Buckie High School. Photo © Buckie Community High School
it’s easier to sell the idea better to kids and the school if it’s based on a national or international event.”
Stephen aimed to get pupils playing together socially, trying new things and learning new skills. “What I found interesting is that some of the kids who claimed they were bad at maths proved a whizz at Continuo, and at Keith where we focused on Scrabble, some kids who said they didn’t enjoy reading or English proved great at working out good words. It gave those kids an opportunity to gain confidence in their literacy and numer- acy, and I think these games could be used more to support the curriculum and boost learning.”
Universities
Despite continued interest in the use of games in higher education libraries, as indicated by the popularity of games- based learning within information literacy teaching, very few UK univer- sities have registered for International Games Week. However, hosting events at the university library is not the only way that those working in academia can get involved. In 2018, public libraries in Bournemouth and Poole and Ches-
March 2019
for any libraries wishing to run their own Tabletop Chemistry events.
The project provided training on running games-based learning events to library professionals at two workshops and also supporting material, which is available on the Manchester Games Studies Network webpage5
ter and Cheshire West partnered with academics from Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of South- ampton on a Royal Society of Chemistry funded project “Tabletop Chemistry” aimed at engaging members of the public with basic chemistry concepts and encouraging an interest in science. In their regular article in Tabletop Gaming magazine, the project leads Paul Wake and Sam Illingworth described the benefits of academics working with librarians “By working directly with library staff, we were able to draw on their experience to ensure that Tabletop Chemistry caters for the needs of their communities. Given the wealth of expertise that exists in the library sector – libraries have been re-imagining the ways in which they engage their users… for some time now – this is far more effective than the two of us simply turning up... and hoping that people want to play with us.”4
If you are inspired by this small selection of games activities, International Games Week 2019 runs from 3 to 9 November and is open to any library running a games event during or near to that week. Registration will open early summer and registered libraries will be eligible to receive donations of free games from the initiative’s generous sponsors, previ- ously including AsmodeeUK, BoxHead Craft, Chess in Schools and Communities, Frenetic Games and Stuff by Bez. You can find out more from the ALA GameRT Games in Libraries blog at
http://games.ala.org or by emailing
gamert@ala.org IP
References
1 Nicholson, S. “Playing in the Past: a history of games, toys and puzzles in North American Libraries.” Library Quarterly, 2013, 83(4), 341-361.
2 Libraries Connected. Universal Culture Offer – an overview, 2017.
https://www.librariesconnected.org.uk/ resource/universal-culture-offer-overview
3 Heron, M. Board “Games and Social Isolation.” Meeple Like Us, 2018.
https://meeplelikeus.co.uk/board- games-and-social-isolation/
4 Wake, P and Illingworth, S. “Play it Smart.” Tabletop Gaming, 2018, 24, 60.
5 Illingworth, S. “Tabletop Chemistry.” Manchester Game Studies Network, 2018.
https://www.manchester-
gamestudies.org/blog/tabletop-chemistry-2
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