Why I Choose Black When Board Gaming

I always play with Black. I'm not sure if it started during my only-wear-black-clothes phase (which never really ended), if it stems from leftover teenage angst, or perhaps it just comes from my contrarian nature. Black has always been the go-to game piece.

Black is a color that represents mystery. Sometimes that mystery leads to fear, other times strength, and as a combination of both, it most certainly embodies confidence. Often times black has a negative connotation in that it is evil or dark—but as with most things, its in the eye of the beholder.

Again, as a natural contrarian, I like the idea of being defaulted into the adversarial role. As an avid gamer and sports fan, I always enjoy a challenge and relate more to the underdog than the favorite. As a gamer, black is a pretty risky color to pilot. In most games, black pieces have the highest amount of contrast when placed on the board. Standing out in a board game is more often than not a bad idea. People pay attention to you more. People are more aware of what you are doing on the board as opposed to the other colors that might blend in with the design on the board and get glossed over when reviewing the state of the game.

As I write this I'm starting to realize that maybe I just have a subliminal need for more attention…(I hate myself for that)

For certain, the challenge of other players focusing on you is always fun. Sometimes I can even turn that emphasis placed on me into an advantage, leveraging their attention in one aspect of the game while I shift gears into another.

All this being said the most obvious question remains—when there isn't a black piece in a game, what do I play? Well, pink of course!

"Wait a minute. The guy who loves the mystery and edgy dark side connotation switches to pink?!?!?"

Yes, yes I do. Pink is still in the contrarian wheelhouse. As a male, pink is a color that we are raised to associate with females. You can't deny the "pink aisle" at the toy store or the pink version of your favorite game system or sports team's jersey. Whether you agree with the gender bias of the color pink is a different story—I for one really like the color and feel some pain in my gut when a parent won’t let their son play with a pink toy or wear pink. You know what? While on the subject, why do all the baby/toddler products need to be gendered? Like, a bib is for boys because it has cars on it and it’s for girls because it is pink or has flowers?…It’s a cloth that my son is going to drool on and spit his food on…..sorry, I got sidetracked.

Let me add a little disclaimer here. I'm not that insistent player at the game table that ABSOLUTELY HAS TO PLAY [INSERT COLOR HERE]!!! When no one has a preference, I'll snag the black player tokens. When playing with new gamers I will always forgo any color choice. I think its important to let the newbies use the color they want, whatever makes them more excited to game is always alright with me.

Of course, this little editorial would not be complete if I didn't ask you to return the favor. What color do you play? Is their a backstory behind your choice? A few years ago I did some analysis from Board Game Geek and designed a little infographic to process the data visually—check it out below.