New Traditional Games for Learning: A Case Book - Tapa dura

"Educators from Australia, Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Germany, the UK, and the US describe the development and implementation of non-digital card games, board games, and live-action role-playing to supplement instruction in mutagenesis and evolution, astrobiology, antibiotic selection, chess for project-based learning, first-aid competencies, mobile learning, preschoolers' socioemotional development and body management, teaching acculturation, and adventure initiative games to build social competence and college retention. The settings for these games are also diverse - from pre-schools and elementary and secondary schools to universities and gaming conferences. Two chapters also deal with the importance of artistic design in developing and marketing games, with a reference to BoardGameGeek.com, a prime website with links to over 59,000 board games, reviews, and discussion forums.
Summing Up: Recommended." - D.L. Stoloff, Eastern Connecticut State University, in CHOICE, June 2014

"Got the ‘making digital games is too expensive for us’ blues? This inspiring collection of detailed post-mortems and case studies provides fresh and much-needed advice about how to make simple but engaging educational card, board, and athletic games based on the topics you care about most." - Jesse Schell, Distinguished Professor of Entertainment Technology, Carnegie Mellon University; CEO, Schell Games

"New Traditional Games for Learning is a superb collection that takes games for learning back to their roots in non-digital games and play. The book spells out theory in practical terms, with lucid examples, and is a major contribution to the international, fast-growing games and learning movement." - James Paul Gee, Mary Lou Fulton Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies, Arizona State University

A growing interest in the use of games-based approaches for learning has been tempered in many sectors by budget or time constraints associated with the design and development of detailed digital simulations and other high-end approaches. However, a number of practitioners and small creative groups have used low-cost, traditional approaches to games in learning effectively – involving simple card, board or indoor/outdoor activity games.  New Traditional Games for Learning brings together examples of this approach, which span continents (UK, western and eastern Europe, the US, and Australia), sectors (education, training, and business) and learner styles or ages (primary through to adult and work-based learning or training). Together, the chapters provide a wealth of evidence-based ideas for the teacher, tutor, or trainer interested in using games for learning, but turned off by visible high-end examples.

An editors’ introduction pulls the collection together, identifying shared themes and drawing on the editors’ own research in the use of games for learning. The book concludes with a chapter by a professional board game designer, incorporating themes prevalent in the preceding chapters and reflecting on game design, development and marketing in the commercial sector, providing valuable practical advice for those who want to take their own creations further.