Edmontonians work to increase representation, inclusivity in tabletop gaming

Alyx Bui started playing tabletop games in university but never connected with the stories as a queer, non-binary Asian player. 

“You’re going to a dungeon, you’re looting, getting some treasure and coming back,” Bui told CBC’s Radio Active. “That’s really representative of colonization … and I didn’t really see myself wanting to go off and colonize.”

Bui is part of a growing community in Edmonton working to make gaming more inclusive and accessible to all communities.

They received a 2022 Edmonton Arts Council Grant for their own tabletop gaming project, Chinese Ghost Stories We Tell Ourselves, a horror story based around a Chinese family. 

“Chinese ghost stories and Chinese superstitions are so different,” Bui said. “I wanted to create a game that was representative.”