BoardGameGeek
It’s all fun and games until the Gulf gets destroyed by a massive oil leak.
In the 1970s, BP thought oil spills were fine family fun. A board game released during the oil crisis some 40 years ago — likely aimed to drum up support for offshore drilling — is an eery shadow of what was to come.
The current owner, Alan Goldsmith, told the UK’s Metro newspaper: “The parallels between the game and the current crisis … are so spooky.”
The game, called Offshore Oil Strike (“the thrills of drilling: the hazards and rewards”), has players compete as tycoons, building drilling platforms and pipelines. The first to make $120 million wins. But players beware, hazard cards, such as “Blow Out! Rig damaged. Oil slick clean-up costs: $1 million” could mess up your scheme, and as the real-life BP has learned the hard way, when it comes to oil spills, there’s no get-out-of-jail free card.