Risk in Rio

Traditional board game comes back to life favela style

“War in Rio is a manifesto-game, a tasteless joke”. That’s how Fabio Lopez courted controversy on the internet. Based on the famous Cold War game “Risk”, the 29 year old Rio-based designer adapted the reality of his city to the rules of the well-known game, in which players have to go about conquering territory and decimating enemy armies. In this new version, the territories in question are favelas. And the armies… well, the colours sported by each player allow people to take part in the discussions surrounding urban violence. You can choose to play a member of the Comando Vermelho (a criminal faction in Rio), a member of Bope (the military unit) or an ordinary member of the police force.

Less than 24 hours after posting the role-play game on his blog, Fabio received over 400 emails. Several Brasilian journalists have published articles on the phenomena, and the debate has even made it all the way to the government, where politicians discussed whether or not the game should be commercialised (which wasn’t even the aim of the designer). Sensitive about the way in which Rio has been stigmatised by its violent reputation, many Cariocas criticise the glamorisation of the chaos rocking the city.

Be they right or not, how long has it been since there’s been such a media furor over Rio’s Achilles’ Heel without any crime having being committed in one of the city’s wealthier suburbs? JD

Risk in Rio

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