S8.E07 :: Board Games Are Experiences
Aug 8, 2014
Editor's note: we had some audio troubles during the recording, so keep that in mind while listening.
Going, Going, Gone is an auction game by designer and game professor Scott Nicholson. Players simultaneously bid on auctions by dropping cubes into cups to win cards that display items from various countries. Collecting sets of these items (either by item type or country) allow players to score points at the end of the game. This game is an experience. One player at a time plays the role of the auctioneer, which allows him or her to control the speed of the auction while players frantically try to bid higher than each other. The game simulates the tension and insanity of a auction--one where you might be launching piles of money at garbage cans.
The Syracuse Game Designer's Guild is Scott's way of giving back to the learning community. The Guild helps teachers, librarians, etc. design their own games that they may use to enhance education. Scott wants to expand the Guild's reach and allow others to create their own guilds where games can be used both for play and education.
Our discussion ranged from Scott's game to his thoughts on game design to his Syracuse Game Designer's Guild. We discussed his role as a professor and a gamer. We learned so much that I cannot contain it all in this paragraph.
If you are interested in more about Scott's work, please visit Because Play Matters to see the wonderful work that Scott does with the Guild, with libraries, in his classroom, and in the board game world. If you wish to engage with Scott, you can find him on Twitter @snicholson.