Revisiting Social Games

Usually, my hope is that once you've arrived at this page, you'll stay around, read the intro and any current comments, and post a comment of your own.

Not this time -- or not just yet!

This time I would like you to get an experiential sense of our topic: games that can make a difference!  I would like to give you a quick "hit" of what's possible -- and what has already been accomplished -- so you can see whether a game might be a helpful tool in your own work as a social entrepreneur.  And I trust you to come back here when you've done that, to make your comments!

To give you a sense of how sophisticated the "serious games" put out by our colleagues in the "games for change" community can be, I'd like you to view the demo of the Global Conflicts: Latin America game.

Next, I'd invite you to play Nuclear Weapons: The Peace Dove Game, a far simpler game developed by the United Nations and hosted by the Nobel Prize folks -- to get an idea of the lower-budget end of the same spectrum.

Also check Climate Challenge, from the BBC, about climate change, and take a look at this description of A Force More Powerful and the award-winning Peacemaker.

One of the most poignant games, "Harpooned", deals with the Japanese whaling industry, and its attempt to continue whaling despite international protests by calling it "science". You can watch a video preview on vimeo, but I should warn you that it's not for the faint-hearted: although the game itself is brilliantly conceived and executed, its subject matter, the slaughter of whales, is horrific. You can download the game itself here.

Finally, I would like you to make a quick contribution to feeding the world's hungry, by testing your vocabulary skills by playing a few minutes of Free Rice. It's simple, it's fun, and it makes the world a better place.

All these games and more are part of Games for Change -- a movement that is doing for the games industry what social entrepreneurs are doing to entrepreneurship.

And now that you've got a taste for what's possible, I'd like to ask you:

• what did you think of the games you saw or played?
• are you afraid games are too "unserious" to be taken seriously?
• are there any games that deal with your own area of concern?
• should there be, perhaps?
• would you need something simple, like "the Peace dove Game"?
• something more complex, like "Peacemarker" or "Global Conflicts"?
• do you play computer/video games yourself?
• do the people whose lives you impact play games?

It's becoming pretty clear that games and playing are powerful educational tools.  And where we used to think of "theory" and "practice" as opposites, we can now throw in "games and simulations" at the mid-point between them -- a means of learning by experience, but without the risks that making mistakes bring with them in "real life".

• Are there games for change in your future?

Join Charles "hipbone" Cameron once you've played a game or two -- to discuss the possibilities.