Just in time for your uncomfortable holiday gatherings, May Lee-Yang has released a new card game, Clap Back: The Asian American Edition, through her gaming company, Mayhem Games.
A writer, performer, and educator, Lee-Yang is also one of the co-founders of the Funny Asian Women Kollaborative, or FAWK. The idea for the game, she explains, was born out of FAWK’s clapback workshops the group used to facilitate all over the Twin Cities.
“We would use comedy and improv to stand up to microaggressions,” she says. “The foundation of those workshops is that people are saying hurtful things, whether it’s at home or on the street, so how do you stand up for yourself in a way that won’t get you fired or disowned? We found that comedy alleviated some of those things and broke down a lot of barriers. So, the idea was to gamify those workshops.”
The game itself follows the same sort of format as Cards Against Humanity. One person selects a microaggression from the aptly titled, “Deck of Oppression.” For example:
You drive like an Asian woman.
Then each player presents their best Clap Back. For example:
Are you hitting on me? Because I’m not interested.
Whoever has the best Clap Back keeps the card, and mom excuses herself to go cry in the den.
“People are always surprised [when they play the game],” Lee-Yang continues. “They assume it’s talking about white people saying abrasive things to Asians, but then one of the clapbacks is ‘Because of you, mom.’ Those are some of my favorite cards, because they throw people off and make you recognize that microaggressions come from different places.”
Despite the fact that the game is literally called The Asian American Edition, no one is left out of the game.
“About 60% of the cards are something that anyone would connect to,” Lee-Yang says. “It might be things directed towards women, or someone with disabilities, or someone who just likes to eat a lot of cake. The other 40% are really culturally specific.”
So much like FAWK’s clapback workshops, the game is equal parts fun and educational, no matter a player’s background.
“We had a game night where we invited people to come play the game, and it was really interesting to see how people connect with it differently. Some people don’t even know the word ‘microaggression,’ but they’re playing the game because it’s fun and funny.”
That’s not the only way to play the game, however.
“Other people use it to stand up for themselves,” she says. “I’ve had people send me texts saying that they have six cards that they literally keep in their back pocket in case they need to clap back at work. I always think, like, where are you working?”
While the current iteration focuses on Asian Americans, Lee-Yang says that she sees this as just the starting point of the Clap Back universe.
“I want to expand it,” she says. “I want to create a workplace edition. I’ve had parents tell me that it could help their kids to talk about bullying. Hmong educators have told me that they play the game and translate it to Hmong themselves. They want to collaborate on a Hmong-language version.”
No matter who you are, Lee-Yang says, she thinks that Clap Back (unfortunately) is something that works for everyone.
“There are some experiences that are pretty universal.”
