- A BoardGameGeek advertising manager of 20 years was fired after refusing to run an ad for a game themed around demonic possession
- Chad Krizan cited his personal religious beliefs and firsthand experience with demonic oppression as his reason for turning down the campaign
- BGG founder Scott Alden swiftly dismissed Krizan, issuing an apology and stating that his response did not reflect the company’s values
Chad Krizan, a BoardGameGeek advertising manager with 20 years under his belt, was let go by the company over a controversy involving a sensitive issue that the now former employee did not handle appropriately, the website’s founder said in a statement.
The controversy purportedly stemmed from Krizan’s religious beliefs, which came into focus when the publisher of a game currently in crowdfunding, Falling Whale Games, reached out to put an ad on the website.
Details about the case emerged on Reddit, with the full communication between the publisher and the ad manager shared in screenshots.
The game, “Possess Me, Satan,” evokes the image of demonic possession, which proved the breaking point for Krizan, who emailed the publisher and said that he could not, in good conscience, approve the campaign.
He described himself as a follower of Jesus and as someone who has been helping people from demonic oppression, and occasionally, possession, and argued that he had seen firsthand the devastating impact these events could have on people’s lives.
In dismissing Falling Whale Games, Krizan said that he had been “sitting on this one and praying about what to do in this instance,” and ultimately decided to turn down the ad opportunity, also offering the publisher what the sensible thing would be moving forward:
“IMO, the responsible thing to do would be to pull the entire project, as there are way more people that suffer this than you could possibly imagine, putting on a good face (usually enabled by dissociation), but suffering terribly behind the scenes.”
Krizan did not outright state that Falling Whale Games had specifically breached a BoardGameGeek policy, insisting that his refusal to run the ad for the game had to do with “reality.”
“Keep in mind it’s not over religion, but reality. It’s the same reason I would say a game would be in very poor taste if it featured being a sexual predator, or something that would directly trigger someone who’s been harmed by the subject matter.
It’s about keeping BGG welcoming to everyone, and since I’m privy to this subject matter, I know firsthand that this is not friendly content, and incredibly triggering, put in front of some of the population that visits BGG.”
BoardGameGeek founder Scott Alden disagreed and promptly fired the veteran manager, issuing an apology without specifically detailing what had led to the situation.
“Due to a situation in which BGG’s Advertising Manager responded inappropriately in a business email to a designer, I have decided to let him go. His response does not reflect or represent our company or the way we conduct business,” Alden said in a statement.