During 40 years of gaming I’ve
run roleplaying games and wargames at conventions and game days; I’ve
also spoken about games publicly through volunteer programs. I’ve
used game-design techniques to inspire students to create
science-fiction worlds and aliens. I’ve designed and run
kid-friendly games like Panzer Kids and Valley of the Ape at regional wargaming conventions. I've created games like Lord of the Two Lands and Sol O.P. Grand Prix to explore ancient Egyptian history and reinforce math skills with a space-travel theme. I've developed an introduction to wargaming and history presentation for the Museum of Culpeper History (and other interested institutions) as well as historically based strategy game scenarios specifically designed for kids and newcomers to the hobby.I
am available in a volunteer capacity to speak to schools, libraries,
museums, and other groups about various aspects of gaming,
particularly wargaming in history. Contact me to discuss your needs,
ideas, and audience to customize a program right for your
institution.
Resources
As
I develop this page I hope to post resources to help people explore
games for learning on their own. To start I’ve included a link to a
PDF pamphlet I used as an outline for my introductory wargaming talk
at the Museum of Culpeper History. Fire When Ready! presents
an outlined introduction to the history of wargaming as well as a
host of resources and games with American Civil War themes. Download
the Fire When Ready! PDF.
You
can also read about my efforts developing games for learning at my
Hobby Games Recce blog, including two games you can download and play
(though one requires a bit of craft work):
- “Games for Learning: Sol O.P. Grand Prix” – My efforts during the pandemic to help my son (and other kids) reinforce math skills.
- “Magazine Daydreams & A Side Trip to Egypt” – Wishful thinking about kids magazines with games, including my Lord of the Two Lands solitaire game.
- “WEG Memoirs: Young Writers Workshops” – Reminiscing about running writing workshops for third graders in which they created original planets and populated them with aliens; includes a link to the worksheets I used.