Xenophobic and racist? The game “You laugh, you lose” arouses passions in France

A board game once again arouses passions in France. “You laugh, you lose” is accused by Internet users of conveying xenophobic and racist clichés.

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What is “You laugh, you lose”?

Withdrawn from sale in France by the specialist Toy Club, the board game “You laugh, you lose” is based on “a duel of not funny jokes to make your opponent laugh”.

Proposed by Dujardin, the publisher of the famous Milles-Bornes, the game aims to reproduce the principle of many successful YouTube videos of the same theme, and which then gave birth to the LOL franchise, you laugh or you lose on Amazon Prime (LOL : Who will laugh the last in Quebec).

Why is this game so talked about?

It is an influencer, Crazy Sally, who wanted to shed light on the content of this game which she considers uncomfortable, even racist.

If many of the game’s jokes are covers of several pranks from the YouTube videos on which “You laugh, you lose” is inspired, Crazy Sally does not understand, however, in a video making the buzz on social networks for a few days, why this game is for sale.

The influencer gives some examples of jokes that are not for her:

• “A black man enters the toilet, he comes out white, what happened? He shit his race”;

• “Why when you see an Arab fall on a motorbike, you shouldn’t laugh? Because it may be yours”;

• “Why do dogs bark a lot in China? Because they are not cooked enough.

“What’s the limit of jokes today? Am I too sensitive or is the limit well exceeded in this game? she adds.

She also points to certain cards that ask players to imitate the Arabic or Asian accent, with the following card as an example: “Why when an Asian child is scolded by his father, he goes to play football (soccer)? Because his father told him “vaféfoot, vaféfoot” (go play football).

The comedian who inspired it, Aziz Aboudrar, even took up his pen last week to apologize to “all the people who may have been hurt, offended, saddened by certain jokes”, and to ensure that the cards some consider racist will be removed from the next edition.

What about Quebec?

Most popular board games in France are available in Quebec. However, if it has been marketed in France since 2019, it is still not in the Belle-Province.

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