Oh my god, we have fallen off the map. OR New Zealand, the amazing disappearing country.
Christian Jorgensen
New Zealand
Auckland
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Over the years I've played boardgames on and off. But there has been one strange phenomenon that has never failed to catch my eye. The seeming ability that New Zealand, my homeland, has that allows it to be forgotten, and left off game boards.
Now, just to be clear, I do realise that there is no place for NZ on some game boards. I'm not going to be going "Boo, I can't find New Zealand on this Princes of Machu Picchu board. What if I want to trade llamas for sheep." And I'd be highly suprised if we showed up in any game that involved the ancient Romans or Greeks (I don't think Alexander got quite this far).
What I'm talking about are games that are played on world maps, that, well, don't quite have the whole world on them.
You could say that this ability is a good thing. I bet there are many countries out there that wish they could magically phase out of existance when ever there was a huge war, or a global pandemic (swine what?), so I guess I shouldn't complain too much. So, if you want to live in such a country, then I guess New Zealand is the place for you.
Just hope that your airline doesn't try and use a gameboard to find directions on how to get here.
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Board Game: Risk
[Average Rating:5.62 Overall Rank:6163]
Christian Jorgensen
New Zealand
Auckland
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This is one of the first boardgames/wargames I can remember playing, and the first time I noticed our absence from a world map. Even at that tender age it used to bug me that we were not there. Especially since I alway thought that pink could have done with more territory.
The young me often wondered why we had been left off. Did the people who designed risk not like us. or were they using a map so old for reference, that we were not yet on it.
The older and wiser (some people might debate that) me just thinks. Hey we are just about the only place in the whole world without armies rampaging back and forth over us. Sweet.
And while the revised edition may have cool little army arrows, factories, and that odd thing that looks like a section of loofer, they still havn't found New Zealand yet.
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Christian Jorgensen
New Zealand
Auckland
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It wasn't until I'd really gotten back into boardgames (about two years ago) that I thought about/noticed this strange phenominon again.
We sat down, and my friend opened the war on terror board, and low and behold, there we where not. All my childhood memories of the risk board came flooding back.
It's good to know that i live in a country so benevolent, so non annoying (Unless we have beaten you at rugby again) that we don't even make it onto a boardgame about terrorism. Either that, or we are the global masterminds behind all the woe that is going on in WOT, and left ourselves off the board intentionally.
As a funny little aside, while New Zealand itself is not on the board, there is this, just off the southern coast of Africa.
Which looks a lot like a reference to the Rainbow Warrior bombing that happened in Auckland (my hometown) in 1985.
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Christian Jorgensen
New Zealand
Auckland
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World War IV. One World, One King. Well guess what, he won't be king of New Zealand, because we're not on the map.
The game is set in 3126, post world war three. So maybe the only maps that survived that disaster were pre Abel Tasmin, and had a great big dragon, or a chubby cheeked cloud (you know, the ones that blow the little ships around on the old maps.) in the space where we normally would go.
Or maybe by 3126 new Zealand has sunk under the waves, like some sheep, and comedy folk duet, ladened Atlantis. If I have kids it might pay to start a family tradition of keeping a rubber raft (and a pump I guess) handy.
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Christian Jorgensen
New Zealand
Auckland
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Hmmm, I guess we are just not sneaky enough to be included in a game about spies and intrigue.
But considering the fact that we have that great big spy station down south, you would have thought we were worth one place to put a chit. (last year some hippies managed to get through the security, and pop one of the big balloon things that cover the dishes with a sickle. D'oh)
Maybe it was our nuclear free policy that did it. Or maybe we are just so darn peaceful that even French rugby players have to make up stories about getting beaten up down here.
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5.
Board Game: Pandemic
[Average Rating:7.63 Overall Rank:38]
Christian Jorgensen
New Zealand
Auckland
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Oh my god! Four lethal have diseases broken out, and are rampaging across the globe, laying waste to whole cities. (at least it seems that way whenever I play this game)
Oh, wait a moment, Don't panic. Someone here must have closed the borders before the out-breaks started, because there is no sickness in New Zealand. In fact, there is no New Zealand at all!
The people who designed pandemic must consider us to be a race of superpeople, who never sicken. And who's very presents would upset the balance of this game. Or maybe there just wasn't room for another red dot on the board. Who knows.
but wait, whats this?
Do the designers think that including us on the expansion lid can ever salve the anguish of being forgotten from the main game itself? 
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Nick Fisk
United Kingdom
Stoke on Trent
Staffordshire
Come on the mighty Seagulls! So excitied about our first game at the Amex in August after 14 homeless years ....
Erm ... ahem .... Here goes: "Come to Shire Games! If you've never been before, now is the perfect time to come along, as we've just moved to a huge new shop in Stoke-on-Trent! Come along, stay a while and play some games! "
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Another list of disappearing countries
N.
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Tim Thorp
Spain
Granite Falls
Washington
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Now I know New Zealand is on this map...
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Ed Holzman
United States
Seffner
Florida
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The first time I saw the map for CoP, I remarked to a friend "Where is New Zealand?" I understood that there would be an exploration facet to discovering various Polynesian islands but I thought that New Zealand would be one of the pre-printed islands on the map. Nope. Searching the tiles, I found that Aotearoa could be located just about anywhere in the South Pacific. And that is only the North Island..."Mainlanders" from South Island are left out unless you play with the advanced rules.
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♪ Isaäc Bickërstaff ♫
United States
Greer
South Carolina
Entropy Seminar:
The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekund lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot.
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Oh, quit complaining. Claude Parenteau made it up to y'all with this monstrosity of an Age of Steam map:
Is this thing drawn at 100% scale?
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Greg Nobody
United States
Maplewood
Minnesota
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Theres a Country called New Zealand!?!
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Jason Clague
New Zealand
Hamilton
Waikato
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How about a game from NZ designers, about 18th century explorers, named after the ship that brought explorers to New Zealand... except there is no NZ in the game!
Still can't wait to play it though 
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yawn...
New Zealand
Christchurch
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Here we go, this thoughtful wargame designer included NZ (at least the North Island). Well done that man.
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Peet Smith
Canada
Toronto
Ontario
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Apparently this "history" is too "brief" to include New Zealand.
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Christian Jorgensen
New Zealand
Auckland
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Another fine looking game, (with a beautiful map) about colonial exploits were the lazy colonists can't be bothered to sail as far as NZ.
Is it an attempt to edit us out of history to stop us winning the world rugby world cup again.
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