Would You Buy a Pink Quija Board?

By Bridget Tyler on February 8th, 2010

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Are Quija boards dangerous? Human Life International thinks so. They are attacking Hasbro for creating a pink version of the classic game that is clearly marketed to young girls.  Human Life International bills itself as the largest international pro-life organization and missionary worldwide.  The organization worries that the game is un-Christian and will lead children astray.

Stephen Phelan, a spokesperson for the organization, says that Hasbro should be ashamed of itself for marketing Ouija boards to children: “There’s a spiritual reality to it and Hasbro is treating it as if it’s just a game. It’s not Monopoly. It really is a dangerous spiritual game and for [Hasbro] to treat it as just another game is quite dishonest.”  Who knew spiritual portals came in pink?

Ouija boards have been around for a long time.  Patent attorney Elijah Bond patented the first game version of the “talking board” in 1890 and “talking board” communication with the spirits had been in popular use long before that. Urban lore insists that they can be used to talk to the dead, but there is no scientific evidence that they are any more than toys.

Hasbro officials defend the game as just that, a toy. “Our response is that Ouija is simply a game and it is intended purely for fun and entertainment,” she wrote FoxNews.com. Regardless, Bob Friedland, a spokesman for Toys R Us, said the pink Ouija version is being phased out in Toys-R-US stores. ”There are very few pieces in our inventory in store and it is no longer available online,” Friedland wrote FoxNews.com.

Toy expert Chris Byrne said it best though, “If something doesn’t fit your value or belief system, you don’t have to buy it. There’s absolutely nothing remotely Christian or un-Christian about it. I think people are projecting their belief system on it.” Basically, if you don’t want your kids to play with it, don’t buy one. And even if you do want your kids to play with it, get the creepier, and thus more fun, version that glows in the dark.