Ladies and Gentlemen is a brilliant game that analyzes gender roles in Victorian England. While the men are at work on the stock market, making money and violently yelling over each other, the women go out and spend that money on clothing and accessories to wear to an upcoming ball. It is a whimsical look at identity as evidenced by the over the top gender stereotypes that are being played out here. That said, there are several key parts of the game that make it challenging to play, especially with strangers.

    The most difficult aspect of the game is the fact that conversations between each husband and wife must be roleplayed. This means that mechanical aspects of the game may not be discussed at all. If a man doesn’t have enough money to pay for his wife’s dress, he can’t simply say that. He has to say something like “don’t you already have a purse that you can use?” This is difficult especially when your partner is unsure on the rules and you are unable to tell them that they need to buy a dress.

    This game highlights the role of identity in group settings. Though the game satirizes the stereotypes set up by gender roles in the Victorian era (when can’t understand money) it forces each player to think about how their assigned role influences the way they are able to mechanically act within the game world. Understanding identities in the real world can help players avoid cultural insensitivity, and allow leaders to be more understanding of the backgrounds and worldviews of their followers. I would recommend this game to my friends Jae and Theo who are both immensely critical of the current gender binary and focus intensely on understanding and appreciating diverse identities.