amazingly, this may have happened for some as all of the board games below have been / are still available to buy and each one has caused some degree of controversy, the reasons for which will quickly become apparent. some of them are pretty horrible and their inclusion in this list does not in any way condone their creation.

1. public assistance: why bother working for a living?

originally released in the 80s, slammed by many and then banned from most shops. it’s similar to playing monopoly but with some twists, including… there are 2 different journeys on the board: ‘working person’s rut’ or ‘able-bodied welfare recipient’s promenade’. you start off by collecting a $500 welfare check at the ‘collect all benefits’ spot. if you pick up an ‘out of wedlock child’ people who chose to work are obliged to pay you money when you pass the ‘1st of the month’ square.

the game is still available to buy online here.

2. ghettopoly

released in 2003 by david chang and obviously not endorsed by hasbro, ghettopoly is a parody of monopoly. houses are called ‘crack houses’ and hotels are ‘projects’, chance (i mean ‘hustle’) cards now contain messages such as ‘you got yo whole neighborhood addicted to crack. collect $50 from each playa’ and playing pieces include a gun, a bottle of beer and a marijuana plant. the game was discontinued after mass protest and ghettopoly.com is now defunct. however you can still visit ghettopoly.co.uk although i’m not sure whether your online order would be successful.

3. serial killer: the board game

this extremely grim affair was created by serial killer enthusiast tobias allen in the early 90s and was quickly banned in canada. the board game was packaged in a bodybag and the objective was to kill as many people (originally babies until mr allen realised he may have pushed it a bit far) and ensuring capture by police only took place in u.s. states without the death penalty. unsurprisingly the game is now (officially at least) unavailable to buy.

4. battle to baghdad

battle to baghdad: the fight for freedom was created and released in 2005 by construction worker rick medina. set in 2003, the object is to conquer baghdad and take out saddam hussein whilst hoping not to pick up cards such as ‘car bomber… you lose 200 troops’ and ‘disgrace: some soldiers are found guilty of unlawful treatment and inhumane acts of violence toward iraqi prisoners. you lose 100 troops!’. anti-war groups unsuccessfully attempted to get the game banned and currently battletobaghdad.com seems to be down but you can still purchase the game from medina’s website here.

5. juden raus

juden raus (jews out) is a hideous and infamous propaganda board game created by the nazis in 1936 and given to as many kids as possible, the object being to take control of jews wearing pointy hats and get them off the board and outside the walled city as quickly as possible by way of a dice throw. that’s all you really need to know apart from the fact that, thankfully, you can’t buy the game anymore.

6. frischfleisch

as you may have guessed, frischfleisch translates as ‘fresh flesh’ or ‘fresh meat’ and with the addition of the illustration on the front cover i reckon either translation works. it’s a board game in which you take control of a group of humans stranded on a deserted island with rescue only a month away. the objective is to stay alive long enough to enjoy the rescue, whether that be through the consumption of fruit, animals or other humans. the game is now discontinued but the makers’ website still has a page devoted to the cannibalism themed rarity here.

7. war on terror, the boardgame

the war on terror game was designed by 2 cambridge entrepreneurs and released to a huge amount of criticism, to which one of the men replied, “some people suggest that turning the war on terror into a board game is a tad insensitive. i always reply that starting a war is insensitive; a board game is just fun for all the family”. players start the game as an empire anywhere in the world and depending on various choices made, the following can take place in the quest for world dominance… ’send secret messages; fund terrorism; make deals; renege on deals; wage war; expand your empire; forge secret alliances; fund regime changes; kidnap politicians; be the terrorists’. the game can be bought here.

8. capital punishment

released in 1981, each player begins this funfest controlling 4 characters: a murderer, a rapist, an arsonist and a kidnapper. you can win in 2 ways - either 1. ‘maneuver your murderer, rapist, arsonist, and kidnapper along the path of justice into life imprisonment, death row, or the electric chair, or 2. ‘bring your liberals out of their ivory tower” and “use them to ‘spring’ your opponent’s criminals from the path of justice… send them back on the street where their activities make your opponent’s innocent citizens into victims of crime’.

9. blacks & whites

apparently designed for educational use by the psychology department of the university of california at davis, blacks & whites is basically a property-buying board game with a difference. before starting, each player chooses to be black or white, the choice resulting in the following differences…

whites:
- are the majority
- start with a million dollars
- can buy property anywhere.

blacks:
- are the minority
- start with one hundred thousand dollars
- can not buy certain properties
- draw from a separate chance deck
- collect less money for completing a lap around the gameboard.

for more info, go here.

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

best ever acting debut

ed norton: primal fear

ed norton is generally fucking great but even if i didn’t think that i’d still believe his performance as aaron stampler to be the best ever debut in cinema. absolutely faultless. the film was released in 1996 and even before production had finished there was talk in hollwood that norton was one of the biggest talents in years.

the clip below contains a spoiler.

runner up..

brad davis: midnight express

best ever directorial debut

spike jonze: being john malkovich

creating a film this complicated could trouble the most experienced of directors so the fact that music video supremo jonze managed to perfectly convert kaufman’s twisted idea onto the screen as a debut is all the more impressive. the script was originally given to francis ford coppola who then passed it on to jonze, his daughter’s husband, to look at. the rest is history.

runner-up..

sam mendes: american beauty

best ever debut album

interpol: turn on the bright lights

i could never tire of this album. ever. it has the sound of a band at the very top of their game, a band with at least a couple of albums’ experience, and a band that were born as humans in order to make music for my ears.

if you haven’t listened to it already, i beg you to.

runner-up..

oasis: definitely maybe

best ever sporting debut

boris becker - wimbledon

17 years old and unseeded, becker went to wimbledon and beat every fucking opponent in his path to become champion. absolutely unheard of. just to prove it wasn’t a fluke he came back the next year and defeated world no.1 ivan lendl to retain the title.

incredible.

runner-up..

mike tyson - first 22 fights: 18 knock-outs, 14 in the first round