Successful Gaming Programs at Your Library. Ernest Bourne Lyndi Hatch Stephanie Bertin Carrie Rogers-Whitehead Brad Carter.

Successful Gaming Programs at Your Library

Games, Games, Games

Ernest Bourne

Lyndi Hatch

Stephanie Bertin

Carrie Rogers-Whitehead

Brad Carter

Introduction

Who Plays Games?

Who Plays Games?

Who Plays Games?

Why Do We Play Games?

To get the girl!

Why Do We Play Games?

“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”

- Plato (429-347 B.C.)

Long history of games in the libraryChess, Checkers, Bridge, Scrabble

Games are just like books, they are just another new format

Games are the medium of choice for the millennial generation

Games meet developmental needs/build developmental assets of youth

Games are literaryGames reinforce new literacies

Why Gaming & Libraries?

Attract underserved populations

Marketing tool for other library services

Additional service for library users

Community hub

Promote collection

Goals of Library Gaming

Providing services – Give an ExperienceAuthentic and real that connectsUnique

haven’t seen beforeEngaging and fun encourages repeat visits

EconomicalSmall investment goes straight into resourcesTimeless – can be used down the road

Games at the Library

LiteracyReading rules and instructionsInterpreting and creating meaning from symbols

Learning Principles* - Beyond traditional literacyRisk takingProblem solvingDeveloping knowledge through practiceTransfer of knowledgeAffinity Groups(*Gee, James Paul. What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. Palgrave McMillan, 2007)

Inspiration to learn more

Benefits

Social – listen and shareEncourages talking

Party gamesTheme gamesNegotiation gamesCo-op games

EducationalWar of the Roses - 1450

Benefits

Creative problem solvingAlways a winning outcome

TED.orgJane McGonigalStuart Brown

Benefits

More than patrons will get playing at home

The Game vs. the Gaming Experience

• Tournaments• Giveways• New games

Library Gaming Experience

“Traditional” vs Designer / European

Traditional:Roll and moveSimple mechanics – easy to learnLuck trumps everythingGrow boring

Designer:Different levels of chance and strategyOpen ended decisions – higher thought processEnd Game Scoring – not eliminationMechanics and theme – careful balancing actMany different mechanics

“Traditional” vs Designer / European

Don’t pile games on a table – select a fewHave them set upRules out – with extra copies

Have someone who can teachEmployeesPatronsGame Stores

Multiple copies can get one group started When second group comes in, first group

can helpIdentification

something identifying the helpers – name badge, shirts, etc.

Running a Gaming Program

Help players find a game – just like a bookFind out what other games people likeMesh people together based on likes

Group like games together“Want to try” – transition people to similar

games


Do simple roundsGames last x amount of rounds – shorten

themLets them try new or other games

Two hour event to full day eventCan be broken up in groups at different

timesAnnounce about 15 minutes to ending


TournamentsPre-sign ups gets people excitedHouse rules about respecting each

otherNarrator / Ref

Helps keep things movingMaintains time limits

Miniatures / Table Top


Encourage parentsAsk them to sit and play some

Soon kids will play with parents

Food and drinkNo messy food

Not cheetos – pretzels and nuts good – no residueWater is good – bottled bestSodas with screw on lids


Figure out your target audienceCreate a plan – just like any collection in the

libraryBoard games age well

Keep in mind - Contents get used and lostUse of elasticBaggies for pieces

Stacking boxes size them with like sizes

Building a Collection

Getting gamesGames stores

May bring demos Try before you buyask for discounts from game stores

create a relationship with store get suggestions

Manufacturers may give you copies but it may not be what you wantcreate a list of what you want

Spare parts from manufacturesdo it while in print – harder when out of print

Bring your own game - patrons

Building a Collection

EmailsMarketing in library

posters , bookmarks, word of mouth

Keep regular scheduleMeetup.comFacebook and TwitterWebsite

Get the Word Out

Course – by Professor Scott Nicholsonhttp://www.gamesinlibraries.org/course/?

page_id=117ALA’s Librarian’s Guide to Gaming

http://librarygamingtoolkit.orgGames in Libraries Podcast

http://www.gamesinlibraries.org/Board Game Geek

http://boardgamegeek.com/Board Game News

http://boardgamenews.com/

Gaming Library Resources

Questions

Group Games

Lyndi HatchSalt Lake County Library [email protected]

Why Play Them?• Great way to break the ice• Encourages being social• Allows you to relax in a new group• Get better acquainted with peers

Murder in the Dark

Classic way to play• Begin the game by picking out a murderer,

detective and commoners. This can be done by letting participants pick a piece of paper that has their position written on it.

• One person should not play the game because they are the narrator.

• If there are a lot of people playing the game pick more than one murderer and detective.

• The narrator tells everyone to close their eyes and then the murderer points to the person they would like the kill.

• The narrator then instructs everyone to open their eyes and then informs the group who has been killed.

• The person that has been killed reveals their identity and is no longer allowed to speak to the group for the rest of the game.

• The narrator instructs everyone to close their eyes again and the detectives open their eyes and investigates someone.

• The narrator lets them know if they are the murderer of not. Everyone then opens their eyes.

• It is time for everyone then to decide who the murderer is. If the detectives have correctly guessed who the murderer is then they must try to convince everyone that they know who the murderer is. All the while the murderer is trying to convince people to choose anyone other then themselves.

• After a discussion the players vote on who they want to kill and then that player reveals their identity.

• The game is over when all the murderers are dead or all of the detectives.

Winking• Another way to play murder in the dark is

to begin the same way. • However in this version the murderer goes

around winking at people in a darker room.

• It is up to the detectives to catch the murderer before he kills everyone or the detectives.

• Once the murderer kills the detective he wins.

• The group could walk around or stay sitting in a circle.

Follow the Leader• Choose one person as the guesser and send them

out of the room. • While they are gone decide who is going to be the

leader. • The person comes back into the room and stands

in the middle. They must guess who the leader is.

• The group starts swinging their hands. When the leader is ready he/she will start doing other actions and the rest of the group will follow. (The sillier the action the better but you can do simple things like stomp feet, clap hands, etc.)

• When the guesser finds the leader, the leader turns into the guesser and the game begins again.

Spoons

Materials Needed• Spoons• Deck of cards

• Set out spoons in the middle of the group. There should be one less spoon than players.

• Pick one player to be the dealer• Pass out four cards to each player• The dealer begins by picking a card from the

pile. He then discards one card to the player on his left.

• The object of the game is to be the first player to get a four of a kind.

• When this is accomplished the player who has the match grabs a spoon. All the other players then quickly grab a spoon even if they don’t have a match. The player that doesn’t get the spoon gets a mark. If the player gets three marks, they are out of the game.

Kemps• To win this game a

player gets a four of a kind and secretly lets their teammate know and yell out “Kemps!”

• All you need to play this game is a deck of cards

• Players split up into teams. They then decide secretly what their nonverbal secret action will be to inform their teammate that they have a four of a kind.

• Deal out four cards to each player• Deal out four more cards face up in the middle of the

group• There are no turns• As soon as the dealer says go the game begins• When a player sees a card they want from to face up

cards in the middle they quickly take it before someone else gets it. They must replace it with a card from their own hand.

• When no one wants the cards in the middle the dealer replaces them with four new cards and the game is continued.

• When a player gets a four of a kind they must secretly let their partner know, who will then yell “Kemps!” If a team sees another team doing their symbol they can yell out “Stop Kemps!” to prevent the team with the four of a kind from winning.

Scoring• If a team successfully yells “Kemps” they are

awarded a point. • If a team yells “Kemps” and doesn’t really have it

then the team loses a point.• If you stop another team from calling “Kemps” by

calling “Stop Kemps” and you are right you get a point. If you are wrong you lose a point.

• First team to five points win

To make things even harder don’t allow team members to come up with a signal before the game starts

Signs• Have the group form a circle• Everyone in the group picks a sign or action to

make with their hand. This could be a thumbs up, scratching your knee, pulling your ear….

• One person who is IT goes into the middle of the circle. They leave the room while the group determines who is going to start the signs.

• The person comes back into the room and the game begins.

• The goal of the game is to make it so the person in middle doesn’t know who has the sign.

• The first person starts by making their sign and then another person’s sign. That person receives the sign by doing their own sign and then doing someone else's sign.

• The game is over when the person in the middle catches someone passing the sign.

• Signs can be passed as quickly or slowly as desired so as not to get caught.

• Signs must be accepted by the player before they can get caught by the person in the middle.

Speed

Materials needed

• Deck of cards• Set them up as pictured

• The goal is for each player to get rid of their cards faster than the other.

• Players should begin by holding the first five cards in their hands. (You are only allowed to have five cards in your hand at one time.

• At the same time, players turn over the card in the middle.

• Using the cards that are in the players hand, the player quickly adds to the two piles that are face up. You can either build up or down from the two cards overturned.

• For example if the card that is showing is a 5 the player can add a 4 or 6. If the card that is showing is and Ace a King or 2 can be added.

• Once a card is laid down the player can add another to their hand from their pile of fifteen. Remember only five cards in your hand at one time.

• If no player can play the small card piles on either side can be turned over.

• Whoever finishes first is the winner. This makes for a great tournament game.

Fast

Each player needs their own set of playing cards. Each card needs to have their own special marking on the back side or have an individual pattern.

• Fast is a mixture of Speed and Solitaire. • Everyone begins with their own set of 52

cards. (Make sure they are shuffled)• Each player creates a pile of 15 cards

(facedown)out of their own deck. Place 4 more cards face up next to the pile (these are cards that can be built on like solitaire). The remaining cards are held in the players hand.

• The goal of the game is to be the first player to place all of the cards in their pile of 15 into play (either in the center or on the 4 face up cards).

• To begin play everyone turns the first card over on the pile that is facedown.

• If one of the cards showing is an ace the player can put it into the middle and all other players can start adding to the pile. The count goes from ace, 2,3…Q,K and the suit and color must match.

• If no one starts with an ace using the big pile in hand begin turning cards over three at a time as fast as you can. If in this pile (or any pile of yours) you come across an ace put it into the center for others to play off.

• Remember the four that you began with face up??? You can play these in the center or you can build on them like you would a solitaire game. If you play them into the center, you can move a card from your pile of 15 into the empty slot. As long as the card does not have anything built on it you can play these into the center when there is a place to play them.

• When one player plays the last card from their pile of 15 the game is over and everyone stops.

• Scoring:First player to finish is awarded 5 pointsEach player gets one point for every card they

played into the circle piles. For each card that is still in the pile of 15 the

players subtracts 1 point from their score

• Keep on playing until one player reaches 100 points or whatever the group decides.

Screaming Viking• The goal of this game is not to be

in the middle of the circle• The group forms a circle with one

person in the middle. The person in the middle points to someone and yells either “Screaming Viking”, “Smurfs”, “Chia Pet”, or “Jello”. They immediately start counting to ten.

• The person that was pointed to and the person on their left and right must hurry and make the formation that was yelled before the person in the middle counts to ten.

• If any of the three make a mistake then they are sent to the middle.

• Screaming Viking: the two outside people start making a rowing motion while the person in the middle creates horns on their own head and hands. All the while all three must scream or make Viking noises.

• Smurfs: All three interlock arms and start singing a smurf song (or any happy, falalalala song)

• Chia Pet: all three people act like they are growing like a chia pet all the while singing the ChaChaChaChia song

• Jello: the person in the middle wobbles like Jello and the two outside people join arms to make a bowl around the Jello

• The more crazy you are the better. • You can also make up your own actions and sayings

for the game.

Human Knot• This works best with groups of about 10-15

people.• Everyone stands in a circle and grabs hold of two

different hands across the circle. (Make sure the two hands belong to two different people. Try to get everyone all mixed up.

• The goal is to untie the knot that was made and form a circle. You cannot let go of any hands to get untangled.

• You can use this just as a fun activity or you can get multiple teams together and have a race.

Zoo Game• Everyone sits in a circle• Each person needs to decide what animal they

want to be. Each animal needs to have a hand gesture (it’s also more fun if each animal has a sound). For example a lion’s hand gesture could be claws and a growl. An elephant’s could be his trunk.

• Make sure as your coming up with an animal that the gesture can be done quickly so the rhythm is not disrupted when someone does your sign.

• Every player needs to have a different animal. • After everyone has decided what they are tell the

entire group so everyone can quickly memorize them.

• Begin a basic 1-2-3 rhythm of slapping your thighs on the first two beats and on the third beat clapping your hands.

• When everyone gets the hang of the rhythm the leaders says “One, two, let’s play Zoo!”

• The leader then starts the game by performing their own animal gesture on the clapping part of the rhythm, then on the next set of claps the player then does another player’s gesture.

• The players whose sign was done then receives it by doing their own sign on the next rhythm set and then passing it along.

• If a player ruins the rhythm they get a point against them or are out of the game.

• You can play for however long you want or until a person reaches the specified point limit.

• Everyone must continue the rhythm even if their sign is not being used.

• The faster the group does the rhythm the harder it is to play

• If it is a young group you can let them take a rhythm set or two while they are trying to remember others signs as long as they don’t mess up the rhythm but for older groups signs should be done with no breaks in sets.

• Also to make it even tougher after a sign is passed on the entire group must move to the seat to their right while keeping the pattern going.

PowerPoint Slides

• Divide the players into teams.

• Have each team find a PowerPoint presentation using a search engine. Complicated ones work great!

• Part of the fun part is finding a great presentation to use.

• The harder the presentation is to understand the better.

• Also have each team choose five funny phrases or words the other team must use when they are giving their presentation

• When each group has found a PowerPoint presentation each team must get up and deliver the PowerPoint presentation the other team found using the phrases or words given by the other team.

• You can have judges judge who gave the best presentation or just not have a winner.

• Use a projector so everyone can see the presentation.

Ultimate Ninja• The goal is to be the ultimate ninja• Players try to eliminate others by hitting their hands.• Players should start in a circle. One person yells out “Ultimate

Ninja!” and everyone moves into their ninja stance• One player starts. They try to strike someone’s hand using only

one motion. Players are only allowed one motion per turn. A player can choose to not strike someone and use their turn to move a step.

• Immediately after that person takes their turn the person to their right takes their turn.

• If someone is trying to hit your hand you are allowed to try to dodge it in one motion. If you do move, you must hold your new pose after you dodge.

• If your hand gets hit you are out of the game.• Using fun ninja poses and noises make the game even more

entertaining.

Minute to Win It

© NBC

• NBC Website: http://www.nbc.com/minute-to-win-it/how-to/

• Has instructions to all the games. You can watch these or read them.

• Has video to watch

http://www.nbc.com/minute-to-win-it/how-to/



Come back in 10 minutes.

BREAK

•1. What is the average age of the gamer?*

34

*Entertainment Software Association. “Industry Facts. http://www.theesa.com/facts.

Accessed May 6, 2011.

• 2. What percentage of

U.S. households

play computer and video games?

67%

*Entertainment Software Association. “Industry Facts. http://www.theesa.com/facts. Accessed May 6, 2011.

•3. What % of people over age 50 play

games?*

26%

Entertainment Software Association. “Industry Facts. http://www.theesa.com/facts. Accessed May 6, 2011.

•4. How many billions of

dollars did the computer and

game sales industry gross

in 2010?*

$24

billion


•5. What % of games sold in

2009 were rated M for Mature?*


17%

60 percent were rated "Everyone (E)" or "Everyone 10+ (E10+)”

Video Game Programsin Libraries

Stephanie BertinSalt Lake County Library Services

Video Gaming in Libraries

ConsiderationsSupport of administration

Who is your audience?

What kind of space do you have?

What is your budget?

What expertise/support do you have?


Components


Console/Playing Device PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation, Wii

Screen or Monitor or ProjectorController

Remotes, peripheral devices

Power SourceGames

How to Make Your Programs Successful

1. Research2. Marketing3. Variety4. Play5. Evaluate


Finding Good GamesLocal Game Store

Game Reviews Magazines Library Journals Websites

Game Awards Websites Magazines


Game Ratings


Volunteers

Help with setup Help with tech issues Game moderator & teacher Bring games & even game

components


oTeen Advisory Board

oGamers

Video Game Events

Set up ahead Rules Have Food Activities to do while players

wait Play!


Gaming in Other Ways

Circulate video games

Game Cage

National Gaming Day


Carrie Rogers-Whitehead

Salt Lake County Library Services

*Passive Games

*What are passive games?

DEFINITION Anything that is available on a

drop-in basis that does not require the active participation

of the librarian.

Examples:• Crafts• Contests• Guessing games• Polls/voting• Scavenger hunts• Whatever else!

Voting/Polls

Sample of Poll slip

Interactive Displays

Voting/Polls & Art Contest

Decorate the Library

Drop in Crafts (1)

Drop in Crafts 2

Guessing Games

Toys/Games

Book Swap Shelf

Beehive Bingo- In house activities

Teen Tech/Teen Read Week passive programs

Other ideas…

Scavenger Hunts- have the kids hunt for a certain object in the library, give Dewey Decimal clues etc.

Coloring pagesName the…name a library pet,

mascot or anything elseTrivia- place a reference book next

to questionsLibrary to library contest

Game TraditionsIt’s All About Fun!

Brad Carter, Out of the Box Games

Would anyone be willing to share a favorite game tradition?

What makes that tradition memorable for you?

Game Traditions1. Vacations2. Family game night3. Couple’s night4. School events5. Holidays

An Out of the Box Idea - Apples to Apples

Start a new tradition – Games in Libraries

Best Practices1. Learn new games.2. Identify ways to utilize games in libraries.3. Play, Play, Play!

Out of the Box core values are a great fit for libraries:

1) Easy to learn2) Play in less than 30 minutes3) Educational4) Social interaction5) Unique mechanics

Types of OTB Games:1) Party Games2) Quick Play Games3) Engaging Games

You Can discover more about a person in an hour of play than

in a year of conversation - Plato

Successful Gaming Programs at Your Library. Ernest Bourne Lyndi Hatch Stephanie Bertin Carrie Rogers-Whitehead Brad Carter.

Documents

library slide

collection slide

road slide

games games stores

games people

different mechanics

twitter website slide

literary games