Chapter 1:
- how does mary flanagan’s definition of game differ from chris crawford’s as well as the definition crafted by katie salen and eric zimmerman? Chris Crawford defines a game as a formal system with rules, conflict, and measurable outcomes, emphasizing structure, competition, and winning or losing. Similarly, Salen and Zimmerman describe a game as a system where players engage in artificial conflict governed by rules that produce a quantifiable outcome, focusing on systems, rules, and results. Mary Flanagan, however, views games as cultural artifacts and tools for expression, critique, and social change, highlighting their meaning, values, politics, and real-world impact. In short, Crawford and Salen and Zimmerman focus on how games function, while Flanagan focuses on what games do in society.
- what is an activist game? Is a game designed to challenge dominant beliefs, expose injustice, or encourage social change.
Chapter 3
- go and chess are examples of games that feature “perfect information”, what other games share that feature? Checkers, Tic-Tac-Toe, Connect Four, Othello, Nine Men’s Morris
- why might chance or gambling games hold spiritual or religious importance to ancient cultures? Ancient cultures believed randomness revealed the will of gods or fate.
Rolling dice or casting lots was seen as divination, not luck. - when was the earliest battle between government/ religious groups and games? what modern games can you think of that have been banned or demonized? Medieval Europe: Dice and gambling were banned by the Church. Puritan America: Card and board games were banned for being sinful. Modern Examples include, Dungeons & Dragons , Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt
- what is a fox game, and what would be a modern example? A fox game is about chasing or trapping a clever target. Historic example: Fox & Geese Modern examples are Among UsDead by Daylight, Hide and Seek style games
- what was the purpose or intent of the game: Mansion of Happiness? It was a moral training game. Players were rewarded for virtue and punished for sin. It taught Christian values and “proper behavior.”
- Why do artists from the Fluxus and Surealist movements play games? Why did Surealists believe games might help everyone? They used games too: Break logic Disrupt authority Create chance Encourage collective creativity. Surrealists believed games helped people access the unconscious and escape social rules.
- Changes in what can signal profound changes in games? How were pinball games reskinned during WW2? Changes in: Technology, Politics, Culture, War. WW2 pinball reskins: Pinball machines were redesigned with:, Military themes, Bomb imagery, Patriotic symbols, Games became propaganda tools.
- What statements did Fluxus artists make by reskinning games like monopoly and ping pong? They showed: Games are not neutral, Rules reflect power, Play can be political. They turned consumer games into art + protest.
- How are artists like Lilian Ball, Marcel Duchamp, Takako Saito, Yoko Ono, Gabriel Orozco and Ruth Catlowusing war games? They turn war strategy into critique of violence and power. Why is it important for players to have agency in a critical or serious game? Because: Players don’t just watch they experience systems, Choice reflection. Responsibility, emotional impact. Without agency, it’s just a lecture. With agency, it becomes personal and powerful.