The CUNY Games Network of the City University of New York is excited to announce The CUNY Games Conference 11.0 on January 23 & 24th, 2025.
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.
Abstract Submission
For Day 1 online, we desire presentations on the theory and practice of play and games (non-digital and digital), including game-based classroom activities for learning. All presentations will be 15 minutes and must have an interactive component that ideally demonstrates the core mechanic of your game/activity or those you researched. You can view samples of accepted conference presentations here: https://tinyurl.com/mvk48vm3
For Day 2 in-person, we are looking for demonstrations of learning games you developed, playtesting of games in development, or poster presentations of your work. If desired, Day 1 presenters can also bring any of their learning games on Day 2 for demonstration and testing. We may be able to accommodate online game presentations on Day 2 via Zoom, but the platform has yet to be decided. If there is enough momentum for a Day 2 online session, it may run concurrently with the in-person session.
Your proposal must include: session format; contact information for the corresponding presenter; name, affiliation, and email address for each additional presenter; title, 400-word abstract (including a 100-word description on how the presentation will be interactive); and special requests (e.g., equipment requirements for Day 2). Please proofread and edit your proposal before submission. Accepted proposals will be published in our conference proceedings.
Please use the following link to submit an abstract:
https://forms.gle/71Ps7L3Ysiwdxitj7
Conference Registration
While the conference is free to attend, the Zoom link will only be sent out to registered individuals. Please register, even if you submitted an abstract.
Please use the following link to register for the conference:
https://forms.gle/EnEDdAoG4qYUyvo2A
Conference Logistics
Please read the following document in advance of the conference to avoid any technical hiccups:
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.
Full Schedule
The schedule is in development. Please check back later.
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: )
Breakout room 2 (Moderator: )
Breakout room 3 (Moderator: )
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: )
Breakout room 2 (Moderator: )
Breakout room 3 (Moderator: )
2:40 – 3:40 PM: Presentations:
(15 min talks + 5 min Q&A each)
Breakout room 1 (Moderator: )
Breakout room 2 (Moderator: )
Breakout room 3 (Moderator: )
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:
*All times listed in Eastern Standard Time (EST)
This entry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.
