Herland: Perfect Genetic Utopia (QAGS) PDF

After a rather uncomfortable introduction which takes the standpoint that there is some kind of fundamental difference between males and females, we move on to an introduction to the setting which is presented as a series of edited (and scribbled upon) textbook pages and propaganda leaflets. These suggest that the current state of affairs - an all-women society, with all men living on another continent - came about as an exercise in feminism gone very, very wrong; and that it is nothing like the 'utopia' that the powers-that-be would have women believe.

Players will need to decide if they want an idyllic life but be lied to and know that while they live in comfort others do not, or if they'd rather work to tear it all down, and probably drag everyone down rather than allieviate the suffering of the downtrodden males... neither is presented as Right or Wrong, but they'll have to choose. There are some sidebars giving advice on how to play, including one which addresses the difficulties that male role-players might encounter in playing females - again with the standpoint that 'all men are like...' rather than recognising that gender is nowhere as fundemental in real life as it is within the confines of this particular game.

Overall, I don't quite know what to make of this. It's a philosphically-interesting concept, to take feminism to such an extreme; but this is a game not an academic treatise. How many role-players, irrespective of gender, are going to be comfortable enough with the situation to play it? And if gaming is all about having fun, is this level of challenge appropriate? It's a thought-provoking read, though, even if you never end up playing the game.