Word on the Street

Designed by: Jack Degnan

Number of Players: 2 to 8

Grade Levels: Middle School and Up

Length: 45 Minutes

Curricular Connections: ELA – Vocabulary, Word Structure, Spelling

Investment: Low
Return: High

The word on the street is “SCORE” for Out of the Box. Yet another engaging game that gets students working with language. I brought Word on the Street to work with several sixth grade classes on English and Language Arts skills and this was the runaway hit. The combination of teamwork and competition brought out the best in the students as they worked together to brainstorm and agree on the most strategic word choices each round. They listened and gave suggestions, switching between leadership and support roles organically without teacher prompts. They grew as learners and leaders… but most importantly they had fun!

Gameplay is relatively simple, a staple with Out of the Box’s publishing vision. Students work in teams trying to capture letters by moving them over to their side of the street. Teams alternate turns working out the best word choice for a given category prompt. A “type of cake” or “something hollow” are good examples of the types of questions that come in the box.

Once the card is pulled, the timer is flipped and students race to agree upon and spell out the word they have chosen. As they spell out the word, they slide the consonants that line the street over towards them, moving a lane for each time the consonant appears in the word. So a word like “banana” would move the “B” over once and the “N” over two lanes. If a team is able to move a letter 3 lanes over towards them the capture the letter but it’s not that easy. The other team will be doing pulling on the same letters toward their side, creating a linguistic “tug-of-war”.

This mechanic is one of the game’s strongest points as students now need to think strategically about their word choices. Initially, students will be choosing words that are laden with consonants to get the ball rolling, but soon they will become more selective, choosing words that are heavy in consonants that are close to being captured by the other team.

Word on the Street has students building and reinforcing vocabulary in an engaging and meaningful way. They are learning from their peer’s choices as well as strengthening their own vocabulary base, powerful stuff. Add to that the fact that Out of the Box understands schools and school libraries and has provided templates for making your own word prompt that print on Avery® Name Badge Inserts #5390, and you have a wonderful tool for guided practice.

My only suggestion from play experience is to ingore the rule suggestion to allow the opposing team to shout out distrations during play. It is more counter productive than enjoyable and lessens the fun factor of the game. That aside, Word on the Street is a huge success with middle school students and an excellent choice for strengthing the English and Language Arts skills of students.

Mindflex has finally made its way to my eagerly awaiting hands and I must say that its debut for any audience does not disappoint. Mindflex is a fun blend of dexterity and concentration as you work a ball around a circular obstacle course that you set up beforehand from the various accessories that come in the box. The basic mechanic has the player using their level of focus to control a fan inside the base unit. The more one “focuses” on something, anything, the higher the ball should go and vice versa. From my experience, I can’t say if it is “focus” but there is some attentive change necessary for manipulating the ball and that varies for the individuals playing. Some needed to talk to lessen their concentration while others can simply manipulate the ball with ease. In either case, the ability to affect an object with some aspect of your brain’s activity is impressive even if it is not true telepathy.

First go’s at the game usually comprise of just getting the feel for controlling the fan that makes the ball go up and down. Once you become comfortable, the next challenge is maintaining that control as you attempt the turn the knob that rotates the fan around the obstacle course. While this is the least impressive aspect of Mindflex, I will say that it still a bit of a challenge to maintain a certain level of focus while also manipulating the knob.

The obstacles are fun but can grow old after repeated uses. I can see Mattel putting out obstacle expansions to maintain playability over a longer period of time. That being said, they are good fun for you first adventures. Included in the box are posts that allow rings to be placed at various heights for the ball to be passed through. I find it much easier to maintain the high level of focus needed to  pass the ball through a higher hoop than the trickle needed to make it though a lower one. There are cages with adjustable walls and floors for making mini-mazes, as well as a few other interesting obstacles including a tube with a low entry hole that allows you to shoot the ball across the game with a “burst of focus”.

While not overly complex, each of the obstacles (and the game itself for that matter) leaves you with a sense accomplishment and wonder. It brings to reality one of those surreal moments where we dance close to our crazy dreams. Am I actually moving the ball with my mind? No… but I am actively adjusting the level of a fan with the electrical energy that is firing off in my brain and that is pretty damn good enough for me. What excites me is that this is the first mainstream foray that this technology has into the game and toy market. I can only imagine what the possibilities are as this technology matures and become more sophisticated and refined. Mindflex is an experience, one that I highly recommend everyone to at least try.

National Gaming Day is fast approaching and looks to be shaping up to be another wonderful year. While Hasbro has promised games to the public libraries, school libraries are not left out this year. There are games available for the first 1000 libraries that register and this includes school libraries! Registration will be closing soon, so school libraries interested in participation should register and get themselves on the map.

While the event takes place on a Saturday, that does not exclude school libraries from participating. If you are able to organize a student event on that Saturday there are a lot of great resources on both ALA’s Library Gaming Toolkit as well as NDG’s website. One great idea for the bold and daring is to have a “lock in” starting on Friday night. This would be a whole evening event where students, teachers and parents are locked in the school and participate in various events, programs and fun activities. What a great idea to center a lock-in around gaming with students, teacher and parents playing games all night and into NGD!

If you are unable to host an event, you can still support your community libraries that are participating by volunteering your time or helping to advertise the event in your school. Put up posters! Talk it up in your library! Give fun and informative announcements in the morning! You are a strong bridge between the students and the public and academic libraries. The memories and impressions you help establish will guide their interactions with these institutions. By being present and offering your time, your are showing your support of the services and programs they are providing.

Don’t dismiss NGD because it is on a Saturday, be creative and get involved! Gaming has withstood the initial criticism and emerged a strong and valuable resource that creates community, develops the individual and stimulates the mind.

I am pleased to say that the book is finished and now available for pre-order from the ALA store. To say this was a huge undertaking would be an understatement. I need to thank Christopher for providing the vision to start a game library and for bringing his administrative eye to the things that we do.

Despite some unforeseen obstacles, I am proud of what we put together. It combines my work with game alignment and collection development with Christopher’s administrative approach to introducing and getting new ideas going. The outcome is an excellent tool that advocates for the value of gaming and provides some excellent concrete examples of where to start.

We will be debuting the book during our pre-conference at AASL 2009. We will have coupons for a small discount off of the price and would be more than happy to talk and share ideas and our successes with anyone interested.

It has been an eventful road to get here, but one I would gladly take again.

Who hasn’t dreamed of harnessing the power of the mind for good or evil. Well now you can practice for the future! Mattel is releasing a game that is akin to something out of science fiction. Mindflex is a an obstacle/dexterity game in which you move a ball through a series of obstacles…. WITH YOUR MIND!

Using technology similar to that of an EEG, the game uses sensors that you wear on a headband and connect to your ears which register changes in your brain’s activity when you concentrate and relax your thoughts. These changes control a fan that adjusts the height of a ball. The harder you concentrate, the higher the ball floats and as you relax your thoughts it descends. The goal of the game is to guide the ball through different obstacles set up around a ring. Using your mind to control the height of the ball and your hand to control the ball’s movement around the ring, you need to coordinate the two activities to successfully navigate a particular course.

While this carries a higher price tag than most games (approx. $80) it seems to offer some fantastic potential for applications within the school. Science classes studying human physiology can harness and experiment with the electrochemical aspect of the brain. Physics classes have a new tool that is assured to keep students’ attention and what a toy for technology. Mindflex has the making for a successful marriage of curriculum and play, allowing students to develop understanding and mastery of content and skills through use and interaction as opposed to passive reception and memorization.

I hope to acquire a review copy to bring in to schools so that I can get feedback from students and educators and provide a more detailed recommendation for when this becomes available. If not, I will be sure to pick a copy of this up. Either way, it seems that Mattel has a winner with Mindflex.

Fauna

Designed by: Friedemann Friese

Number of Players: 2 to 6

Grade Levels: Middle School and Up

Length: 45 Minutes

Curricular Connections: Animal Science, Geography, Metrics and Measurement

Investment: Low
Return: High

I recently had the chance to see one of this year’s Spiel des Jahres nominees  being played at a gathering of gaming friends and was enraptured by the simplicity and curricular strength of this game. Designed by Friedemann Friese, whose game Power Grid I also featured here a while back, Fauna is a game of animal knowledge and educated guesses. Each turn, players have the chance to bet on various characteristics of an animal; this could be weight, body length, height, tail length, or geographic location.

The game board is a map of the world with several scales of measurement for each of the varying characteristics of the animals. None of the placements are exact but are instead larger areas or ranges. Players take turns placing their guessing cubes on the board and will score points both for placing correctly and for placing in proximity to the correct guess. This is where educated guessing becomes a factor because students will be placing based on their general knowledge and experience in the game. As they find answers to animals they know, they can begin to use that knowledge as a reference point for determining the statistics of other animals. Students are not only building up their knowledge base of animals, geography and measurements, they are also developing important test taking skills for making educated guesses.

With over 300 animals to play with, Fauna proves a novel way to approach a handful of curricular and life skills in a fun and exciting way and would make a welcome addition to any program supporting math and science programs.

Fast and furious, fun and frantic and just silly to boot. I give unto thee a plethora of games for the simple pleasure of group fun and social bonding. WARNING: Some of these games may not directly promote higher level thinking! Be forewarned that madcap rumpusing may ensue!

Dancing Eggs by HABA is, as you see, an egg carton filled with 2 die and 10 eggs. The goal of the game is to collect as many eggs as possible. How do we collect said eggs? By rolling the red die which has a series of tasks associated with the faces. You may have to be the first to run around the table, to cluck like a chicken, to snatch the die, or to catch one of the rubber eggs as it is bounced off of the table.

Enter die #2, the dreaded WHITE die. This is the die that you roll after you win an egg that tells you WHERE you need to keep that egg for the remainder of the game. SOOOOOO, you may need to prop that egg under your chin, in the crook of your elbow, or between your knees. Now imagine running around the table with an egg under your neck, your armpit and between your knees. Not so easy!

The game continues until one person drops an egg, at which point all of the players add up the eggs that they managed to keep. The rubber eggs are worth 1 point, while the wooden egg (which is much more difficult to keep a hold of) is worth two. Fast! Frantic! Fun, Fun, Fun!

Say Anything by North Star Games LLC is a clever twist on the standard party question game. In the game, players take turns asking questions that can be fairly open to interpretation. If you are playing with students, scan the cards for the few that are definite no-no’s and remove them before play. After the question is asked, each of the other players writes their answers down on a dry erase board and place them out for everyone to see.

<yawn> Boring, right? Hold it now…. hit it! The person who asked the question now selects their favorite answer from those written by the other players. Once the secret selecting has been done, then each of the players place two tokens on the answers they think that the questioner may have chosen. This may be their own answer or another player’s. They can split their chips or place them both on one answer. Say Anything has players crafting answers based on the person asking the questions and reflecting again once all of the answers are played out. It is a wonderful way for students to put themselves in the perspective of their peers. They often will be pleasantly surprised at what they learn about the people they are around each and every day.

Castle Knights: Together we are Strong is a great dexterity game by HABA for the kiddies, though I am a tower building junkie I admit. Up to four players can take part as they take an end of an elastic strap that, when pulled tight, expands a central elastic square. Racing against the clock, students need to work together through communication and coordination to erect three towers before the king arrives at the castle.

In typical HABA fashion, the components are top notch. Each of the tower pieces are big and chunky pieces of wood in varying shapes and sizes and the game box serves as the castle grounds. Students young and old, love the pressure as they struggle to gather the pieces, secure, move and balance them one atop another in the race to build the towers. Communication is a must in this game as students need to work together to orient themselves so they can master these feats of dexterity.

Not every gaming experience need to tie so strongly to the curriculum. Our students need time to interact and relate with each other in ways that will help them develop bonds and grow as individuals, finding their place within the social strata of school. Games create a community of play that sets its own guidelines for interaction that often supersede the chosen divisions of cliches and niches inherent in youth. For those brief moments, students are simply in the moment… working together. A skill we could stand to hold onto well into adulthood.

Werewolf

Number of Players: 8 to ???

Grade Levels: Middle School and Up

Length: 20 to 30 Minutes

Curricular Connections: Storytelling, Characterization, Persuasive Language, Critical Listening, Deduction

Investment: Low
Return: High

A brief history of…. the werewolf!

Werewolf is derivative of the mafia party game created in 1986 by Dimma Davidoff at the Psychological Department of Moscow State University. The werewolf theme was applied in 1986 by Andrew Plotkin and the game has had subsequent publishing by various companies including: daVinci games, Looney Labs,  Mayfair Games, Asmodee Editions, and Bezíer Games. Publications of note for school libraries include the Asmodee Edition: Werewolves of Millers Hollow, which handles 8-18 players and the Bezíer Games version: Ultimate Werewolf: Ultimate Edition which handles 5-68 players. The Asmodee version has the most school appropriate art work on the cards while the Bezíer version easily handles a whole class and provides the best guidance for getting started and running the game.

Did you hear something?

Werewolf is a captivating social game in which players are secretly assigned roles that they must play out over the course of the game. The story is that werewolves have infiltrated a small country village, stealing away another victim each night. By day these creatures could be any one of the citizens, leaving the town no choice but to elect one member of its village to pay for the continuing atrocities. It is this act of nominating that lies at the heart of the game, as students use language and social interaction to help them accuse others and defend themselves. The game is over when either all of the villagers or werewolves have been removed from the game.

Game play is open and unique for each experience. The roles themselves are minimally defined, leaving the direction and depth of the game in the hands of the students playing the game. The basic games features three roles: villagers, the seer and the werewolves. The majority of players will receive villager roles, playing the game to discover who amongst them are werewolves. A handful of students will be receive the role of werewolf. These few come together each night to select one player to remove from the game each night.  By day they try to blend with the rest of the village, seeming as outraged and accusatory as the rest of the village. If one of their own is nominated in the morning, they need to try to shift attention if the group is uncertain and follow suit if there is certainty. A very delicate position to play. The last role, the seer, is usually given to one player who can ask the identity of one player each night and use that information as they see fit.

To play, students receive their cards and are told the back story by a moderator. The moderator’s role is key in creating an engaging experience, their enthusiasm and demeanor can make or break an experience. After the story has been set, the village falls asleep (closes their eyes) and the moderator asks for the werewolves to open their eyes, recognize each other and select a villager to take away in the night. They go back to sleep and the seer is asked to open their eyes and select villager for which the moderator silently gestures their role (usually making a “V” or “W” with their fingers). Next comes morning, with the moderator building suspense until indicating which villager was taken away during the night. They remove themselves from the group and watch the rest of the game from the side, there are some roles that allow some of these villagers to still participate in the game.

Now comes the meat of the game, the village must vote to select one villager to stand trial for the crime. There are no real rules for this process, except that nominated villagers have an opportunity to defend themselves. Here, students have an opportunity to immerse themselves in the game and the story. They are not only playing the game but becoming an active part of the experience. They must be persuasive, critical or inspiring depending on the situation that has developed and the role that they have. It is a storytelling experience of a different caliber and one that should be experience by every student. This cycle of night and day is repeated until one group alone remains, villagers or werewolves.

Modifications:

The game I described has been modified from the basic game, but only slightly and not in any way that detracts from the experience. In the regular game villagers are killed by

the werewolves and nominated villagers and lynched by the crowd. Adjusting this language for a school environment is a slight and superficial change that allows the value of the gaming experience to

be utilized as a classroom tool. Additional modifications include the inclusion of a variety of roles that come with the different editions of the game. The Bezíer version, Ultimate Werewolf, has the most comprehensive collection of roles with good descriptions of their part in the game.

A naked American man stole my balloons.

Werewolf allows students to become storytellers. It creates a venue for students to not only create but take part in a fun and fascinating tale of mistrust and solidarity. It is a wonderful exercise in the use of persuasive language and critical listening and with slight modifications to the language of the game, students from middle and high school can, for a few moments, loose themselves in a familiar yet fantastic world.

I nominate you as the werewolf!

Well, the book is finished and off at the editors.  There may be some more work to tweek things, but “Libraries Got Game” is complete coming out in the fall from ALA Editions. I have to say a big THANKS to Chris Harris, my co-author for all of his help putting this book together. When I was first approached to write a book, I knew that I did not want to tackle it on my own. My newness to writing needed a seasoned hand to help craft what is a fantastic look at modern board games as educational resources.

Chris did a wonderful job of talking “big picture” and looking at the research, the history of games and bringing things together. My focus was extending my curriculum work, writing  about the games and their alignment, matching games with local state learning standards and providing connections to library and information skills. Additionally, I put together some great recommended games lists for elementary, middle and high school. Together, I think we have put together a really good resource for school libraries looking to expand their collection and include additional resources that can help engage students with learning.

I will keep everyone up to date with details of the books release when we have them. Plus I am sure there will be more to share in July at ALA. If you are interested in learning how to expand your resource collection to include games, please consider attending our ALA pre-conference Gaming in the School Library: Curriculum Aligned and Still Fun! We will be sharing so much of our work and experience, including: selection criteria, recommended lists of titles, advocacy and alignment tools and more. Of course, a preconference on games would not be complete without lots of hands-on time with the resources with discussions on implementation.

I hope to see you there and thank all of you for your support of gaming in the school environment.

I didn’t want to be a stranger too much as I work on the board game book for ALA. We had a snag along the way that set us back a month, but we are heading along now and see the light! In the meantime, I wanted to share another great site with two great opportunities. Funagain Games is an online board game retailer that understands and supports educators.

Why do tell!

For the last six months, Funagain has been giving away two monthly gaming grants:

“Funagain Games believes board games are a great way to promote education, learning and community outreach. As such Funagain Games is proud to announce a monthly grant program dedicated to providing games to organizations that further those ideals in their daily work. Each month Funagain Games will provide a $100 grant to a school, library, or community organization, and another to a game group, to be used for any merchandise offered on the Funagain website.”

With Funagain’s selection, this is a wonderful opportunity for a small library or classroom to start a gaming collection. In addition to the monthly gaming grants, Funagain is also running a contest for upcoming Earth Day:

“Funagain Games is encouraging kids and teachers to participate in the Arthur Saves the Planet Giveaway Contest! Kids can win a copy of Arthur Saves the Planet: The Boardgame for their classroom. The contest is open to any child in grades K-3, living in the US.”

Arthur Saves the Planet is a new game designed by Mike Siggins and distributed by FRED Distribution aimed at introducing primary and elementary level students to more sophisticated play mechanics while educating them about environmental issues. With a few slight modifications to play, the game has the potential to work well with students.

If all this were not enough, THEY TAKE PURCHASE ORDERS! I have yet to find another online board game retailer that accepts purchase orders, so this is a rare thing indeed. They just get educators; the opportunities, selection and ease of access garners my respect and thanks.