The conference is over and, thanks to our community, it was a huge success! We will be posting the conference proceedings toward the end of the semester. In the meantime, presenters can upload their presentations to the link sent via email. We have already posted a few presentation here (just click on the titles with hyperlinks). For photos of Day 2 of the conference and previous event, please visit us on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/115638344@N05/

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The CUNY Games Network of the City University of New York is excited to announce The CUNY Games Conference 10.0 on January 22 & 23rd, 2024.

The ten-year anniversary (!) of the CUNY Games Conference combines workshops, idea exchanges, interactive participant presentations, playtesting, and playing tabletop games into a two-day hybrid event to promote and discuss game-based learning. The conference focuses on creative pedagogy, such as playful learning activities or games, that teachers can use in the classroom every day. Day 1 will be online and feature interactive presentations by attendees, informal idea exchange sessions, and workshops by the conference organizers. Day 2 will be in-person in NYC and feature select presentations and workshops, poster sessions, playtesting and game modding, and casual play of tabletop games.

We are calling all researchers, teachers, and graduate students who play or design games/playful interactive activities for your classes to participate or present! Our network emphasizes higher education, but those in K-12 are encouraged to participate. Both CUNY and non-CUNY participation is welcome. No commercial solicitation will be allowed.

Conference Registration

While the conference is free to attend, the Zoom link will only be sent out to registered individuals.

Please use the following link to register for the conference: https://forms.gle/pwZkpCwg5hxzdFn76

Conference Logistics

Please read the following document in advance of the conference to avoid any technical hiccups: https://tinyurl.com/33cf3hbr

Open Space

Throughout the conference, access our Open Space document and add resources, ideas, conference feedback, etc. You may type directly into the document or add comments on the side. We will refer to this document during the conference. You may want to bookmark it and/or keep it open in a separate tab on your device. https://tinyurl.com/5acxtdj2

Full Schedule

Revised 1/5/24

DAY 1: Online via Zoom

9:30 AM: Opening “icebreaker” game and conference introduction

Meet your colleagues and learn more about the conference! Even if you arrive late, you can play this asynchronous game throughout the conference.

9:50 – 11:20 AM: “What’s Your Game Plan?: How to Find the Allure of Play” Online Design Workshop (By Joe Bisz; also hosted by the CUNY Games Network team)

What does the lesson “Finding Citations,” the game “Trivial Pursuit,” and the mechanic “Bluffing” all have in common? In this boot camp brainstorm, your team is given a mission: to enhance your exercise with the mechanics of popular board games in only 20 minutes. This workshop, designed by CUNY Games Network co-founder Joe Bisz, is based on his regularly featured workshop at the CUNY Games Conference, and will show you how to integrate more play and games into your online or in-person classroom. Like last year, Joe will be previewing some of his “complex mechanic” templates for making learning games, as described in his book, so if you’ve seen this WYGP? design tool at our previous conferences, we’ll have an advanced design challenge for you!

11:30 – 12:30 PM: Presentations:

(15 min talks + 5 min Q&A each)

Note: The moderator-organizer for each breakout will introduce each presentation and vocally interrupt with 5-minute warnings. The main room organizer will give a 1-minute time slot warning and “end” breakout rooms.

Breakout room 1 (Moderator: Christina)

1. “King Pangnapa- A Videogame About Librarians Made by a Librarian.” Nicole Celic (Lindenwood University)
2.  “How to Teach Ancient Chinese History Through Playing NationWar: Chronicles.” Shu Wan (University at Buffalo)
3. “Red Tape: Bureaucracy in Action.” Mondelli, V., Lang, Z., & Gould, H. (University of Missouri)

Breakout room 2  (Moderator: Devorah)

1. “Concentration Camps in a Democracy: American Internment of Japanese in World War Two.” Michael Barnhart (Stony Brook University)
2. “Video Games: The Great Connector – Using Exhibits to Power CUNY Enrollment.” Barry Joseph (BJC) & Nick Martinez (AMNH)
3. “Uncannny Valley: The Card Game for Welcoming Our Impending AI Overlords.” Barry Joseph (BJC)

Breakout room 3  (Moderator: Grace)

1. “Game Maps and Player Choice: Embracing The Writing Process Through Assignment Maps.” Deirdre Flood (LaGuardia Community College)
2. “A Serious Game to Explore and Assess Base Conversions.” Sturm, D. & Eappen, A., (College of Staten Island)
3. “Pick the Right Power-up: Analogy-based Educational Game on Software Development Process Models.” Atmaja, P. W. & Maulana, H., (UPN Jawa Timur)

12:30 – 1:30 PM: Lunch Break

1:30 – 2:30 PM: Presentations:

(15 min talks + 5 min Q&A each)

Breakout room 1 (Moderator: Joe)

1. “Gaming Pathway: Center Public Education within NYC’s Gaming Industry.” Nick Fortugno (CCNY)
2.  “Achieving A Fair Settlement For All Via Game Theory.” Christopher Ingrassia (Kingsborough Community College)
3. “GalactiVote: Politics in Outer Space.” Gould, H., Mondelli, V., & Lang, Z, (University of Missouri)

Breakout room 2 (Moderator: Christina)

1.  “Three Essential Games for College for College: Meeting Challenges of Equity, Mental Health, and Diversity through Play.” David Seelow (Siena College)
2.  “Games for Your Senses.” Bruce Whitehill (unaffiliated)
3. “The Binomial Theorem Criteria Game.” Mary T. Ortiz (Kingsborough Community College)

Breakout room 3 (Moderator: Devorah)

1. “PlannHigher Education: How to Engage Students and Enhance Learning Outcomes.” Sharon M. Peck (SUNY Geneseo)
2. “Promoting Science Identity Exploration: An Analysis of the Game Design Features in WaterWays.” TzuChin Chen (Killer Snails). Hana Haddad, (New York University), Corinne Brenner, (Killer Snails)
3. “1066, The Game: Teaching History and Language through Role-playing.” Sandra Leonard (Kutztown University)

2:40 – 3:40 PM: Presentations:

(15 min talks + 5 min Q&A each)

Breakout room 1 (Moderator: Debbie)

1.  “Playing it out: Imagining Urban Studies Course through Gamified Learning Experiences” Dhanesh Mankulam (Christ University)
2. “Bringing Science to Life: Collaborative Science Education with VenomCoLab.” Ming Chen (CUNY Graduate Center), Corinne Brenner (Killer Snails), Dr. Russell Miller (CUNY Graduate Center), Dr. Bruce D. Homer (CUNY Graduate Center), Jessica Ochoa Hendrix (Killer Snails)
3. “Games + Education + Art = Higher Education.” Beatriz Albuquerque (U.T.A.D. ; CI-ISCE/ISCE Douro; C.I.T.A.R.-U.C.P., Portugal).

Breakout room 2 (Moderator: Grace)

1. “‘Cassandras: Who Wears the Prophet Robe and How Can We Tell?” Alexander, C., Mogul, N. F., Reedy, T. D. (University of Maryland)
2. “Playtocracy: Play your way in into student-centered pedagogies.” Marta Cabral (College of Staten Island)
3. “And Then What Happened?’: The 3 Phases of Interactive Story-Play in the Classroom Day.” Julia Morris (Kingsborough Community College)

Breakout room 3 (Moderator: Joe)

1. “Playing Together from Afar: Telematic Music Making for Access and Inclusion.” Tom Zlabinger (York College) & Gareth Dylan Smith (Boston University)
2. “Best Practices for Making STEAM Games.” Kristina Hedbacker (Rockefeller University)
3. “Detroit as Simulation.” Stephanie Bundy (Wayne State University)

3:50 – 4:20 PM: Wrap-Up

Day 2

Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC),
Fiterman Hall – 6th floor, 245 Greenwich St.
Rooms: F604, F605, F606, F509 (Computer Lab)
*Bring your government/state PHOTO ID!
*Entering the Building: Show the guard your government/state photo ID, and say you’re here for the “CUNY Games Meeting.” Any problems, text organizer Joe Bisz at the number within this link.

10:00 – 10:15 AM: Meet Your Fellow Attendees (F605)
Our main meeting room is F605. We will not be serving any food or drink, so we suggest bringing some food/coffee with you (Whole Foods is close by).

10:15 – 10:30 AM: How to Redesign (by Joe Bisz) (F605)

The Conference Organizers will briefly discuss some of common mechanics from tabletop games, and how we can use them for instructional purposes. This way, as we play games later today, we can also take a few minutes to debrief after each game on the most appealing mechanics we saw in action.

10:30 – 6:00 PM and onward: Casual play and playtesting

Do you have a game that you’d like to test or have critiqued? You can playtest new games designed by your colleagues or just join in on some good ol’ casual play of board games and card games for fun.

If you are playtesting, be sure to read these rules for playtests here (see second page of of linked document):

The following is a sample of the games we will playtest:

1.  King Pangnapa- A Videogame About Librarians Made by a Librarian
2. Concentration Camps in a Democracy: American Internment of Japanese in World War Two
3. GalactiVote: Politics in Outer Space
4. The Binomial Theorem Criteria Game
5. Bringing Science to Life: Collaborative Science Education with VenomCoLab
6. Cassandras: Who Wears the Prophet Robe and How Can We Tell?
7. Playtocracy: Play your way in into student-centered pedagogies
8. Red Tape: Bureaucracy in Action
9. Best Practices for Making STEAM Games
10.  “Gaming Pathways.” Robert Duarte (CCNY)

*All times listed in Eastern Standard Time (EST)