Some of board gaming’s biggest and most influential reviewers are boycotting Codenames publisher Czech Games Edition, after the company decided to release a new Harry Potter-themed version of the game despite years of anti-trans campaigning from the character’s creator, JK Rowling.

CGE faced an immediate online backlash after unveiling Codenames: Back to Hogwarts on social media site BlueSky on July 23, with the announcement receiving hundreds of responses attacking the decision before the Codenames account locked comments, and switched off the function allowing users to share the post alongside their own remarks.

The continued online criticism intensified two days later when CGE released a short statement attempting to justify its decision to release the game – which was panned for going out of its way to avoid mentioning Harry Potter or JK Rowling by name.

  • gonzo-rand19@moist.catsweat.com
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    3 days ago

    Having actually played that game (I pirated it to see if it was shit or not), maybe the fact that it sucked and was fucking boring with no quidditch will deter people from playing anything further.

      • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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        3 days ago

        I thought it was great. Yeah, it doesn’t break any new ground, but it’s a solid Harry Potter-universe adventure game. It gets bonus points for being developed by a studio near where I live. My kids love HP and we enjoyed playing through it together, in fact, one of my kids made their own account and beat it before me.

        The main opposition I see to it is being affiliated w/ JK Rowling, nothing bad about the game itself, other than features they wish it had.