Hoy pulled from his, frankly impressive, collection of historically-themed games: a German-created game called Tenake and a American-created gamed called Freedom.ĭr. In our discussion we talk about two games Dr. It also provides practical advice for designers interested in improving these games. It explores the differences between historically themed games and games designed to teach. The second half of our discussion focusses on the ways in which modern board games teach history. Hoy describes some of the methods historians use to study 19 th and 20 th century games and his own time at the Strong National Museum of Play. In Part 1 we discuss the ways in which historians can use board games in their own research, particularly as a way to understand what people historically taught their children using games. Benjamin Hoy at the University of Saskatchewan to talk about his research and the ways he uses board games in his own classroom. Would they smuggle? Would they participate in the Underground Railroad?
Games can help students understand the risks and benefits historical people weighed when making decisions. They bring to life concepts and ideas that are otherwise hard to teach. Games made in the 1960s, for example, project ideas about American expansionism and female domesticity that seem distant from our ideals today.Īs teaching tools, board games give players a stake in the narrative’s outcome. As primary documents, historical board games provide scholars with a glimpse into the past. Yet, board games offer much more than a low-stakes evening of family fun or the indoctrination of capitalist principles-they can be used to teach and understand history. Years later, I still remember the stories those games created. I remember, when I was young, drinking cream soda while watching my sister eviscerate my hopes of owning Park Place and my mom bend the rules to keep me out of bankruptcy.
For many, board games conjure up memories of time spent with family and friends around the dinner table.
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