Word Play Cafe's Statement on Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Anti-Racism

We feel that one of the best things to come out of Burning Man’s cancellation for two years in a row was the opportunity for the organization to reflect on the areas where their actions were no longer aligned with the 10 Principles (the underpinnings of Burning Man culture written by Larry Harvey in 2004). As a result of their work, the Burning Man organization implemented a number of changes in planning this year’s Burn to improve in areas like Decommodification, Radical Self Reliance and, most importantly, Radical Inclusion. You can read the organization’s Radical Inclusion, Diversity & Equity pledge here.

The Word Play Cafe core team has also been educating ourselves about challenges for our project relating to inclusion, diversity, equity and anti-racism. We want Word Play Cafe to be a welcoming safe space for all Burners who enjoy wordplay.

Here’s what we are doing towards this goal:

Offering puzzles for and by diverse communities
We’ve been intentionally sourcing puzzles by women, BIPOC, and LGTBQIA+ constructors and editors. We know that many crossword puzzles and other games based on “word list” databases are imbedded with implicit bias based on a cis/white/male point of view. We want our visitors to see themselves reflected in the cultural references within the puzzles. To learn more about this topic, check out these recent NYT and Atlantic articles.

Providing A Family Friendly Environment
Word Play Cafe is for participants of all ages! We love having children at Burning Man and want Word Play Cafe to be a place that families can visit together. We’ll have games and puzzles for children of all ages. We even have several events planned just for kids.

Appreciating a range of skill levels
We recognize that word games, especially crossword puzzles, have a reputation for being challenging to the point of not being fun or even doable for many people. Word Play Cafe will offer an array of games and puzzles at all levels of difficulty throughout the week.

Addressing COVID safety and Consent
We know that Burners have different levels of comfort as it relates to being close in proximity to others, especially this year. At Word Play Cafe we welcome and encourage people to do what makes them feel safe – whether that is wearing a mask, or requesting others to maintain distance from them. All of our reusable materials will be sanitized after each use. Active consent will be expected for touch of any kind between participants and between our team and our visitors.

Supporting All Physical Abilities
We will happily provide extra support to visitors that need assistance handling materials, getting games setup, etc. We will also offer large print puzzles and have a shaded outdoor area for visitors who can not enter the dome for whatever reason. Finally our layout will include multiple seating options so that everyone can find a place to play that feels comfortable to them.

We welcome your comments or suggestions for how we can make Word Play Cafe more inclusive for you! Please share them with us here.