Play Saves the World

Moltmann, A Theology of Play part 2 Pp 15-25 Did God create the world as an act of play? God is a free creator - could have made the world or not, yet is still divine so it can’t be just random. God did not have to create the world, but neither did God make something random. The world is meaningful but not necessary – and necessary labor will not save us. Work is productive and gainful but not pla...

Context Held at Glen Eyrie in Colorado Springs, next to Garden of Gods 5 days and 4 nights Sponsored by Office of Congregational Excellence of the Missouri Annual Conference of United Methodist Church About 33 participants - mostly clergy, but some lay persons as well The fourth of a series of spiritual formation retreats known as “Soul Connections” - this one was on the theme of “Enchantment” Sta...

Who doesn't like a list? Everyone has a top 10 list of best games of all time, right? So we get in on the action, but our list has SPIRITUAL TRUTHS and SCRIPTURE REFERENCES! Take that YouTube Influencers. And we announce the awesome winners to our #boardgamefaith contest on Instagram! Remember to photograph yourself at your place of worship, with your favorite board game(s), and post it to instagr...

Jamey Stegmaier reflects on his early experiences with board games, his Catholic upbringing, and his employment at the Catholic Student Center at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. The culture and values from his religious background and experiences have impacted his board game design. "At Stonemaier Games, we try really, really hard to make our games accessible, inclusive, and to treat...

Alice is the author of several books. http://aliceconnor.com/#about-the-author. She also writes for Daily Worker Placement, including a series titled “Playing at Religion”, and co-hosts the podcast "Table Talk." Defining a Religiously Themed Game Your definition: “One whose theme is primarily but not exclusively exploring the practice, history, or theology of any religion or spiritual tradition.”...

REMINDER ABOUT OUR CONTEST “SHOW US YOUR BOARD GAME FAITH” # BOARDGAMEFAITH on IG, by June 30th 2023! Cool prizes! Like us, subscribe to us, we are on YouTube and podcast networks, and check out our newsletter! And wash our cars and trim our hedges! Jürgen Moltmann, born 1926, German Reformed theologian who is Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology at the University of Tübingen and is known for...

Define Ameritrash and Euro, what is the experience like, how do they work? The promise and problem of player elimination (Monopoly, Chess, Checkers, Risk) Direct versus indirect competition Excitement of “dudes on a map” Ameritrash risk and explosive moments, Interaction, luck, can be mean War gaming is a variant (and how board games began) – Root! Root! Root! Euro is more about resource managemen...

Mandi Hutchinson of Salt and Sass Games is a teacher and educator, and she explores ways that board games have shaped her life and work. Games help the art of teaching whether it's a middle school classroom or adults in their workplaces. We even take the time to dream of games that don't exist, and we learn more about Canada and especially Albertans. Follow Mandi on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Sa...

Derek White is The Geek Preacher – a United Methodist pastor, D&D gamer, social media leader, and a major part of Satanic Panic documentary (streaming on TubiTV in the USA). Is Star Wars a work of sci-fi fundamentalism? What's so threatening about our imaginations to religious authorities? Are there limits to the imagination, such as the level of violence in a Quentin Tarantino movie? Are ther...

Reports and Statistics! Average downloads per episode Downloads by country and US state Progress How we've grown and changed – yeah we miss the opening skit and clap but … Priorities The book! Curriculum! The movie! The Broadway play! CALL TO ACTION: Subscribe to our newsletter (https://buttondown.email/BoardGameFaith) Support us on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/boardgamefaith/) interact with u...

Spiritual Lessons of Negotiation Games Healthy Rules and Freedom Existing Side-by-Side Helps Us to Be Creative and Joyful. The best part of negotiation games for me (Daniel) is the free for all, the creativity, especially in contrast to the rules. Think about the Apostle Paul writing about the joy of freedom against the backdrop of the law. Learn about others – when you play with the same people y...

Listener Spotlight "Kary" is a teacher from North Carolina She found out about Board Game Faith through Facebook! Game she's digging:  Played "Sequence" for the first time and really enjoyed it. What is awesome about her?  Waking up at 5 AM! Why do you listen to BGF?  The awesome hosts. 🙂 Terra Nullius – a null land, or "nobody's land" TOPIC: Playing Colonialism – Board Game Ethics (https://www.y...

Board Games and Buddhism, with Takuya Ono 00:00 Introduction 01:23 How I became a Buddhist priest and jushoku 03:52 Duties of a Buddhist temple master in Japan 06:06 Board Gaming in Japan, and the Okuma Disaster 08:13 How I became a board game fan 12:32 Religion in Japan 15:39 Buddhism and games 21:06 My favorite board games 26:55 Buddhism practices compassion 33:32 Connect with Ono-san CALL TO AC...

Ideas behind the class What are board games, what is their history, how do they work, and why do they matter? Structuring the class I revisited some of our previous episodes – defining a game, Bernard Suits, Jane McGonigal Defining a board game history of board games mechanisms of board games (card drafting, worker placement, Euro, Ameritrash, bluffing, player elimination, trading, set collection)...

LISTENER HIGHLIGHT! * Jim from Pennsylvania MAIL BAG! - Episode 21 feedback - So grateful to @CampingMeeple's (https://www.instagram.com/campingmeeple/) response to episode 21 - how to start a board game group:  "We are trying to keep a Board game day happening more often at our church, but it was actually interesting listening to your last episode because it’s generally hobby people at ours and y...

Daniel Thurot of the Space-Biff! newsletter and podcast discusses board games as devotion and religious exploration, Mormonism, and religious identity. What does it mean for board games to explore religious division, change, and history? CALL TO ACTION: - Subscribe to our newsletter (https://buttondown.email/BoardGameFaith) - Support us on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/boardgamefaith/) - intera...

We examine the medieval Book of Games, King Alfonso of Spain's 1283 book about chess, dice games, and board games like Backgammon. There are rich insights here into medieval and modern board games – their types, challenges, wisdom, and benefits. Yay for history! CALL TO ACTION: - Subscribe to our newsletter (https://buttondown.email/BoardGameFaith) - Support us on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/...

A regular board game group is a powerful way to build inter-generational relationships and community at your house of worship. But how and where to start? Daniel and Kevin share their experiences: what worked, what didn't, and what to watch out for. For a one-sheet on this process, subscribe to our newsletter here (https://buttondown.email/BoardGameFaith) or email us at info@boardgamefaith.com. CA...

This thoughtful conversation moves from traveling, gaming with parents, representation in board games, the stereotypes of Muslims as either extremists or as hijab enforcers, the common sense decency of Muslims that is rarely reported in the media, questions of Islamic theology and interpretation, and the place of Jesus Christ as a prophet of Islam. Find Ali Karar on the internet! (https://boardgam...

Here is the original Dice Tower's "Top 10 Enemies of Gaming" Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytUUQhKdzL0 Mechthild of Magdeburg (13 century German mystic poet and writer), “Clothe yourself with yourself." Rodney Smith (Watch It Played on YouTube): "I come to this table as a flawed human being.… The gift of this hobby is to learn to be better people – note that video games don’t do this." CAL...

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Adrian Adamescu is a chemist (with a PhD in Chemistry) and board game designer (Sagrada, Dice Theme Park, 7 Summits, Speakeasy Blues, Creatures & Cupcakes). We interview him about growing up in Romania and Germany, an important family friend, and his faith experiences that have shaped him today as a father and board game designer. CALL TO ACTION: - Subscribe us Subscribe to our newsletter (htt...

OPENING GAME - Rock-Paper-Scissors/Roshambo CELEBRATION - Had first newsletter this week! INTRO TO MAIN TOPIC - what is an action selection game? GrenadierBG on Discord recommends Adam in Wales video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob5KswRrah4&t=847s) MAIN TOPIC - Spiritual Lessons from Action Selection Games Taking initiative can be important. Taking actions can deny resources to others. Tak...

INTRO IMPROV GAME: Characters in a classic Spaghetti Western film play the game Lord of the Rings: Journey in Middle Earth (currently #97 on Board Game Geek). Apologies for our ridicuous accents! Jane McGonigal's book Reality is Broken describes what we learn about human happiness through understanding the impact of games on human neurology and psychology. Human enjoy goals, rules, obstacles, a fe...

How do board games intersect with Orthodox Jewish religious and family life? We discuss how Sabbath observance impacts Alex's work, family life, and board game hobby, and how the Sabbath is defined and practiced for him and his synagogue. Be sure to check out Alex's excellent YouTube channel, BoardGameCo (https://youtube.com/boardgameco). NEXT EPISODE: We discuss Jane McGonagal's Reality is Broken...