On this particular Monday, it seems fitting to feature CGN members Sean Smith and Jeffrey Lawler as our guest bloggers of the week. Smith and Lawler are full-time lecturers in the History Department of California State University, Long Beach and co-directors of the CSULB Center for the History of Video Games and Critical Play. Their blog, titled Critical Play, focuses on history games and education.  

As Smith wrote, “I think the post that best fits with the mission of the Games Network is probably our piece on Native-American agency in table top games,  Pawns of Manifest Destiny: Native-American Agency and Visibility in History Based Tabletop Games.”

The piece spotlights three games that employ Native American characters: 1775: Rebellion; Discoveries: The Journals of Lewis and Clark; and Bang! The Dice Game. In writing about each game, Smith’s and Lawler’s intent is “not to engage in the totality of Native American representation, but to analyze the ways that the structure and mechanics of each game reinforce mythic identities in juxtaposition with a lack of purposeful agency for Native characters.”

To read the post in full, click here: https://www.criticalplay.org/blog/2018/3/2/pawns-of-manifest-destiny-native-american-agency-and-visibility-in-history-based-tabletop-games.

Are you interested in being featured on the CGN website? If so, submit a blog post on any topic related to GBL in higher ed., and/or send links/descriptions of your blogs to contactcunygames@gmail.com. Stay tuned for another guest contribution next Monday.