Exploring Extreme Programming
Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations, R.C. Bell, Dover, 1979. Last year, I got to play Nine-Men’s Morris, a more challenging relative of tic-tac-toe. (I lost consistently:( But that inspired me to find a book describing many old games: Continue reading Review – Board and Table Games
The Study of Games. Elliott M. Avedon & Brian Sutton-Smith. Wiley, 1971, ISBN 0-471-03839-3. This book looks at games (both ancient & relatively modern) from a variety of perspectives. Most of these didn’t do too much for me. I did Continue reading Review – The Study of Games
The Book of Card Games, Peter Arnold, Barnes and Noble, 1988. This compendium describes many (~150) card games, always explaining the rules and occasionally delving into strategy. There are a few solitaire games; the majority are for multiple players. There Continue reading Review – The Book of Card Games
NASAGA ’03 Trip Report. Continue reading NASAGA ’03 Trip Report
Digital Game-Based Learning, Marc Prensky, McGraw-Hill, 2001. Prensky argues that the new generation of learners has a new way of learning from exposure to MTV and video games, but teaching hasn’t kept up. He describes aspects of games and how Continue reading Review – Digital Game-Based Learning
Improve your ability to see how the organization of a room facilitates or hinders communication. Continue reading Floor Plan
Chris Crawford on Game Design, Chris Crawford, New Riders Games, 2003. Chris Crawford is the designer of Balance of Power and numerous other games. He surveys his own and others’ games, and considers games along the dimensions of play, challenge, Continue reading Review – Chris Crawford on Game Design
Training Games: Everything You Need to Know About Using Games to Reinforce Learning, Susan El-Shamy. Stylus Publishing, 2001. Describes some theory indicating how games help learning, classifies games a few ways, and considers electronic games. Considers the mechanics of playing Continue reading Review – Training Games
The refactoring grid is a toy designed to give you a feel for what refactoring is like, by working in a simple, non-code domain. [Michael Wainer has made game pieces available here: http://www.cs.siu.edu/~wainer/Pieces4RefGame/pieces4RefGame.html ] The Domain There is a grid Continue reading Refactoring Grid
Play is serious! Games, simulations, puzzles, and toys in the classroom can improve student motivation, lead to better long-term memory, and reduce learning anxiety. Used effectively, play can leverage competition and foster collaboration. Above all, play makes learning fun. We’ll Continue reading Using Play to Enhance Learning About Objects, OOPSLA ’02