No, I haven’t played “War on Terror” the board game. But now that it’s been confiscated by the British police I kind of feel an *obligation* to play it—like reading a banned book. The game’s site appears to be down, but [the Google cache is still accessible](http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:_QJe1KvHNEAJ:www.waronterrortheboardgame.com/+war+on+terror+boardgame&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=safari) and here’s [BoardGameGeek's take on it](http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/24396).

Here’s what [the Cambridge News Online had to say](http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn_news_home/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=338658) about the confiscation incident:

> Each player starts as an empire filled with good intentions and a determination to liberate the world from terrorists and from each other.

> Then the reality of world politics kicks and terrorist states emerge.

> [...]

> In their cardboard version of realpolitik George Bush’s “Axis of Evil” is reduced to a spinner in the middle of the board, which determines which player is designated a terrorist state.

> That person then has to wear a balaclava (included in the box set) with the word “Evil” stitched on to it.

> Kent police said they had confiscated the game because the balaclava “could be used to conceal someone’s identity or could be used in the course of a criminal act”.

I don’t know, that’s a little bit like confiscating Monopoly for counterfeiting. What’s the the next target, those dangerous *skiers*? Here’s a picture of the dastardly clothing article in question. It’s pretty clearly *evil*, right?

Frankly, I’ve heard [a lot of stupid things](http://doombot.com/2008/08/12/george-lucas-has-lost-it/), but this one takes the stupid cake. Admittedly, the game was swept up in a raid against climate protesters near a British power station, and I’m guessing the authorities didn’t think too closely about what they were doing.

But I totally want that balaclava now. I mean, it’s kind of like the head garb equivalent of an [ironic t-shirt](http://www.threadless.com). Plus, it gets cool up here in the liberal northeast come winter.