queueThe Instytut Pamięci Narodowej (IPN, Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance) says the Russian State Office for the Protection of Consumer Rights threatened to pull all products distributed by Trefl from the Russian market if the distributor did not cease distribution of IPN-owned Kolejka (also known as Queue) in Russia. Kolejka, developed by Karol Madaj, is set during the 1980s in Poland. Andrzej Zawistowski, the director of IPN’s Public Education Office, stated that the Russian office objected to content in the rulebook and historical subject matter, where the imposition of communism on Poland is described, complete with shortages in foods and goods during the decades of control by the Soviet Union.

Kolejka, a game about families waiting in line for a small supply of consumer goods during the Soviet Union, was first published in early 2011 and has sold over 150,000 copies worldwide. In 2012, the game won the Gra Roku (Polish Game of the Year award), the first Polish-made board game to receive the Gra Roku.

The rulebook for the first English edition of the game begins with this quote by Polish actor Janusz Gajos: “… when I first went to London – on an official visit, of course – I photographed sausages, ham, and meat displayed in store windows. Later, I would show these photos to friends, explaining that you really can go into a store and buy these things, just like that. These were shocking revelations.” An essay by Mr. Zawistowski gives a historical context to shopping in the People’s Republic of Poland’s official stores and in the black market.