“No Politics” is always a red flag, even when defending your tabletop business
Bigoted money spends, but not without consequences
Tabletop RPG designer and prominent game reviewer Ben “Questing Beast” Milton courted criticism last week in the comments of a video discussing Zedeck Siew and Munkao’s Reach of the Roach God. Viewers weren’t upset with the video’s content—which fits squarely in Milton’s modus operandi of investigating a book for an overhead camera—but instead focused on its sponsor: The Red Room.
Members of the audience had either clocked The Red Room by reputation or followed the link Milton provided in the video’s description. Designer Miguel Ribeiro and his team were not shy about aligning themselves and the self-proclaimed “controversial” studio with a brand of reactionary politics that includes fighting against “the pussification of the hobby”, “the woke mind virus”, and “so-called progressive game designers.” Ribeiro’s X account, which doubles as the company’s official handle, is rife with transphobia, bigotry, and support for both AI-generated art and some of the biggest conservative grifters on the dying platform.
Others pointed out that The Red Room had advertised a “Meltdown Sale” on November 7—two days after the US presidential election—described as “perfect for those savoring a little liberal overreaction.” The accompanying illustration, clearly generated by AI prompts, contains around a dozen wailing people intentionally portrayed as overweight white femmes with dyed blue hair. One bears an incorrect representation of the Pride Flag, while another waves a Palestinian flag. In short, a bingo card for what terminally online conservatives imagine as their political opponents.
