Board Games for Catholics to Avoid

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Driven777

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I’m getting into table top gaming in my free time and I would like to hear what others think on this topic. My sister-in-law sometimes plays games that involve pentagram tokens, demons, and the sort which I avoid like the plague and I have seen other games with links to the occult.

What are some board games to avoid?

I’ve heard that tarot cards, playing with an Ouija board, bloody Mary, Charlie Charlie are some of the worst things you can do because they break the first commandment. I’ve also heard Dungeons and Dragons and Magic the Gathering can be spiritually dangerous but do not know much beyond that.

One game I’m interested in at the moment is Spirit Island but the idea of choosing an evil spirit as your character and working with other evil spirits to drive away people seems very very troublesome (side note if you know about this game please share your thoughts) at first glance.

What’s on your list and what have you seen?
 
Serious question. I do agree with your statement, however when there are so games to play or so many movies to watch, why would one want to expose themselves to the occult?
 
Just because a game has some horror elements does not mean you’re exposing yourself to “the occult.”

The biggest factor is the maturity of the person playing the game and their ability to distinguish between a game and reality.
 
D&D isn’t really a “board game”. It’s an RPG.

The term “Board game” usually means stuff like Monopoly (hooray for greed and being a landlord!), Clue, Masterpiece, Chutes and Ladders, etc.
 
You expose yourself to the occult when you do the occult. When you’re like actively trying to reach spirits or go to fortune tellers. Not by playing a board game because you’re bored.
 
Board games are dangerous things. You can’t be too careful. The Prior and Canons of Coxford, in England, once found themselves in serious trouble when they were caught playing a board game. The Archbishop of Canterbury was furious, when he was informed of their offense. He called it a “heinous vice” and threatened to sentence the offenders to three days and nights on bread and water. The game was chess. The year was 1291.
 
Playing D & D and using a Ouija board are way, way different. One is just a fantasy game. The other is the occult and playing with fire.
 
BartholomewB said:
Board games are dangerous things. You can’t be too careful. The Prior and Canons of Coxford, in England, once found themselves in serious trouble when they were caught playing a board game. The Archbishop of Canterbury was furious, when he was informed of their offense. He called it a “heinous vice” and threatened to sentence the offenders to three days and nights on bread and water. The game was chess. The year was 1291.
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Ah, chess, the game of degenerates.
 
Parker Brothers did market the Ouija as being like a board game – same material and packaging as their other board games, so it’s easy to think that it is. A lot of companies market it like a toy. Either way, avoid at all costs.

I’ve never played D&D or RPGs so I can’t comment on those, as my knowledge and experience there is limited.
 
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I would argue this point. To seek a medium is to willingly open yourself up to the occult by freely seeking it. To play a game or watch a movie is a place to expose yourself to various themes.

Example: When you watch a watch a tv show with extensive (and I want to highlight this word extensive) nudity, are you not exposing yourself to some degree of lust? You could say for example that ‘you’re spiritually mature’ and ‘don’t act on what you see’ but won’t this show ultimately impact you in some way?

To address another posters point, I think this has little to do with a problem of maturity and much to do with wisdom.
 
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No. You aren’t exposing yourself to some degree of lust unless you intentionally are watching the show so that you’d lust. Intent matters.
 
Again, I’d disagree. At what point does the mindset of ‘its just fantasy’ lead to desensitization?

We should avert our eyes from lust so we don’t become accustomed to acts that are gravely sinful. Likewise intentionality is irrelevant. It is not prudent to expose yourself to certain things, period.
 
OP, you seem to be arguing with everyone who answers differently than perhaps you expected. Were you meaning to start the thread as a statement perhaps rather than a question?
 
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Thanks for the comment. My original idea was derailed a bit either because I chose my words poorly or because other posters had an axe to grind and wanted to make a statement about separating themselves from occult themes in games and media.

I personally cannot defend playing occult board games, listening to obscene music, or watching brutally violent horror movies because I believe that the media you consume impacts you and can lead to densensitization of topics and actions that are gravely sinful. Fr Amoth talks about this, as does the widely popular Fr. Mike Schmitz.

My original thought was that people would comment and say “oh i played this game and it gave me the creeps”, etc.
 
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Seeing nudity in film or in art isn’t the same as watching pornography. One’s intent could be the same as watching porn but it does not per se lead to sin.

So you mean to tell me if I listen to the blues and they’re talking about hoodoo or making the deal with the devil I’m opening myself up to the occult? What kind of world do you live in where you’re afraid to live a little? We aren’t called to be spiritually anorexic so that we are afraid of the world
 
I will literally avert my eyes away from nude art. I can’t justify it as living a little. Also, I’m far from afraid. I think it takes a strong person to do such a thing. Same thing goes for songs that dive into the occult (not just off-handedly mention them). Why not change the track/radio station? Its just prudent.

PS its getting personal, eh? ‘What kind of world do you live in?’ I think if you knew me in real life you would be surprised how little I wear these thoughts on my sleeve.
 
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So what are you going to do at the sistene chapel then? The ceiling is covered in nudity. Lol
 
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Probably what other people do… look around and avert your eyes from the private parts? lol
 
I suppose that means you’d avert your eyes from Michelangelo’s crucifix too?
 
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