resources
This page will house all the various readings (and watchings and listening) for the course, including a lot of secondary optional ones. If you come across a good resource, let me know and I'll add it.
main texts
- The primary text for the course is Salen and Zimmerman's Rules of Play. We'll read most of this over the course of the semester and you should make sure you have access to a copy (there is a copy on reserve in the library).
- An alternative to Rules of Play is Characteristics of Games by Elias, Garfield and Gutschera (link is to the electronic version in our library). It takes a pretty similar approach to Rules of Play and we might use it to give a slightly different or deeper take on some topics.
- Plugging "game studies" into the library catalogue search gives a good selection of interesting books, far more than we can cover. Check them out and see if there is an angle you'd like us to spend some/more time on. (N.B. The physical and electronic book holdings need different searches and both are valuable.)
game specific items
Three games were listed in the blurb as being of particular interest of the course. This may change, but here's some initial information about each of them.
Summoner Wars
- The library has a copy of Summoner Wars on reserve.
- There are two Science Building copies that will live on the shelf behind the door in Sci217. If you borrow one of them, ideally play in 217 but otherwise return it promptly.
- The Plaid Hat Games site is the place for discussion and information about Summoner Wars, including Learn to play video.
Pandemic
- The library has a copy of Pandemic on reserve and also a copy of Pandemic: Iberia on the way.
- There is an app, available for Android or through iTunes on which you can play as a single player controlling all the characters (which works, as it's a co-op game). It has a good interface and what seems to be a good tutorial for learning the game. On the downside, it's not free.
Heroscape
other games
- Dots and Boxes rules, from wikipedia: Starting with an empty grid of dots, two players take turns adding a single horizontal or vertical line between two unjoined adjacent dots. The player who completes the fourth side of a 1 by 1 box earns one point and takes another turn. (A point is typically recorded by placing a mark that identifies the player in the box, such as an initial). The game ends when no more lines can be placed. The winner is the player with the most points.
puzzles
other readings etc.
A mix of articles and short sections that are either required reading or good secondary sources.
On Reserve in the libary:
- Queerness in Play (Eds Harper, Adams, Taylor). Chapters 1 and 3 look good as overarching introductions to the topic. After that whatever catches your eye.
- Game Design Reader (Eds Salen, Zimmerman). There's some stuff about classification (that doens't match exactly with the Rules of Play schema, but translating is pretty easy). Then dip into whatever looks good to you.
Electronic library holdings:
- Games, Game Design, Game Studies (Freyermuth). Has contributions from Zimmerman. Looks like there are sections that are specifically oriented by date, so might make a good filler for the post-2003 world.
- There are more, put "game studies" or similar terms into the serach.
There is a shelf of Game Studies/Design books in the library (794.8, by Room 202). A few do similar things to Rules of Play but in different ways, others are more specialised.
general sources
This section is for resources that cover many games or more general theory that applies to many games.
- Boardgame Geek (BGG) has all of the information, data and discussion that you could possibly wish for on most games. A great place to start when you are investigating a new game or want deeper insights into one you're already playing.
