Just about everyone has found themselves in front of a Snakes and Ladders board at some point. And yes, it's that traditional game, very simple and fun, that two or more players can enjoy. It may not be necessary to explain, but we'll tell you what it's about: each player must advance their piece across a board made up of 63 squares that form a spiral. Each square has a meaning and some are more special than others. For example, there are squares where you must move backward, others where you lose a turn, and others where you advance squares. The player who manages to get their piece to the last square first wins, known as "the goose garden."
Currently, this game is in practically every home and is considered a classic. But, if we're characterized by something, it's because we love to 'transform' things to make the world a little bit better.
That's why, from Daguten. Escuela Gráfica de Barrio, in collaboration with the MACA (Museum of Contemporary Art of Alicante), we had an idea. And we wanted to call that idea: The Game of "The Goose of Diverse Beings." Written like that, it might sound too complicated. But it absolutely isn't. On the contrary, it actually makes much more sense than one might think at first. Because, isn't our society diverse?
So we set out to create an alternative version of this board game classic. To do this, of course, we wanted to work with artists who would conceive and design both the text and the drawings of the squares that our new game would have. But not just any artists, of course not. We wanted them to be artists who truly brought a vision of what diversity is. And boy, did they bring it!
The participating people are users of different centers, classrooms, and groups from Spain and Cameroon who know firsthand what it is to live diversity. They also know what it's like to suffer, sometimes and unfortunately, when another person doesn't accept or tolerate diversity. But, above all, they know that all people, without exception, are diverse. Diverse beings. And that's what makes us equal.
So smile, because you have in your hands a game with diverse characters and alternative squares, designed by and for diverse people. Like you. Like me.
With this Game of "The Goose of Diverse Beings," all we're trying to do is, on one hand, turn one of the most fun and famous games in history on its head with a different, totally creative and fun design. And, on the other hand, make visible and assert that diversity is what enriches us as human beings.
