Filtering by Author: Donald Dennis

Tales and Tails Character Storyboards

After the amazing success we’ve had at the Georgetown County Library System with our previous laser cut take home programs we knew we needed to offer a great summer program. Our Glowforge laser printer/cutter is a great resource, and since we didn’t know if we would be in the position to have patrons join us for our traditional summer reading programs we wanted something that worked hand-in-hand with the Collaborative Summer Library Program 2021 Tails and Tales Summer Reading theme. https://www.cslpreads.org/

Amy King (Children Services Librarian), Chris Bell (Teen Tech Assistant), and I (Teen Services Librarian) brainstormed about possible projects. We’d pretty quickly ruled out repeating our mobile project because we wanted to avoid getting into a rut. It would be a shame to just repeat the same, slightly changed, projects over and over when we have such a great team and useful tool like the Glowforge. Other animal themed ideas we considered included puzzles, bookmarks, and ‘shelf hangers’ in the shape of animals that would hang off the edge of the shelves in precarious looking positions.

Story Board display at the main Georgetown County Library System

The project we all rallied around was to offer a new set of character boards each week. This would provide patrons the opportunity for a fun painting experience and then they would have characters to help them create their own Tails and Tales based stories. This project really embraced the theme and even though it had minimal engineering challenges we had an opportunity to express our creativity with the variety of characters we could provide.

The final pitch was that every week for eight weeks our patrons could come in and paint, or take home, a uniquely themed character board. The boards would have four or more easily punched out characters, and some additional items as space allowed. Magnets and paints would be provided so the characters could be put up on the patron’s refrigerator or on the magnetic board some branches provided. Amy also purchased word magnets for week one, which could be used separately or as dialog boxes for the characters.

Based on the number of unique elements each week and the number printed, this was our most ambitious summer reading program to date. However, as presented, the design and manufacturing was broken up into easily digestible chunks. This meant instead of needing everything cut before week one we had a staggered manufacturing process and rollout. Designing and laser cutting the wood started months before we actually started our program, and cutting continued until about week six of distribution.

Unlike our spring Fairy and Gnome Doors project, where each of the six Georgetown County branches had a unique design, every branch would get exactly the same board designs to distribute for the same weeks. But we didn’t turn our backs on our previous project; we made the tokens included on the story boards to scale with the doors so they could be easily used together. http://www.inversegenius.com/gsl-blog/2021/3/22/fairy-and-gnome-doors

Once we had an idea of the project’s direction we took a few prototypes to the Children’s Services meeting. It was exciting to show off the original samples of a sassy iguana, a shifty raccoon, and a rather unconcerned squirrel, to the librarians. They gave feedback and were enthusiastic about starting the first week with Little Red Riding Hood.

Week 1 - Little Red Riding Hood

The fairytale theme was selected for our first week by our librarians, so our patrons could have some humans to include in their stories for future weeks. In a perfect world, and if we were doing this again, week one would have a larger space. Perhaps even twice as large. The larger space would have allowed us to include more animals, props, or people, from other fairy tales. This would set up a nice stage for our patrons to create an even more diverse set of stories.

That said, the tokens for this week one were already the most difficult to make, and were actually the third set to lock in the final design. As it turns out, it was a lot easier to create animals than it was to make human characters we were happy with. I filled up several pages of my sketchbook to come up with the right look before even moving to Inkscape to create the files.

Katie, the primary project painter, painted both sides of the tokens so patrons could see different ways of decorating the tokens. On one side you had Grandmother, on the other a Queen! She painted two different colors of wolves, and our hooded figure was Little Red Riding Hood on one side, and an elf on the other.

Little Red Riding Hood Tokens

Little Red
Big Bad Wolf
Lumberjack
Grandmother
Picnic Basket

Week 2 - Herping

The week two theme was set to support other Children’s Services programming by focusing on herpetology related animals. Amy brought in Ethan Shelay, a local herping expert, to teach our patrons about finding and safely living in an environment with lizards, snakes, turtles, and alligators. Because of the additional exposure for this week we cut out about fifty extra boards of herping characters for the patrons who weren’t also participating in summer reading.

Feedback from our Children’s Services and Branch Managers suggested that we should include something supernatural, or at least non-standard in each set of characters. So for herping week we included a dragon, you don’t get more fantastical than that. We also included some eggs that folks thought were reminiscent of cute eggs from Pokémon games.

Unlike week one, which I designed, Chris designed most of the tokens on this board. I started the dragon design, but Chris altered it to fit the board and added finishing touches while I resumed work on week one.

Herping Tokens

Alligator
Turtle
Sassy Iguana
Dragon
Egg
Hatched egg

Week 3 - Oceanography

Our oceanography characters were a unique challenge. Not because the characters in-and-of-themselves were difficult, but because just last summer we offered our Ocean Mobile project. That hanging art project had already presented many of the most recognizable local sea creatures, and while we could have rescaled those and removed the hanging hole for the mobile thread we wanted to offer a different set of creatures.

This set ended up working particularly well with the Sea Fairy Door that the Waccamaw Neck Branch Library offered this spring.

Ocean Tokens

Orca
Marlin
Horseshoe Crab
Sea Serpent
Starfish x2

Week 4 - Jungle

The Jungle week was a fun week to create, though we had trouble settling on an appropriate mythological creature. I ended up using my power as one of the designers to add in a monkey in pirate garb instead of something out of mythology. I expected feedback to suggest changes, like adding a hat more like Captain Jack Sparrow’s, but folks liked it as is.

It was at this point we realized avian creatures were under-represented and jungles seemed like an excellent opportunity to include a bird. Even though I lobbied for a pirate parrot captain to compliment our pirate monkey, our poll of children’s services staff put toucans higher on the list than parrots. (I will get a parrot in a project eventually, just see if I don’t.)

The jungle cat ended up being very versatile. It could be painted up like leopards, jaguars, cougars, female lions, or even some domesticated cat breeds.

We love pangolins in our room, and have previously used a flexible model of one as a demo for our 3d printer. As such it really needed to be included in one of the character boards.

The large banana and the pineapple were added as our non animal tokens, both for color, and as possible things the monkey pirate would be interested in causing all kinds of trouble to acquire. They would also work well with the picnic basket from the set we offered in week one.

Jungle Tokens

Toucan
Pangolin
Jungle Cat
Pirate Monkey
Pineapple
Big Banana

Week 5 - Farm

The interest in a week of farm creatures really surprised me. With all the exciting and exotic creatures in the world I didn’t expect we’d have demand for domesticated animals, but the reception for this board, from librarians and patrons alike was great. Some even said it was their favorite set of characters.

Maybe it was because we were in the flow of things by this point, or perhaps because we were familiar with the animals in question, but this was an easy set of characters to create. We could have added three or four more without any problem. As it is, this one ended up with more creatures than other sets because I really wanted to add the chicks instead of a pitchfork or other non animal creature.

The most difficult challenge on this whole board was to make the scarecrow not intensely creepy. I’m not certain I completely achieved harmless-derpyness, but people liked it.

This set also plays well with the Herping set, because of the eggs.

Farm Tokens

Pig
Sheep
Hen
Rooster
Donkey wearing a hat
Derpy Scarecrow
2 Chicks

Week 6 - Ice Age Megafauna

Instead of looking just at our current animals and mythology we wanted to expand the horizons of the project and include a batch of prehistoric animals. We went with the base theme of megafauna and modeled them on animals our younger patrons would be familiar with from animated features.

There was some concern from one of our branches that we’d be confused with the characters from the animated Ice Age movies, but our art style was significantly different, and we weren’t branding them as the movie characters, so we were safe. That said, we absolutely included the most recognizable creatures from the ice age, which the movie also did, so that meant there was going to be overlap.

We also weren’t concerned with making certain the tokens included weren’t all from the same time period, which is good because acorns didn’t exist 60 million years ago when the Scrat-ish Cronopio was living the good life down in what is now Argentina.

Megafauna Tokens

Mastodon
Glyptodon (check Week 8 picture)
Megatherium / Giant Ground Sloth
Smilodon / Saber Toothed Tiger
Cronopio Dentiacutus / Saber-toothed Squirrel
2 Acorns

Week 7 - Forest

For Forest Week I had to include my favorite wild creature – the Raccoon, and because our Georgetown Branch has a rabbit named Dewey we felt including a leaping rabbit was relevant to this project as well. The toughest part had to be settling on the mythological creature. The unicorn won out because they are insanely popular, and would help offset the inevitable lag in numbers that happens in the last few weeks of the summer.

Creating the animals for this week was pretty easy. This was in part because two of these, the raccoon and squirrel, were pieces we created to pitch the idea to the other branches. Also, by week seven we had it down to a fairly streamlined process. Chris is a wizard with Adobe Illustrator, and I had gotten a handle on creating vector images in Inkscape.

Forest Tokens

Raccoon
Rabbit
Squirrel
Unicorn
Pine Cones

Week 8 - Dinos

For our final week we went so big that we went back in time. Dinosaurs, and other ancient creatures, not only have some interesting tails, but are pretty exciting in general. For this set we didn’t worry about what creatures were alive at the same time, but instead just went with one predator and three that had amazing tails.

For the small tokens we considered fossilized footprints, a nest with eggs, a mosquito in amber, and super small mammals. In the end we went with Trilobites because they are some of the most common fossils on earth.

(Glyptodon was mistakenly pictured with the dinosaurs because of the bright pink spots, but it should have been included in our week 6 pictures.)

Katie went wild with the paint job because we wanted more colors.

Dino Tokens

Allosaurus
Archaeopteryx
Ankylosaurs
Stegosaurus
Trilobites

Numbers

As with all summer programs numbers and participation changes from week to week and even day to day. Initial estimates were 475 kits per week, spread over six branches, including our bookmobile. However, the bookmobile opted not to participate. Also, because of the ongoing pandemic, and the unexpected issues facing the opening of our Southern Georgetown Community Library and staffing issues at other branches our initial offering was 400 per week for the first five weeks. At four weeks we reevaluated what we’d need for weeks 6-8, and for those four weeks we ended up shaving some numbers and distributing 295 sets divided up amongst the five branches.

From Monday June 21st, until August 13th we distributed approximately 3020 units to our branches for summer reading, including demo pieces so each branch could paint a set for display, plus another fifty Herpin Week boards. Plus approximately 20-25 sheets of failed or faulty prints, bringing the total to more than 3180 units.

Time wise we were cutting boards for over 200 hours over the course of the production run, plus cleaning and test cuts we made while developing the characters.

Thoughts for improvements

What changes would I make to this program if we were to offer it again? If budget were no option (hahaha) we would source better wood. The wood we ordered was cheap Baltic Birch that had voids or big blobs of glue between the layers. This caused us to have a non-trivial amount of failures, costing us as much as 15-20 full sheets of wood. (8 storyboards per sheet.)

On the limitless budget front, it would be great if we could make certain all branches included magnetic boards in the week one offering, and it would be ideal if they were half again as large as the boards we offered. On the same line of thought, it would be great if we could include more tokens for week one and week eight, to really endcap the project.

With more weeks I’d absolutely increase the variety of animals to include an even more diverse collection of creatures. Like what? More birds, like scissortail flycatchers, peacocks, parrots, bird-of-paradise, and so forth. We also neglected insects. It would be great to offer some animals that gain or lose tails over the course of their life, like tadpoles to frogs, or animals that lose their tails and regrow them. But perhaps that is another project entirely.

Displays and Marketing

Our painted demonstration tokens were a huge success, doubly so with the first set that had different paint jobs on the two sides of the token. I should have encouraged Kate to worry less about getting the paint jobs super realistic, and to just have fun with them, or have both. The examples she gave us when she took her own lead to use wild colors the results were easily as amazing as her realistic paint schemes.

On a related note, we might have benefited from sending an example set to each of the branches a week earlier than we did so they could each have a painted set on display to build up anticipation for what was coming next week.

And if our Glowforge hadn’t needed repairs I would have produced larger versions of them for in-library displays, and used those to get even more press for the activity.

Future of the Project

Since the end of Summer Reading we’ve compiled all of the characters into one file, and hope to make laser cuts of the complete set available through donations to the Friends of the Waccamaw Library like we have done with our Ocean Mobile and Spring Garden Mobile. While we offered them for free to patrons during Summer Reading, it is wonderful that they can continue to be offered in such a way that they will support future library activities.

How does this relate to gaming?

That’s a fair question on the Games in Schools and Libraries blog. Like our previous Fairy Door project these tokens and creatures can be used in many games. We hope to use them in some of our RPGs at an upcoming ShushCon, or for game design workshops. These would make great pieces in prototype board games.

I have to mention how the skills developed painting these can be used in miniatures and terrain making. Several patrons attending our summer minis painting and terrain creation workshops used many of these characters in the Pringles Can Tower workshop to decorate their fortresses.

Final Thoughts

Overall this was an incredibly gratifying project to work on. My only disappointment is that, despite parents telling us their family loves the tokens, we haven’t had nearly as many pictures of painted creatures as I had hoped for.

I had a great deal of fun working with Chris to create the animal files, and learned to really enjoy working in Inkscape. We became pretty adept at picking up when the other one of us began to lag, and helping each other stay realistic about outcomes. The moments of frustration were eclipsed by the sense of achievement and just getting to make art.

Amy and Kate were important contributors and amazing to work with. They provided ideas and feedback, as well as prepared the example displays for our patrons. Also they were incredibly supportive when I was frustrated with my artistic shortcomings, or when we had Glowforge issues. Most critically they made certain the characters were released on schedule, and managed everything to do with the supporting material like paint, magnets, and the like. They were as essential to the program’s success as Chris and I.

And now, it is time to plan our winter holiday programs. Snowmen? Ornaments? Trees? New “gingerbread” houses?

Let me know how you’ve used laser cutting in any of your school or library programming.

Donald Dennis
Teen Services Librarian
Georgetown County Library System

Three little pigs! Can you tell which one built their house out of straw, sticks, or bricks?

The Games in Schools and Libraries blog and podcast are produced in association with the Georgetown County Library System and with the help of Inverse Genius.
Games in Schools and Libraries Guild at Board Game Geek or Page on Facebook
Email us: schoolsandlibraries@gmail.com

Posted on October 8, 2021 by Donald Dennis and filed under Library Programming and tagged Glowforge laser cuts summer reading Tails and Tales miniatures.

Fairy and Gnome Doors

*The Coral Door from the Waccamaw Neck Branch and the Mushroom door from the Bookmobile*

*The event announcement posted on social media.*

The Georgetown County Library System is rolling out Fairy and Gnome Door kits to all branches and the bookmobile this week. Though not explicitly games related, fairy doors are certainly game adjacent. They can be used as props in RPGs, wargames, or maybe even as part of a board game. I have already started working on an escape room using fairy doors.

Even though it appears the end of the pandemic may be on the not-to-distant-horizon we are still trying to find ways to connect to our community. One of the big tools that has helped with this has been our Glowforge laser printer. From it we have created three significant projects, including last summer’s ocean creature themed mobile, and our gingerbread house. Both made of Baltic Birch plywood, not gingerbread; we do not recommend eating them.

This spring Amy King and I, (Department Managers at the Waccamaw Neck Branch Library) brainstormed a project full of whimsey and creativity. The idea started simple “Fairy doors for books”. The next thing we knew, as is the way of things, it had completely spun out of control. While we’d offered our laser cut projects to other branches before there had only been moderate uptake. This time we wanted it to be different. We wanted to show that though each library is different, we are all still part of the same family.

In the project’s final form each library would have a unique door to give to their patrons. In that kit all of the other libraries would be represented by charms that reflected their own theme. The coastal Waccamaw Neck Branch Library had a coral framed door and was represented in each kit by an anchor while the Carvers Bay honey pot was represented by a fairy bear on each board. Andrews had a train, and Dewey, Georgetown’s mascot bunny, was present as well. To match the leafy and flowery art concept sketches provided by the brand new Southern Georgetown Community Library they were present on each board as a butterfly.

Chris Bell and I created art for six different kits, one for each branch in the system including our bookmobile, with some elements based on amazing sketches provided by library staff. Each kit has a different theme, a sign for that library, a fairy key, and charms representing all six different branches in the system. Each door has a layered doorframe element to help them seem more 3d and substantial. The laser cuts were made from SVG files which were created in Inkscape, or Adobe Illustrator, depending on who was doing the work. Chris is proficient in Adobe Illustrator, while I was working at becoming proficient at Inkscape.

The final door and supporting charms were all cut out using our Glowforge. Red lines mean cut, the tiny blue mean don’t cut, and the black lines are engraving or scoring to give patrons an idea on how to decorate. This project cost us about 125 hours of manufacturing of the laser cut boards, plus about 20 hours of additional Glowforge cleaning and maintenance. These numbers don’t include the non-trivial design and prototyping time, which we were not tracking but may have been upwards of a month.

To make the kits easier to prepare and distribute all of the wood door and charm elements are attached to the wooden frame by tabs. This means we don’t have to sort all the laser cut bits in addition to the other elements of the kit. We kept the tabs super small so the patron can pop out the bits when they are ready. On a previous project we had a patron paint everything then pop the bits out and they reported that worked rather well.

Amy and Katie turned our project into something more than cool bits of laser cut wood by organizing additional crafty bits and adding them to the bags. This started with filling thousands of little tubs with a variety of colors of paint, including some that was glow in the dark but also meant other decorative elements like buttons, colorful stones, glitter glue, and paint brushes. It wasn’t until we had the bags filled and set up all at once that the full scope of the project was really evident. Also, I have no idea how many hours of work they put into getting this organized, but it was a significant endeavor.
Once everything was ready, on the Thursday before the launch, Amy and Katie packed up all of the kits destined for other libraries and took them to our main location in Georgetown. From there they would be dropped off at their respective branches by our library courier on Monday, March 22nd.

As of March 22, 2021, a limited number of these kits were made available for free to Georgetown County Library System patrons, and they can get the kit from their library. While we don’t know for certain what demand will be, patrons who visit their local branch this week should be able to pick them up. Eventually the Friends of the Waccamaw Library may offer them in the FOWL store, or as part of their garden tour fundraiser, but if you are in Georgetown County, SC you can get one for free now at your local library.

At this time the files are not available for purchase, though they may be made available for free or by a donation to the library in the future. Click through the link to see more pics of the process and get a better idea for the scope of the project.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/P6j6sKhSiX86duyr7

Let me know how you’ve used laser cutting in any of your school or library programming.

-Donald Dennis

Posted on March 23, 2021 by Donald Dennis and filed under Library Programming and tagged Glowforge Fairy Doors laser cuts miniatures.

SushCon Online Cancelled

Unfortunately due to Georgetown County Library internet issues we are having to cancel the online ShushCon event scheduled for March of 2021. We still plan to move ahead with the in-person October event, so please check back for more information as that event gets closer.

Posted on March 15, 2021 by Donald Dennis and filed under ShushCon and tagged ShushCon2021.

ShushCon Schedule for 2021 UPDATED

The Waccamaw Neck Branch Library in Pawleys Island is excited to announce the ShushCon schedule for 2021.

ShushCon Online 21 March 26-28, 2021 CANCELLED
ShushCon 21 October 15-17, 2021

For the past six years ShushCon has been the premier celebration of gaming on South Carolina’s Grand Strand. We have introduced hundreds of patrons and conventioneers to the amazing games that form the foundation of the gaming hobby. Our goal has been to share both the classics, and the new hotness with seasoned and novice gamers alike. For 2021 we will be hosting two ShushCon events, one online only and the other in-person.

The chaos and disruption of 2020 caused the cancellation of last year’s in-person event. Instead ShushCon organizers offered four online Condemic conventions to offer gaming options for the socially isolated. From the lessons learned we are hosting ShushCon Online (March 26-28, 2021), a convention focused exclusively on online play.

On Friday March 26th, the first morning of ShushCon Online, we will offer tutorial seminars to help game masters and patrons alike get the most out of online game play. This will include tips and tricks for utilizing modern gaming platforms, as well as how to navigate the ShushCon discord, schedule pick-up games, and find games with openings. Also, check back to this blog where we will provide some links to tutorials recommended by the platform creators or community members.

To participate go to our registration form and sign up! After that you can log in the day of and find games that still need players. If preferred to plan and be prepared you can browse our growing list of events as we post them on the ShushCon blog or on ShushCon Facebook group. You can also reply to events in the ShushCon Discord server, which will open up in March.

If you are a creator and would like to participate or support the show please contact us directly! We would love to have you demo your games, appear in panels, or otherwise engage our attendees.

Check back after March for more information on our October event!

ShushCon and Games in Schools and Libraries are produced in association with the Georgetown County Library System and with the help of Inverse Genius.
Games in Schools and Libraries Guild at Board Game Geek or Page on Facebook
Email us: schoolsandlibraries@gmail.com

Posted on February 1, 2021 by Donald Dennis and filed under ShushCon and tagged ShushCon2021 ShushCon Online.

Next Generation Consoles in Libraries Part 2: Subscription Services

If you have questions about the next generation of gaming consoles but haven’t checked out Next Generation Consoles in the Library Part 1, you may want to start there. If you know about the hardware, read on!

With the next generation consoles now out in the wild, options for gaming purchases have been truly revealed. As mentioned in part one, both Sony and Microsoft have managed to divide their markets by having different tiers, or form factors, of their consoles this generation. That choice brings with it a brand new question; “Does your institution need game consoles to be able to access games on physical media, or are purely digital versions of the games sufficient?”. Both options have their merits, and we hope to give you a good idea of which option best fits your budget and operational needs.

The first and most important question is “what’s the difference between physical or digital?”. Both Xbox and PlayStation have a physical edition and digital edition for the new generation. Physical media for this generation means buying games by disc, while digital media can include purchasing codes from authorized vendors, through the console’s online marketplace, or obtaining games through a subscription service.

Physical Media

Using physical media, instead of purchasing digital only versions, allows libraries with more than one of a given console the option of playing the game on any of that brand of game stations. This provides excellent versatility in spaces with multiple sets of hardware. Also, if budget issues are a top-concern, physical copies have historically gone on sale more frequently than digital versions purchased through either the PlayStation or Xbox marketplaces.

While physical media requires storage consideration, and is more vulnerable to theft or destruction than digital downloads, it is also generally more convenient if kept in good condition. If your institution has a game installed on multiple machines, the disc can be changed between the stations so different patrons would have access to the game without needing to purchase the title multiple times.

Another significant benefit is overall console security, including the convenience of not having to worry about patrons gaining access to game marketplaces with credit cards attached, making physical media the superior choice for some environments. Doubly so if you also plan on tracking game use statistics or circulating games separate from the game stations.

Be aware that having a physical disc doesn’t mean you won’t have large downloads, game discs are really more like keys to play a game than an actual physical copy of the game. To play a game on a disc, the console will still need access to the internet at least once, to download a working and patched copy of the game. Also, keep in mind that not all games are released on disc, and some games require online access whenever they are played.

Online Play with ”Free” Monthly Titles

As for digital media, while sharing becomes a near impossibility; with a major exception (we will get to that), you are open to an entire host of new options for padding out your gaming collection. Both Xbox and PlayStation have subscription models for online gaming and game catalogs. Xbox Gold and PS+ respectfully.

With this online subscription you can play online games but also get a selection of ‘free’ games added to your account monthly. You get to keep all these games for as long as you have an active subscription. If you cancel and then re-add the respective pass you regain access to all the games you previously acquired, though you will lose out on games only available during your lapse in coverage. If you don’t go into the appropriate marketplace and grab the new ‘free’ games each month you won’t have access to them in the future, so make certain to get them while they are free. Having an opt in style feature also allows you to curate your collection a little bit better. If you're not looking to have your children's area own Grand Theft Auto, you can always decide not to add that to your account.

The major exception to digital games being locked to a single account is a feature called Gameshare. This feature is included with both Xbox and PS. It allows for the master account, or the account that owns the game, to share its collection of digital games with a different account on another system. Unfortunately not all games support this feature, many games only partially support this feature, and only one account can play the game at a time. The usefulness of this feature will depend heavily on how many consoles you feature, and how you police which games people are playing and at what time. Also note that gameshare only works between the same brand. Playstation cannot share with Xbox, or vice versa.

Bulk Catalog Subscriptions

At the time of writing the Xbox is the superior choice thanks to one single service. The Xbox Game Pass. This is separate from Xbox Gold, and is an active library of games that you instantly gain complete access to once you sign up. It’s an extra $15 per month but works just like a netflix subscription. This pass also frequently includes brand new AAA titles created by Microsoft or EA on launch. In the subscription business, Xbox is a clear winner, but only if you're ready to drop an extra $15 per month per console to take advantage of it. Also keep in mind that games do rotate in and out of the game pass. Every month you can expect games to be added and fall off, so keep an eye out for what games are leaving.

To add to everything Microsoft is also trying to step into the PC gaming sphere with the Game Pass Ultimate. Game Pass Ultimate includes all the benefits of Xbox Gold and Xbox Game Pass, and allows for the same account to be used for both PC and Xbox, meaning if you offer PC gaming you can run both at the same time on the same account. Microsoft is also beta-testing a cloud gaming/streaming service through Game Pass Ultimate, so the very nature of the Game Pass could change or expand in years to come.

PlayStation has a response to the Game Pass in the form of PlayStation Now. Similar to the Xbox Game Pass PSNow offers downloading games to play as a subscription based service. PSNow also features a streaming services for games, instead of downloading the games, players stream a game hosted and played on a Sony server. The quality of this stream is heavily reliant on internet speed, distance from the server, and connection quality. If any one of these three elements is not flawless the service suffers greatly to the point of extreme frustration or unusability.

Historically PSNow has been viewed negatively. Many AAA title games are missing from the service, as well as the streaming service being of a generally low quality except for a few locations with amazing internet connectivity. However, much like the Game Pass, it can add a substantial selection of games to your collection for a monthly fee. Playstation has promised to make the service a better experience, but currently the value is unimpressive with the service costing $19.99 for a back catalog of older games.

The Clear (current) Winner

From a hardware perspective both consoles are nearly identical in everything except for price and shape. In terms of digital offerings however the Xbox has a massive advantage. At the time of posting, Sony has promised to improve its subscription services but has not historically done great in the digital department. From a library perspective Xbox is the way to go if you can include the subscriptions in your budget. Outside of the subscriptions pick the console that has your favorite exclusive games.

Games in Schools and Libraries is produced in association with Inverse Genius and the Georgetown County Library System.
Games in Schools and Libraries Guild at Board Game Geek or Page on Facebook
Email us: schoolsandlibraries@gmail.com

Posted on January 14, 2021 by Donald Dennis and filed under Video Games and tagged Next generation console Xbox PS+ PlayStation Game Pass games with gold PSNow PS5 XBOX Series.

With Gridopolis, build and play in 3D like never before!

Educators and researchers unanimously agree on the positive impact playing games can have on the learning process. Playing games of all kinds can help young people understand new concepts, view ideas from an alternative perspective and work as a team to accomplish a mission or a goal.

At Gridopolis Games, we too are on board with the idea that learning can be fun and engaging. A passion which led us to create the innovative educational ‘strategy game + platform’ called Gridopolis.

Gridopolis is a first-of-its-kind game where players think creatively and logically in three dimensions. Gridopolis is both a strategy game and an expandable gaming system, which is why it's such a fantastic and fun tool for STEM education.

For what we have classified more directly as ‘STEM without screens,' we recently developed our first lesson plan for use at home and in the classroom. This curriculum outlines therapeutic, knowledge, and behavioral objectives of the game system.

For the therapeutic objectives, students will practice recognizing shapes, colors and methods of assembly, addressing spatial skills, reasoning, memory and more. For knowledge objectives, students plan, move and strategize in three dimensions, teaching strategy, logic and creativity. Examining the behavioral objectives, students collaborate as they master the rules and game play, targeting socialization, collaboration and communication skills.

In addition to being a practical and fun learning system, Gridopolis would be an excellent fit in a schools and libraries setting due to its durability, simple instruction guide and vibrant color scheme.

Article by Gridopolis Games
Games in Schools and Libraries is produced in association with Inverse Genius and the Georgetown County Library System.
Games in Schools and Libraries Group on Facebook
Games in Schools and Libraries Guild at Board Game Geek
Email us: schoolsandlibraries@gmail.com

Posted on June 7, 2019 by Donald Dennis and filed under Computational Thinking, Tabletop and tagged STEM.

ShushCon Story Games Workshop

Once again the Waccamaw Neck Branch Library and Games in Schools and Libraries are kicking off ShushCon, the Grand Strand’s premier FREE public gaming event, with a free day of professional development for teachers, librarians and other educational professionals. We will be offering sessions dedicated to the use of games in story based programs in their curriculum and community outreach activities.

Workshop activities have a soft start at 9:00 am on Friday, March 22nd with the first presentation at 10:00am and will focus on Story Game Workshop activities until we adjourn for lunch at 1:00 pm. After lunch our ShushCon activities will continue and all Story Games Workshop participants are encouraged to join the fun by experiencing story games first-hand by playing with convention attendees.

The convention schedule offers a variety of games including a children’s game track, hobby and game enthusiast games, organized play, Virtual Reality Games, and an exclusive Stephanie Frey escape room!

ShushCon is a games and geekery convention March 22 – 24, 20189 at the Waccamaw Neck Branch Library in Pawleys Island, SC. To register, and for more information, visit shushcon.com or contact ddennis@gtcounty.org

ShushCon Facebook Page
ShushCon Facebook Group

Posted on February 15, 2019 by Donald Dennis and filed under Library Programming and tagged ShushCon ShushCon 2019 Trade Day.

Evolution: The Video Game launches with a 1,000 board game giveaway!

The folks at Games in Schools and Libraries are fans of North tar Games in general and Evolution in particular. We’ve had Dominic Crapuchettes, Evolution designer, join us on Games in Schools and Libraries #58, and Bruce Voge, of North Star Games, is a recurring host for On Board Games.

To sum up, we like Evolution because there are so many ways to play. Sure the classic version, with or without the flight expansion, is pretty neat but that’s old news. Evolution the Beginning is Donald’s favorite because it is fast and streamlined so every turn is filled with action and interesting decisions. On the other hand Chris prefers climate because it adds a great deal of variation to the base game and is a bit deeper game more suited to game enthusiasts.

They sent us the following press release, that we thought you’d find interesting. Doubly so because they are giving away so many games.

Evolution: The Video Game Launches on Darwin's Birthday

North Star Games Will Give Away 1,000 Evolution Board Games to Celebrate!

KENSINGTON, MD. - Feb. 11, 2019 - The official launch date of Evolution: The Video Game, the strategy game of adaptation from North Star Digital Studios is Tuesday, Feb. 12th. It’s also Darwin’s Birthday. Coincidence? Nope. It just seemed like a natural selection!

Over 4 years in development, Evolution: The Video Game represents a massive evolutionary leap of the Evolution board game. It's the most refined and beautifully detailed board game conversion ever. From the very start, players will adapt nigh-infinite species combinations by merging natural traits such as climbing or horns to survive deadly predators and dwindling resources. North Star Games has created a new Release Trailer with new environments and campaign footage.

Within moments of playing their first game, even new players will understand why the Evolution board game became an award-winning franchise with more than 1.6 million players around the world. Anyone can jump right into the diverse ecosystem on PC, Mac, iOS or Android.

1000 Free Board Games

North Star Games is so confident that players will be blown away by the lush game-play, they are giving away 1,000 copies of the original Evolution board game just for trying it out. Every day for the first 100 days after launch, 10 winners will be randomly selected out of everyone who played an online game that day. It's free to enter on iOS and Android. Just download Evolution (free-to-try in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store) and play an online match each day. New winners will be selected daily out of everyone who played an online match that day. Winners cover the cost of shipping.

While Evolution’s digital adaptation is loyal to the original board game, it has also done some evolving of its own. Stunning new artwork, animated cards, lush environments, distinct enemy A.I. Bosses, and a new campaign mode are but a sample of the new features exclusive to the digital edition.

Playing against human opponents from around the world provides its own thrill in fast-paced games. Cross-platform multiplayer provides a deep pool of players to battle wits with, and skill-based matchmaking encourages healthy competition. Evolution’s digital form has been crafted to play as fast as possible, so matches generally last less than ten minutes.

“Since its release in 2014, the original Evolution tabletop game and its many iterations have been a huge hit with players,” said Scott Rencher, president and co-founder of North Star Digital Studios. “We wanted Evolution: The Video Game to not only stand out as a worthwhile adaptation of the tabletop original, but as a great strategy video game all on its own.”

Evolution: The Video Game is available in English on PC and Mac via Steam for $14.99. It is also available as free-to-try on iOS and Android with a full version available for $9.99 as a one time purchase. Those who purchase the game in the first week will receive a 20% launch sale discount.

If you would like a free copy for review, reply and let us know which platform you prefer (PC/Mac, iOS, or Android).

For more news about Evolution: The Video Game and details on the 1,000 Games Give-Away, follow North Star Game Studios on Twitter and Facebook or visit the official website.

About North Star Digital Studios

North Star Digital Studios is a digital board game development house based in Kensington, MD. Founded in 2014 by Scott Rencher and North Star Games, the company is devoted to adapting North Star board games into digital versions that capture the heart of the originals while taking full advantage of what video games have to offer. Evolution: The Video Game is the studio’s first release.

Posted on February 12, 2019 by Donald Dennis and filed under contests and tagged press release.

The Secret Gamers Society of the Spartanburg Library and Other Programs

Hello!

I’m Michelle from the Spartanburg County Public Library System. I’m a Teen Assistant, running several programs for teens at our library’s main branch. Some of the programs I oversee are the Secret Gamers Society, Cosplay Workshop, Outline & Design, and the Art Show Opening Reception. Other staff in our Teen Department run programs like Project: Anime, homeschooled, and Rock Out, just to name a few. For this post, I’ll be going over how I run some of my programs.

Secret Gamers Society

Occurs: Monthly with popups

Secret Gamers Society is our monthly tabletop game program, with the occasional popup program. Popups usually happen on days when there’s no other programs but we have a good number of teens to wrangle into a game.

For the monthly program, I generally choose a game to feature as the main entry, with a focus on games I don’t think many of our teens have heard of or tried in hopes that they broaden their gaming horizons. I’ll also bring out other games, including ones that either relate to the theme of the program or games we’ve tried in previous sessions that they’d like to play again. It works well; oftentimes, after the program, they’ll want to stay and keep playing, or they’ll ask to play the game in the Teen Hub, our teen room.

At times when the Secret Gamers aren’t gathering we still keep some games set out in the room for our teens to use with the rest filed away in the back of the office. (Those we circulate to other branches or let the teens borrow if they want to play one.) Sometimes the teens will even ask to have leave out the games we used for our Secret Gamers pop ups so they can borrow them for a few weeks afterwards.

Cosplay Workshop

Occurs: Monthly

Cosplay Workshop is a monthly cosplay program that I started and built from the ground up shortly after becoming a Teen Assistant. Every month we focus on a different topic or material. Generally we have a craft or activity that relates to that topic, complete with a quick PowerPoint presentation that highlights various methods, materials, and tips before showcasing several different cosplayers relating to the topic at hand.

Sometimes it gets tough trying to think up new ideas or topics but there’s a lot of online resources you can tap into, including…

3D Printing: A guest speaker and friend of mine visited with two 3D printers, and various 3D printed cosplay props to talk in depth about and answer questions from our teens. For the duration of the program, we had the printer running so they could really see it in action, and afterwards we gave out some cool smaller 3D printed Bulbasaurs.
Patterns: We talked about various pattern-making methods, and applied this new info to making pauldrons out of EVA foam, nylon, and buckles. Then we got out of the way and let them decorate it however they liked.
Convention Masquerades: There’s a lot of variety in cosplay contests, so we went over the different types, looked at some rules and categories for them, and talked about what makes a good performance. Afterwards, we watched different cosplay stage performances and pointed out what helped to make it a good performance. Then, they all had the chance to come on stage and try out different walk with a variety of video game and instrumental soundtracks in the background. Some of them were light and playful, others were dramatic, spooky, or adventurous.
Face Off: This one is fun, but always gets really messy. We talk briefly about different types of body paint, special effects, and makeup used in cosplay, and then they have a face off where they compete against each other to come up with the best look.

Outline & Design

Occurs: 2-3 times a year

Outline & Design is a program where patrons paint alongside me. I choose something fun to paint ahead of time and then, at the program, we’ll paint step-by-step together from start to finish. Some of the more successful Outline & Design programs have been space painting, where they paint different galaxy-themed environments and splatter painting, mostly because our teens really enjoy splattering paint. As a precaution, we take extra measures to keep the messiness contained, such as using old banners as tarps on the tables and around the floor when necessary, and monitoring how hard or at what angle they choose to splatter paint.

Art Show Opening Reception

Occurs: Quarterly

Every month we feature a teen artist on the walls of our teen room. For the Art Show Opening Reception, that teen and the teens for the next two months are encouraged to invite their friends and family to enjoy refreshments and show their support. It’s a win-win situation because we get to look at beautiful art on our walls everyday, and they get to show off their art in a public space.

If you’d like to see more of what we do in the Teen Department, then follow us on Instagram at www.instagramcom/scplteens and Facebook at www.facebook.com/scplteens or email us at teens@infodepot.org!

Article By: Toni Michelle Chavez
Games in Schools and Libraries is produced in association with Inverse Genius and the Georgetown County Library System.
Games in Schools and Libraries Group on Facebook
Games in Schools and Libraries Guild at Board Game Geek
Email us: schoolsandlibraries@gmail.com

Posted on January 11, 2019 by Donald Dennis and filed under Library Programming and tagged guest post Michelle Chavez Spartanburg County Public Library System.

ALA Midwinter Reflections

This week we present Stephanie Frey's reflections on her ALA Midwinter attendance as part of the Libraries / Ready to Code Phase III Cohort.

ALA Midwinter was overwhelming. I’d never been out to the midwest or a library convention and was unsure of what to expect besides massive amounts of people. After much consideration, I found that each of these elements led to me having a fantastic time at ALA Midwinter, helped me deal with how huge and overwhelming an experience it can be, and enabled me to get the most out of the experience.

Sit in the Front

I cannot stress this enough, sit up front in panels you attend.

Normally I tend to sit in the back at events. ALA Midwinter already had me so far out of my comfort zone that I decided to give sitting up front a shot and I got so much more out of it.

Sitting upfront put me in contact with the most excited and energized people; their energy and sheer glee was contagious. Everyone had so many ideas and was eager to get right into solving whatever problem was thrown our way. At the beginning of each session we were handed sticky notes to keep track of our ideas, and everytime it was the groups in the front rows who had forty or more sticky notes crammed full of ideas. With so many ideas flowing, I had so many different epiphanies on my own programming.

Each panel I found the same and some new eager faces sitting up front ready take away everything they could learn from the experience. It was so much easier to make friends, get to know my cohorts, and get so many ideas going.

Exchange Ideas

ALA Midwinter puts you in the proximity of other librarians, so many other librarians. Not only were these people eager to present ideas, they were extremely friendly too. It made it so easy for me to share my own ideas, experiences, challenges, and contribute to theirs.

The strength and best benefit of being around other librarians is how the format encouraged everyone to share how they handled a variety of problems common to all library branches; such as pulling older teens into coding activities, attracting students to return, and finding online resources for the right age groups. Finding that everyone else was facing the same challenges and finding their own ways of powering through them was empowering. Discovering that some of them used grant money as paid internships to incentivize teens to run their own programs, parent involvement to get students to return, or Google’s Applied Digital Skills courses and a wealth of other resources.

The convention environment was very welcoming to just throwing ideas out there. We bounced so many unpolished ideas at each other which made it the perfect place to collaborate. I had run into one librarian in every panel I attended and by the end we determined we needed to do a collaborative project together using Google Docs.

Set Goals

ALA Midwinter is huge; there are hundreds of people to see and the list of panels go on for pages. The RtC Cohort was kind enough to supply a list of panel recommendations and it helped immensely. Using their suggestions as a guide I was able to plan out my weekend by those panel times which gave a lot of direction to my time at ALA Midwinter. I was also able to glean plenty of fantastic information, and even more fantastic contacts, by interacting with other librarians interested in the same kinds of programming. I discovered things like Citizen Science Projects, HOMAGO (Hang Out Mess Around Geek Out), and a much simpler way of getting data by having patrons mark a single statement that they feel most applies to them. Having my schedule pre planned ahead of time made it that much easier to focus on collecting data instead of focusing on where to get the data.

The Exhibitor Hall was a completely different challenge. On arriving I skimmed the entire convention book that detailed all the stuff going on and found the ALAR Maze happening inside the Exhibitor Hall. The ALAR Maze gamified the whole experience for me and made it much easier for me to peruse all the vendors and exhibits while looking for hidden displays strewn throughout the hall. It even gave me a second wind when I thought I could walk no more.

Through interacting with technology easily put to practical use for our own programming that also gave me extra incentive to check every nook and cranny of the Exhibit Hall the whole experience became more approachable and by the end I managed to win a copy of Ready Player One out of it. I also discovered Vuforia, software, which would work well with resources we already have.

ALA Midwinter is an amazing event. Seeing what people are doing in their own libraries and sharing ideas with others was such an empowering experience. I came back to my own library eager to share everything I learned with my fellow staff and ready to leap into action.

Article by Stephanie Frey
Stephanie Frey can be found roaming Twitter. She can also be found selling goodies on Society6.
Games in Schools and Libraries is produced in association with Inverse Genius and the Georgetown County Library System.
Games in Schools and Libraries Group on Facebook
Games in Schools and Libraries Guild at Board Game Geek
Email us: schoolsandlibraries@gmail.com

The ideas expressed by libraries included in the podcast are not expressly endorsed by the Ready to Code project or the Georgetown County Library System.

Posted on March 28, 2018 by Donald Dennis and tagged ALA ALA Midwinter coding.

Power Up: Exploring Gaming in LIS Curricula

Hello!

We are Aaron J. Elkins, PhD, Assistant Professor at Texas Woman’s University, and Jonathan M. Hollister, PhD, Assistant Professor at Pusan National University. We hope to better understand the current status, use, and discussion of games and gaming within American Library Association (ALA) accredited Library and Information Science (LIS) degree programs in the United States. Ultimately, we hope to provide curricular recommendations for LIS educators and programs as well as best practice guidelines for librarians and other information professionals.

If you are an LIS educator (this includes tenured/tenure-track faculty members, adjunct instructors, teaching faculty members, graduate lead instructors or graduate assistants, etc.) who have taught, are currently teaching, or developed curricular materials addressing gaming for an ALA-accredited degree program, then we’d like to hear from you! You can learn more about the study and participate, if you so choose, at the link here:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YNF63ZY

Participants may withdraw from the study at any time and there is no penalty for not participating. If you begin to participate and then choose to withdraw from the study, your partial data will not be analyzed: We will only use completed surveys. There is a potential risk of loss of confidentiality in all email, downloading, electronic meetings and internet transactions. If you have questions or need clarification about the study or your rights as a study participant, please do not hesitate to contact the Institutional Review Board at Texas Woman’s University by phone at 940-898-3378. The Human Subjects Research Committee assurance number is FWA00000178 and the IRB number is 19792. You may also contact Aaron J. Elkins at aelkins3@twu.edu or Jonathan M. Hollister at hollisterjm@pusan.ac.kr directly. You can also use these contacts to enquire about the research results.

Thank you for your time and participation.

Best Regards,

Aaron J. Elkins, PhD
Assistant Professor
School of Library & Information Studies
Texas Woman’s University

Jonathan M. Hollister, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Library, Archives, & Information Studies
Pusan National University

Posted on March 14, 2018 by Donald Dennis and filed under Surveys and tagged LIS Curricula.

Deckscape

Publisher: dv GIOCHI
MSRP: $15 USA
Recommended ages: 12+
Time: 30 - 90 minutes
Reset: Yes, reasonably quickly
Players: 1 - 6
Recommended Players: 3 - 4
App Required: No

Another in our series of tabletop escape room game reviews, and this time we are talking about the Deckscape series. The two sets we’ve played are Deckscape: Test Time and Deckscape: The Fate of London, and this review reflects experiences with those two titles.

There are several elements making Deckscape appealing additions to both school and library collections, the most important of which is that there is no reason any of the components, all of which are cards, need be destroyed while playing the game. With an incredibly reasonable price, the included cards are of good size and good quality and all the needed information is clearly visible. With care these boxes should see dozens if not hundreds of plays.

One great thing about about Deckscape series is the good density of puzzles in such a teeny box and price point. To get so many in the box there seem to be a bunch of easy puzzles which help build momentum, right up until players hit a wall and can’t progress at all. Which leads us to the most egregious issue; most, if not all, of the Deckscape puzzles have binary fail states. There is no “oh, we were wrong, so let’s go back and try again”.

Unlike most other escape experiences, if you get an answer wrong in DeckScape then that puzzle is failed; players then take the penalty, and move on. In other words, players don’t have the satisfaction of working through a puzzle if they get it wrong on their first answer. Unfortunately some of the puzzles seem to be designed to make players fail, the game could have used a bit more testing.

At some point in the game Deckscape has players break the deck up into parts as you go through the adventure. These parts are different puzzle chains that intersect with each other, keeping the experience from being narrow and linear by having players work on entirely different puzzles simultaneously. Splitting the puzzle chains also keeps players engaged and interacting with each other as they each have a unique perspective on the tableau of puzzles before them.

As you can see Deckscape, as a series, is not without some problems. The order of the cards in the box really matters, because both sides of the cards are needed, and it is essential that they are revealed in a certain order. This differs from the Unlock series where, because of the way cards are revealed during play, most of them don’t need to be in order. Unfortunately having any of the Deckscape cards out of order has a good chance of actually breaking the game flow. Fortunately, the numbers indicating card order are clear and easy to see so it is theoretically possible to sort most of the deck without ruining any major surprises.

Hint System

I've been out of school for more than a decade, and still my blood pressure shoots up when someone says "there will be a test".  -DD — I've been out of school for more than a decade, and still my blood pressure shoots up when someone says "there will be a test". -DD

As with most puzzle games, there are always a couple puzzles that seem designed to force all but the most non-linear thinkers to use hints.The Deckscape hint system is two cards with a list of card numbers and a hint written backwards next to them. Unless players are careful it’s pretty easy to accidentally discover a hint. While it’s great to have the ability to play without an app, it would be excellent to have a mobile app allowing players to access clues without the chance of seeing clues they aren’t looking for.

Suggestions for Circulation

Include copies of the score sheet (card 6 in London, 7 in Test Time), or make one that multiple patrons can use in sequence to replace the existing one. Another possibility would be to put that card in a card sleeve/ziploc bag, or laminate it; either way include a dry erase pen. It’s also a great idea to include additional card sleeves for cards that include puzzles more easily solved by writing on the card.

Even though the Deckscape games don’t get our highest marks for puzzles or hint systems when compared with some of the other boxed rooms these quick and affordable escape experiences are great candidates for inclusion in a school or library, if you have have someone to sort them every time they are played.

Join us in the Library Escape Room Enthusiasts group to discuss this review or join in other conversations about using escape rooms in libraries.

Article by Donald Dennis & Stephanie Frey
Stephanie Frey can be found roaming Twitter. She can also be found selling goodies on Society6.
Games in Schools and Libraries is produced in association with Inverse Genius and the Georgetown County Library System.
Games in Schools and Libraries Group on Facebook
Games in Schools and Libraries Guild at Board Game Geek
Email us: schoolsandlibraries@gmail.com

Posted on March 7, 2018 by Donald Dennis and filed under Escape Rooms and tagged Deckscape escape room tabletop.

Escape Room in a Box: The Werewolf Experiment

Publisher: Mattel
MSRP: $29.99
Recommended ages: 7+
Time: 60 minutes
Reset: Not without Printing
Players: 2 - 8
Recommended Players: 3 - 8
App Required: No

If you are looking for the most realistic escape room experience then this is the one. The Werewolf Experiment has locks and other common escape room gizmos that would be a bit too spoilery to discuss. The game has a relatively strong narrative and is a neat twist on the mad scientist room.

The best thing about the Werewolf Experiment is the way they structure the puzzle chains; larger groups can stay engaged in puzzles instead of just one or two players like in many other escape activities. The Werewolf Experiment really works well with a group of up to six or possibly even eight, without feeling like it’s being stretched at the seams. The same puzzle structure makes it really tough to complete in the time allotted with only two players.

Speaking of puzzles, there is a good variety of puzzle form and quality for a tabletop experience. The designers packed some very interesting puzzle props into the box, and the puzzles range from easy and silly to quite challenging. Some will probably need more than one person to examine them before being solved, but that's the nature of escape rooms.

If they hit a wall and cant proceed, the players have a hint booklet that they can reference a certain number of times during the escape “without failing”. It does a great job of spurring things along when players need help. There is a second hint booklet that appears later to help with the final puzzles, and dividing the hints that way helps to prevent accidental spoilers.

Image used with permission of Escape Room in a Box

The only significant problem with the Werewolf Experiment is the pain of resetting it for the next group. Which is even more of an issue because of some consumable items that, once depleted, will be impossible to replicate without just purchasing more. The box includes several refills, but they are a limited resource. (While the game requests you put a kettle on, or have a source of warm water while playing we managed to complete the session without doing so, but for kids it would be much cooler to have the warm water available.) *** UPDATE: The puzzle which we were describing was for the original Kickstarter version only and was replaced in the Mattel version of this product. The replacement puzzle componants are not used up during the course of play.***

While many of the other tabletop escape rooms play out like normal game experiences, it is easy to tell the designers want their escape room to be an something more. Nothing shows that more than the Werewolf Experiment website where they have party tips, printable labels, invitations, a "SUPER RAD SOUNDTRACK", a bonus puzzle, and repacking instructions.

To sum up, Escape Room in a Box: The Werewolf Experiment is the closest thing to a real escape room currently available as a tabletop experience. It would be an excellent core to an escape room event, but our recommendation is to buy two copies, play through it once, and laminate the pieces which require writing on the second set. This would provide additional backups for any elements that might go wrong. With a very high percentage of good quality puzzles and the ability to keep more than two or three people engaged at a time, this is recommended for a big event, if not necessarily as a permanent part of a circulating collection.

For additional information about Escape Room in a Box and the people who created it, check out On Board Games # 276: Escape Experiment where Donald Dennis talks with Juliana Patel and Ariel Rubin, designers of Escape Room in a Box.

This review is based on the first version of Escape Room in a Box: The Werewolf Experiment. We have not played or examined the Mattel version.

Join us in the Library Escape Room Enthusiasts group to discuss this review or join in other conversations about using escape rooms in libraries.

Posted on February 28, 2018 by Donald Dennis and filed under Escape Rooms and tagged escape room tabletop.

Escape the Room

The Escape the Room series includes:

Mystery at Stargazer’s Manor
Secret of Dr. Gravely’s Retreat

Publisher: Thinkfun
MSRP: $21.99
Recommended ages: 10+/13+
Time: 90 minutes
Reset: Yes
Players: 3 - 8
Recommended Players: 2 - 4
App Required: No, but website is available for hints and atmosphere

Think Fun's Escape the Room: Mystery at Stargazer's Manor, is the first escape room themed game ever published. For a first take it does so much so well. Even though none of the current generation of escape room games are re-playable by the same person, because of spoilers, this series can be repacked and played by other groups. Players can easily complete all of the puzzles in either Mystery at Stargazer’s Manor or The Secret of Dr Gravely’s Retreat without destroying any of the elements meaning it can be packed up and returned to the box so it is ready for the next play.

This series set the tabletop escape room standard of “game teaches itself” as you start to play, but it does so without neglecting the narrative element. The starting scene card sets the stage and then over the course of the room players open a series of envelopes by solving puzzles. In each are more puzzle pieces and a card advancing the narrative by explaining what happened in the world they are exploring.

Once players believe they have solved a puzzle they enter symbols they discovered into a solution wheel, which will show if it is actually solved and players can move on. The one potential failure of this clever mechanism is how easy it is to brute force the answers, or even say “hey, look, we succeeded” and move along. Most groups don’t cheat, instead relying on clues from the website (or a friendly teacher or librarian) to get them through any tough spots.

The website supporting the Escape the Room games is only essential during play if players need hints. Besides the a hint system, it also has background music selections to help set the atmosphere, and a map for resetting the game. Unless there is someone present who has already played through the room internet access may be essential for players to complete the rooms, let alone to have an enjoyable time.

The one unfortunate element of this series is the linear nature of the puzzles that prevents them from being suitable for groups of larger than three or four. Four tweens or three adults who enjoy puzzles can have an interesting time completing these in about 30-45 minutes, but if you have five players someone is going to be bored. Players should also be aware that both of the current Escape the Room sets have one puzzle that is significantly harder than the others included in the box.

Because most of the puzzles in the series are not extremely difficult Escape the Room gets a Green Light as an amazing “first escape room experience” for small groups, and is a great introduction to what real rooms have to offer, or even what can be expected from other tabletop experiences. The puzzles in Dr. Gravely's Retreat are a just a bit more difficult, making the the perfect follow-up to the Mystery at Stargazer's Manor.

Join us in the Library Escape Room Enthusiasts group to discuss this review or join in other conversations about using escape rooms in libraries.

Games in Schools and Libraries is produced in association with Inverse Genius and the Georgetown County Library System.
Games in Schools and Libraries Group on Facebook
Games in Schools and Libraries Guild at Board Game Geek
Email us: schoolsandlibraries@gmail.com

Posted on February 23, 2018 by Donald Dennis and filed under Escape Rooms and tagged escape room tabletop Escape the Room.

Escape Room Game Series

These are some of the games we will be covering in our escape room series.

Games in Schools and Libraries is kicking off a new series on escape room related products for our blog. In our subsequent articles we will cover the breadth and depth of store-bought tabletop escape experiences, print and play activities, and even games that aren’t (strictly speaking) in the escape room genre but still evoke enough aspects to appeal to the same audience.

Few experiences are more engaging than escape rooms, solving puzzles and overcoming obstacles are made even more enticing by the physical nature of the activity and the race against the clock. There are a variety of pre-packaged escape products that aim to reproduce one or more of the essential elements of the escape room experience, such as cooperative puzzle solving, critical thinking, and doing all of this under the clock.

Many of the tabletop products we will be covering have novel takes on many of the same problems - how to present a series of puzzles in such a way that players can continue to progress in solving interesting problems without getting stuck in such a way that the experience is destroyed by an insurmountable feeling of bafflement. Should players get truly stuck there is no sympathetic Game Master to deliver hints, but all of the games in the escape room genre have had to deal with this issue, frequently finding unique ways to present hints or allow players to progress even if they can’t follow the designer’s sense of logic.

We will be talking about all of these issues over at the Library Escape Room Enthusiasts group, and even discussing some of these games before the reviews are posted. If you have something to say, or are just looking for more opinions after the blog post has dropped, that’ll be the place to go.

Link to the group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1922174474731812/

Games in Schools and Libraries is produced in association with Inverse Genius and the Georgetown County Library System.
Games in Schools and Libraries Guild at Board Game Geek
Email us: schoolsandlibraries@gmail.com

Posted on February 22, 2018 by Donald Dennis and filed under Escape Rooms and tagged escape room tabletop blog series review.

Fiasco Playsets: Battle Pets

One of the great things about Fiasco is how flexible the system is. With no need for complex resolution systems or arcane tomes of back story and special exceptions, games run smoothly as long as all the players are engaged in the story more than they are just being a hero.

Battle Pets, the playset we are sharing this week, is one we first crafted shortly after Pokemon Go was announced and has been used successfully at several of our Pokemon related events. Players may be Battle Pet trainers, veterans of the monster wars, hosts of Battle Pets tournaments, or even be crafty battle pets trying to avoid being captured. Win the big tournament, progress to their next evolution, or even learn where monsters come from.

Even though we were first inspired to create this set because of Pokemon Go, we play with the "boy and his battle pet" theme so you may find hints of other monster capture games like Monster Rancher, Jade Cocoon, or Digimon. We even previously discussed the long history of this theme on the Inverse Genius podcast IG 008: Pokemon Battle Friends. If you listen you'll hear just how much we love the whole genre, not just Pokemon.

The important takeaway is, if you can't find an existing playset you like, or modify one to meet your needs, how easily you can craft a playset based on your favorite settings. Successful playsets don't need to be completely faithful to the source material, which is great because who wants to deal with lawyers anyway?

If there is a trick to making a great playset, and I'm not saying there is one, it is just making all of the choices interesting and open-ended. Taking the primary themes and then riffing off those to create an engaging experience is much more fulfilling and interesting than transcribing a setting point by point. Every entry in the set should be approachable and open up more opportunities for exciting interactions at the table.

In other words: file off all of the serial numbers, by avoiding setting specific names and places whenever possible, so players don't need to be adepts in the lore. You can count on the players to fill in the name of the headmaster for your school of wizardry, or expand on the big conflict, as they need them. You don't need to spell out everything for the players; it isn't that kind of game.

Do you want to be the very best? Like no one ever was?

Well get in line kid. Everyone wants to be the best here. They’re all running around trying to shove wildlife into this newfangled pocket dimension device. The cool kids call it the Podide. Or at least I do.

Point is, go out there, catch you some creatures, and then pit them against one another in battle. What’s the worst that could happen?

Follow the link to our completely unauthorized and totally non-IP-infringing Battle Pets play-set created at the Waccamaw Neck Branch Library in Pawleys Island SC.

Games in Schools and Libraries is produced in association with Inverse Genius and the Georgetown County Library System.
Games in Schools and Libraries Guild at Board Game Geek
Email us: schoolsandlibraries@gmail.com

Posted on December 4, 2017 by Donald Dennis and filed under Tabletop and tagged pokemon fiasco fiasco playsets rpgs.

Fiasco Playsets: Dewey Decimation

One of the great pleasures of RPGs in general, and Fiasco in particular, is telling stories. Sometimes players tell tales of terror, heroics, power fantasies, or even great tragedy.

Fiasco in particular likes to poke fun at elements from some of our favorite genres, themes, or even the pettiness of everyday day life. We thought it'd be great if we shared some of our everyday life with our patrons, and the world at large, by creating a Fiasco Playset that highlights the comically absurd of our experience working in the library.

That doesn't mean you'll find our personal stories within this slim volume, or that the deepest darkest secrets of our patrons will be revealed, but if are in the know you may very well see the fingerprints of a librarian who is also a Welcome to Night Vale fan. In other words, imagine the strangest aspects of librarianship writ-large, with the delightful melange of smells, startlingly unorthodox patron interactions, and that one book with the red cover, all with the ability to react how you want because this is a game about bad decisions.

We didn't get too much into the the more explicit adventures we've been subjected to as librarians, mostly because this is a YA Fiasco Playset. Though if I had to guess there is certainly room for an Adults Services version; that's a different blog entirely.

Please enjoy Dewey Decimation, and let us know what adventures you have using the play set.

Dewey Decimation cover large.jpg — Dewey Decimation

**Libraries are weird, and this one is no exception. The staff is quirky, the books are many, and something is always just the slightest bit off.**
**The staff manages to keep the place afloat, but with a ghost roaming the stacks, aliens abducting patrons, and the local PTA’s monthly meetings always going awry things can get... messy.**
**But the books are free, right?**
**Get it here.**

Posted on November 15, 2017 by Donald Dennis and filed under Tabletop and tagged fiasco playsets fiasco libraries.

Word Games for NaNoWriMo

Almost any kind of social or hobby gathering can be boosted by having a bank of activities that relate to the theme or which can act as a launching point for discussion and introspection. If you are hosting NaNoWriMo meetup, a book club, or any game night in the library, then word games may be just what you need to spur interaction among the participants.

Fiasco Playsets: Natural Disaster

As I mentioned previously, we love Fiasco, but many of the the playsets aren't suitable for our Teen Room audience. Creating your own is easy once you are familiar with the system. We have created several playsets at our branch, and our Natural Disaster playset was created as part of an LSTA Eco-literacy grant.

This playset has allowed us to engage in ecological topics with our patrons where otherwise they might have been more inclined to other activities. Putting the environment or endangered animals at risk in a very immediate and engaging fashion grabbed their imagination and led to discussions after play sessions about other potential threats or issues. This theme is so rich it would be possible to completely re-write it without covering the same ground.

Let us know what you think, or if you make your own variation!

Natural Disaster Cover.jpg — Natural Disaster

When people and nature interact there’s a lot that can go wrong: pollution, invasive species, poaching, people littering and vandalizing everything…
And that’s just the little stuff.
Here with greedy business tycoons, insane locals, and corrupt government interests, it’s not a question of if something will go wrong but when and how bad.
When all these different interests collide there’s bound to be conflict, whether it’s park rangers chasing down vandals, or protesters trying to keep their favorite nature preserve from being plowed flat by the local tycoon. And all that’s not even taking into account the local wolf population.
Whether this fiasco is all green, or all on fire, is up to you!
Get the Natural Disaster playset.

The Games in Schools and Libraries podcasts and blogs are produced by Inverse Genius in association with the Georgetown County Library System
Email us: schoolsandlibraries@gmail.com

Posted on November 1, 2017 by Donald Dennis and filed under Tabletop and tagged fiasco playsets fiasco LSTA rpgs Bully Pulpit Games.

Inktober Games

Every October artists from around the world pull out their pens and inkpots to draw a daily picture and share them on social media, tagging #inktober or #inktober2017. The staff at the library in Pawleys Island love both art and games, so this year we are taking full advantage of Inktober to expose our patrons to the joy of art games.

The problem with art games is that for years there wasn’t much depth of catalog for that type of game. Pictionary, since release in 1985, was the omnipresence art game. It reigned supreme both because of it’s familiar charade like game play and its ubiquity on the shelves of mass market game and bookstore shelves alike. Much like Trivial Pursuit, Pictionary was everywhere; when you said drawing game in the ‘90s people thought Pictionary. Now that we are in the back half of the 2010s there is a great variety in both form and function.

A Fake Artist Goes to New York

Designer Jun Sasaki
Publisher Oink Games
Players 5-10
Time 20 minutes

A Fake Artist is both a social deduction game and the most colorful one-vs-many art game on the market. One “fake artist” is trying to blend in and convince all of the “real artists” that they are not the fake.

The patron player decides on a category that everyone knows, and then hands out notes to all the players with something from that category - a category might be sports, but the thing from the category could be any known sport, or even something more specific like a star athlete, stadium, or something like a football helmet. Then everyone but the patron takes turns drawing one line on the canvas tile, each player using a different color, until everyone has made two lines. Then players examine the created piece of art and then vote, trying to suss out the fake artist. If the artists don't guess who the fake is then the patron and the fake artist win the round.

A Fake Artist is a party game that plays quickly without actually requiring any real artistic skill. It is easy, fast and fun.

Telestrations/Telestrations After Dark

No designer credited
Players 4-12
Best played with 5+ players
Time 30 minutes

Telestrations, also known as Eat Poop You Cat, is essentially the Telephone Game where players alternate drawing a picture of the word that was passed to them or guessing the word that the picture represents. Each player starts with a notebook, a dry erase pen, and a randomly selected word; after drawing the word they pass the notebook on and this repeats until the notebooks return to their starting players. Players then reveal their original words and show how things changed from the initial page to the last one.

Telestrations is lots of fun, and has been popular at our library with patrons and library staff alike. In theory there is a scoring system but you should ignore it, the game is much more enjoyable without it.

USAOpoly has created an adult version which is probably not appropriate for most schools or libraries due to mature or vulgar content, but you may find it an interesting addition to your home collection.

Pictomania

Designer Vlaada Chvátil
Publisher Czech Games Edition / Stronghold Games
Players 3-6
Time 30 minutes

Pictomania is one of the most direct inheritors of the Pictionary style of art game. Over five rounds players are dividing their attention between drawing their own pictures and guessing what the other players are drawing; players claim more points for being skilled and speedy artists or insightful guessers with the worst guesser each round being penalized. Yup, that’s right, players race each other in a real-time-simultaneous-drawing-and-guessing-activity to get points for early correct guesses and get a bonus for being done early. After five rounds the game is over.

The only problem with Pictomania is how the cards with the answers that players have to guess from may be tough to see with a full table. If the cards were double sided, duplicating the information on the back, then the clever use of card stands would do much more to facilitate the game. Other than that Pictomania is a drawing game that is as much about drawing as it is guessing and really feels like it’s a game for people who are enthusiastic about both art and games.

Mangaka: The Fast & Furious Game of Drawing Comics

Designer Jason Thompson
Publisher Japanime Games, Mock Man Press
Players 1-8
Time 30-90 minutes

At the beginning of Mangaka each player draws three theme cards which provides the themes they will need to include in all four rounds of play. Players then draw two panels of a cartoon utilizing their themes. As the rounds progress, the challenge becomes more difficult by the inclusion of more panels they must fill and and trend cards.

In the first round players must fill two panels in five minutes, with two more added for each of the subsequent rounds but the time they have to draw does not increase! When you add the trend cards to the mix later rounds can be chaotic and out of control, just like real manga. After each round players show off their creations and get points for how well they’ve included their themes and met the trends.

The scoring, like in many art games, is the least interesting part of the game. However Mangaka is a great game for artists and manga fans of all stripes. The cards play off of many familiar anime tropes and provide a great inspiration for other art activities including as inspiration for Inktober art ideas.

Here is a link to an album of pics from some of our previous runs of Mangaka.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/jeggiylcKvFp9YKk2

That’s our top four art games, let us know what your favorite art games are in the comments!

The Games in Schools and Libraries podcasts and blogs are produced by Inverse Genius in association with the Georgetown County Library System
Email us: schoolsandlibraries@gmail.com

Posted on October 25, 2017 by Donald Dennis and filed under Tabletop and tagged inktober tabletop art games.