The Digital Tabletop

Myself and Brian Magerko are organizing a session entitled “From the Keyboard to the Game Board: Exploring Non-Digital Tabletop Games” at the Meaningful Play conference (http://meaningfulplay.msu.edu) in the fall. As a result, we’re looking for session participants. Here is the *very* preliminary session description:

“Non-digital tabletop games have been an entertainment and education medium for millenia. Without the distraction of high-end graphics, new user interfaces and 3D audio found in modern digital games, tabletop games must rely on solid game mechanics, storytelling, and the players’ imaginations in order to create an enjoyable and compelling experience. As such, they represent a game experience that is somewhat distinct from that found in digital games, and are worthy of study and exploration. It is within this context that this session will present a variety of current work which explores the scope, character, and direction of non-digital tabletop game studies.”

We will consider any papers that have anything to do with tabletop games (boardgames, Pen & Paper RPGs, CCGs, CMGs, etc, etc, etc) - either from an education standpoint, a ludological standpoint, a design standpoint, or a commercial standpoint. We’ll consider papers that are pure research, case studies, etc, etc, etc.

Interested individuals should contact me via email at watrall [at] msu [dot] edu