scholarly journals Collaborative Strategic Board Games as a Site for Distributed Computational Thinking

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Berland ◽  
Victor R. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Board Game ◽  
Game Play ◽  
Board Games ◽  
Coding Scheme ◽  
Interactional Context ◽  
Shared Goal ◽  
Game Players ◽  
A Site

This paper examines the idea that contemporary strategic board games represent an informal, interactional context in which complex computational thinking takes place. When games are collaborative – that is, a game requires that players work in joint pursuit of a shared goal -- the computational thinking is easily observed as distributed across several participants. This raises the possibility that a focus on such board games are profitable for those who wish to understand computational thinking and learning in situ. This paper introduces a coding scheme, applies it to the recorded discourse of three groups of game players, and provides qualitative examples of computational thinking that are observed and documented in Pandemic. The primary contributions of this work are the description of and evidence that complex computational thinking can develop spontaneously during board game play.

scholarly journals Collaborative Strategic Board Games as a Site for Distributed Computational Thinking

2013 ◽  
pp. 285-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Berland ◽  
Victor R. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Board Game ◽  
Game Play ◽  
Board Games ◽  
Coding Scheme ◽  
Interactional Context ◽  
Shared Goal ◽  
Game Players ◽  
A Site

This paper examines the idea that contemporary strategic board games represent an informal, interactional context in which complex computational thinking takes place. When games are collaborative – that is, a game requires that players work in joint pursuit of a shared goal -- the computational thinking is easily observed as distributed across several participants. This raises the possibility that a focus on such board games are profitable for those who wish to understand computational thinking and learning in situ. This paper introduces a coding scheme, applies it to the recorded discourse of three groups of game players, and provides qualitative examples of computational thinking that are observed and documented in Pandemic. The primary contributions of this work are the description of and evidence that complex computational thinking can develop spontaneously during board game play.

scholarly journals Playing with the Anthropocene: Board game imaginaries of islands, nature, and empire

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Fair
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Analysis ◽  
Board Game ◽  
Environmental Intervention ◽  
Game Play ◽  
Board Games ◽  
Presence And Absence ◽  
The Relationship

The figure of the island as a metonym for the planet is central to many allegories of the Anthropocene. These allegories build upon pre-existing discourses of islands as remote, vulnerable, and timeless, and often portray contemporary island nations as helpless, doomed, and disposable. This article focuses on one allegorical terrain that has received limited discursive and cultural analysis: analogue board games. Board game representations of islands are relevant to island studies both due to the popularity of island themes and because of the resonances between common island imaginaries and the form of board game play itself. Looking at three explicitly island-themed board games (Taluva, Vanuatu, and Spirit Island), I explore the extent to which these games reiterate or contest discourses of islands as sites of ahistorical insularity and alterity. I investigate the presence and absence of islanders in these fictional landscapes, the relationship between these ludic cartographies and imaginaries of ecological collapse and environmental intervention, and the articulations of nature, humanity, and empire that are literally at play. Particularly in the case of Spirit Island, these board game representations reflect the potential for the figure of the island to be reconfigured in order to imagine the Anthropocene otherwise.

Teaching Board Game Play to Young Children With Disabilities

2021 ◽  
pp. 109830072098528
Author(s):  
Gabrielle M. Trimlett ◽  
Erin E. Barton ◽  
Caroline Baum ◽  
Gabriela Robinson ◽  
Lauren Schulte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Board Game ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Intervention Package ◽  
Game Play ◽  
System Of Least Prompts ◽  
Board Games ◽  
Young Children With Disabilities ◽  
Play Behaviors

We examined the use of an intervention package consisting of the system of least prompts (SLP), visual schedules, peer models, and contingent reinforcement to teach four children with disabilities to independently play board games and communicate with their typically developing peers. We found the intervention package with individual adaptations was related to increases in independent board game play behaviors. No changes in peer-directed social communication were observed. Our study extends the research on board game play–focused interventions by demonstrating the effectiveness of the intervention package for young children with or at risk for disabilities and their typically developing peers.

scholarly journals An Experiential Comparative Tool for Board Games

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Chircop
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Tool ◽  
Game Studies ◽  
Board Game ◽  
Game Play ◽  
Board Games ◽  
Academic Texts ◽  
Analytical Perspective ◽  
Design Perspective ◽  
Different Levels

In the field of game studies, contemporary board games have until now remained relatively unexplored. The recent years have allowed us to witness the emergence of the occasional academic texts focusing on board games – such as Eurogames (Woods, 2012), Characteristics of Games (Elias et al. 2013), and most recently Game Play: Paratextuality in Contemporary Board Games (Booth, 2015). The mentioned authors all explore board games from diverse viewpoints but none of these authors present a viable and practical analytical tool to allow us to examine and differentiate one board game from another. In this vein, this paper seeks to present an analytical comparative tool intended specifically for board games. The tool builds upon previous works (Aarseth et al. 2003; Elias et al. 2012; and Woods 2012) to show how four categories – rules, luck, interaction and theme – can interact on different levels to generate diverse gameplay experiences. Such a tool allows to score games objectively and separately in each of the categories to create a combined gameplay experience profile for each board game. Following this, the paper proceeds to present numerous practical examples of contemporary board games and how it can be used from a design perspective and an analytical perspective alike.

scholarly journals Thinking “Out-of-the-Box” with Board Games

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 1321-1325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew B. Pierce ◽  
William J. Shelstad ◽  
Emily Rickel ◽  
Barbara S. Chaparro
Keyword(s):  
User Experience ◽  
Current Literature ◽  
Measurement Technique ◽  
User Satisfaction ◽  
First Impressions ◽  
Board Game ◽  
Game Play ◽  
Design Recommendations ◽  
Board Games ◽  
Art Style

This study demonstrates the user experience measurement technique of Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE) with a commercially available board game. This method of study has yet to be tested on board games in the current literature. Participants experienced four phases of the board game - Unboxing, Setup, Initial Play, and Disassembly – and were queried for their feedback and expectations. Analysis of this data revealed several themes contributing to overall user satisfaction. Players gravitated to the art style, look and theme of the board and pieces. However, users were frustrated with the written instructions and fundamental mechanics of gameplay. These themes can be used for design recommendations and improvements. Overall, these findings show how OOBE can be applied to understand aspects of first impressions that may impact game satisfaction before game play even begins.

scholarly journals Development of Fragility Curves for Piping and Slope Stability of River Levees

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 738
Author(s):  
Nicola Rossi ◽  
Mario Bačić ◽  
Meho Saša Kovačević ◽  
Lovorka Librić
Keyword(s):  
Slope Stability ◽  
Fragility Curves ◽  
Safety Margin ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Flood Event ◽  
Soil Parameters ◽  
Design Code ◽  
A Site ◽  
Insight Into

The design code Eurocode 7 relies on semi-probabilistic calculation procedures, through utilization of the soil parameters obtained by in situ and laboratory tests, or by the means of transformation models. To reach a prescribed safety margin, the inherent soil parameter variability is accounted for through the application of partial factors to either soil parameters directly or to the resistance. However, considering several sources of geotechnical uncertainty, including the inherent soil variability, measurement error and transformation uncertainty, full probabilistic analyses should be implemented to directly consider the site-specific variability. This paper presents the procedure of developing fragility curves for levee slope stability and piping as failure mechanisms that lead to larger breaches, where a direct influence of the flood event intensity on the probability of failure is calculated. A range of fragility curve sets is presented, considering the variability of levee material properties and varying durations of the flood event, thus providing crucial insight into the vulnerability of the levee exposed to rising water levels. The procedure is applied to the River Drava levee, a site which has shown a continuous trend of increased water levels in recent years.

scholarly journals Language in Game Rules and Game Play: A Study of Emergence in Pandemic

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rei Masuda ◽  
Jonathan DeHaan
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Digital Games ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Board Game ◽  
Academic Vocabulary ◽  
Game Play ◽  
Analysis Tools ◽  
Compare And Contrast

<p class="western"> </p><p>Language and games are both creative activities that can exhibit unexpected behaviors and meanings. Previous studies in the connections between games and language have focused on digital games. The current study investigated the emergence of language in a modern cooperative board game (Pandemic) and used discourse analysis tools to compare and contrast the textual rule book and oral discussions in observed gameplay in terms of speech acts and vocabulary. Unexpected language did emerge in the gameplay, and in general, the longer text and sentences of the rulebook contained more academic vocabulary, and the shorter game play language contained more slang and expressives. Limitations of the study are elucidated and suggestions for future research and uses of analog games for learners of foreign languages are offered.<strong></strong></p><p class="western"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span><br /></span></span></span></p>

scholarly journals Serous Tubal Intraepithelial Carcinoma or Not? Metastases to Fallopian Tube Mucosa Can Masquerade as In Situ Lesions

2017 ◽  
Vol 141 (10) ◽  
pp. 1313-1315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reena Singh ◽  
Kathleen R. Cho
Keyword(s):  
Fallopian Tube ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
High Grade ◽  
Serous Tubal Intraepithelial Carcinoma ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Intraepithelial Carcinoma ◽  
A Site ◽  
Immunohistochemical Stains

Context.— Nonuterine high-grade serous carcinomas (HGSCs) are believed to arise most often from precursors in the fallopian tube referred to as serous tubal intraepithelial carcinomas (STICs). A designation of tubal origin has been suggested for all cases of nonuterine HGSC if a STIC is identified. Objective.— To highlight that many different types of nongynecologic and gynecologic carcinomas, including HGSC, can metastasize to the tubal mucosa and mimic de novo STIC. Data Sources.— A mini-review of several recently published studies that collectively examine STIC-like lesions of the fallopian tube. Conclusions.— The fallopian tube mucosa can be a site of metastasis from carcinomas arising elsewhere, and pathologists should exercise caution in diagnosing STIC without first considering the possibility of metastasis. Routinely used immunohistochemical stains can often be used to determine if a STIC-like lesion is tubal or nongynecologic in origin. In the context of uterine and nonuterine HGSC, STIC may represent a metastasis rather than the site of origin, particularly when widespread disease is present.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document