Today I will be reviewing the exhibition ‘’Game plan: Board Games Rediscovered’’ from the V&A Childhood Museum in Bethnal Green. The exhibition was designed by the studio Thomas.Matthews and opened on the 8th of October this year and the last chance to see it will be on the 23rd oF April. It is a showcase of over 100 object; board games from all over the world. It is a blend of traditional style exhibition and not; due to its’ interactive side which I witnessed families, couples or parent and child enjoy whilst learning the history of their favourite games.
The exhibition is broken down into four different squares; 1- Explores the history of chess going from Middle East, India, China to Europe. 2- Focuses on games from the 18th Century in Britain created with the purpose of entertaining while teaching. 3 – Discusses the design of popular games and their aesthetic evolution across the years. 4 – ‘Game Changer’, focuses on the impact of electronics and internet on the twentieth century games. It begins by trying to introduce and involve the public in its own game (play a game as you go along the exhibition and read the historical facts about the games). But it failed to pull me in. I didn’t even grasp the aim of the game, as there weren’t really any signs around that there was a game such as checker squares on the floor for example. I personally feel that for a game whose purpose was to suck the public right into this atmosphere of ‘playful feel like a kid/ nostalgic trip down memory lane’… it greatly lacked of visual support.’
But that is not to say that it didn’t have positive sides to it. The name of the exhibition definitely suits the conclusion I arrived to when I finished my visit. Although I didn’t find the exhibition specially enticing (being alone to see it must have been a factor), I cannot deny it was a rediscovery of all the classic board games that were invented throughout history. The exhibition is an educational documentation of the the beginnings of board games and their evolution. It was very interesting to find out the origin of the most popular games and how they inspired others to be created. For example seeing how one game was a combination of three.
The segment of the exhibition I found most interesting was the one that revolved around the design of the board games, as the museum doesn’t only portray them as historic archives but also as aesthetic treasures. And it really was a treat, specially for an illustration student. I am not a game person, specially not a board game person, but what has always attracted me about them is their design, choice of colours, style of illustrations. As a child that is what mostly attracted me to them, although I never really played them. I just remember looking at my parents’ old games, taking them out of the cupboards, feeling the boxes, looking at the drawings, the colours, the tainted aged plastic of the dices and characters.. And as I walked through the exhibition that is what I saw once more. It was heart warming to learn the story behind the games my parents had played as children.
I enjoyed finding out about the stories behind these games, and the quotes distributed along the exhibition on the walls got me thinking about the whole idea of playing. For example; ‘’ We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing’’. I think this quote perfectly explains what games mean to us, to all of us. We keep playing, or games will always bring us joy, excitement and strong feelings because as humans, we cling on to our youth. The past is certain, unlike the future. The feelings and memories associated to the past are fixed; written in our childhood books, filmed in our favourite cartoons, stamped on our favourite board games. There is carefree, promised excitement, joy and innocence in our games. As we were when we were kids. Games are universal; there will always be a game for anyone from anywhere, from any age, games adapt… Because there will always be a player.
End of the journey!
SALOMÉ GAUTIER 