down into 4 categories:

1. sensual sins: fleshly temptations (sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery)
2. religious sins: worshipping other gods (idolatry, witchcraft)
3. interpersonal sins: how we treat one another (hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy)
4. social sins: in the presence of other people (drunkenness, orgies)

That game glorified these works and joked about the suffering of others in despicable, crude, and outright offensive ways.

God does not want this for us. In His goodness, He convicted me of my behaviour and led me to repent of it. He reminded me that I am to be a light to others, shining Christ’s love.

I’m told that the board game, Apples to Apples, is a similar game but without vulgarity. Next time I’m out at a garage sale, I’ll look for this game to offer at our next neighbourhood get-together.

You may also like Why We Should Participate in the Sacrament of Penance