The Privilege of Play: A History of Hobby Games, Race, and Geek Culture

Geek culture has become increasingly mainstream, but it remains overwhelmingly white, male, and heterosexual. The Privilege of Play contends that to understand geek identity's exclusionary tendencies, we need to know the history of the overwhelmingly white communities of tabletop gaming hobbyists that preceded it. It charts a path toward understanding the deeply rooted structural obstacles that have stymied a more inclusive community and considers how digital technology has created the conditions for a new and more diverse generation of geeks to take center stage.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 18 April 2023
Publisher: New York University Press

Geek culture has reached unprecedented mainstream popularity, with events like Comic Con, transmedia franchising of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, market dominance of video and computer games, and the resurgence of board games like Settlers of Catan and role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. However, despite the influx of BIPOC gamers, the comic book and hobby shops where these activities are consumed remain overwhelmingly white, male, and heterosexual.

The Privilege of Play argues that understanding geek identity's exclusionary tendencies requires understanding the history of the overwhelmingly white communities of tabletop gaming hobbyists that preceded it. The book begins by examining how the privileged networks of model railroad hobbyists in the early twentieth century laid a cultural foundation for the scenes that would grow up around war games, role-playing games, and board games in the decades ahead. These early networks of hobbyists were able to thrive due to how their leisure interests and professional ambitions overlapped. Despite the personal and professional strides made by individuals in these networks, the networks themselves remained cloistered and homogeneous, serving as secret playgrounds for white men.

Aaron Trammell catalogs how gaming clubs composed of lonely white men living in segregated suburbia in the sixties, seventies, and eighties developed strong networks through hobbyist publications and eventually broke into the mainstream. He shows how early hobbyists considered themselves outsiders and how the denial of white male privilege they established continues to define the socio-technical space of geek culture.

In conclusion, geek culture has become increasingly diverse, but the history of tabletop gaming hobbyists remains overwhelmingly white, male, and heterosexual. The Privilege of Play provides valuable insight into the cultural foundations of geek identity and the ongoing struggle for inclusivity in the community.

Weight: 382g
Dimension: 167 x 429 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781479818402