The intended experience of this game is for players to feel like giant disgusting trolls reveling in their horrific cuisine, like the trolls in “The Hobbit.” I don’t want players to feel self-conscious about the way they are eating, and I want the food they have prepared to feel foreign allowing them to enjoy the mess of eating with their hands and lean into describing the horrific delicacies trolls would prepare. I thought the most efficient way to create this atmosphere is to take away table settings and blindfold the players. It was pointed out to me that this game in its original form can read as ableist. Although it was not my intention, I agree and am working to revise the game to minimize harm.

First thing: remove “Blind” from the title. That’s easy. It doesn’t need to be there.

Second: eliminating obscuring vision as a game mechanic. This is more challenging.

Visual impairment is not part of the intended experience. Can I come up with another method to break down barriers between players? And can I come up with another mechanism to make the food unfamiliar to players that doesn’t rely on hampering their physical ability?

• Barriers between players
  • I think we can expand on the food preparation portion of the game. Perhaps create a ritual to get into the troll mindset of what foods they have brought and how they are preparing them. I’ve never written or even played a ritual before, though.
  • Other ideas…
• Obscuring the food
  • It was suggested to me when first brought up to switch to asking players to play in the dark. I have multiple problems with this idea. It is quite difficult to shut out all the ambient light in a room. Additionally, I believe this is just a less efficient method which relies on the same problematic mechanic of hindering the players’ vision.
  • Put in in pies! This is a labor-intensive option that I think could be fun. Simply either baking the ingredients in pies or putting the cooked food in a dish with a baked pie shell on top will force players to break through the pastry and dig around for the food rediscovering it in the process.
  • Other ideas…

This game isn't finished. I intend to reach out to a sensitivity editor and release a revised version to help fix these issues. If you have any comments on this topic I would love to read them in the comments.