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Posted March 5th, 2009
On games:
My definition of a game (since you asked) is “a machine for human interaction.” Whether by card, or die, ball or board, the activity of playing a game engenders, encourages, and creates the interpersonal communication we call fun. It's hard to define precisely what that is, but we know it when we see it or experience it ourselves. Fun is the magic that happens in the air between people, and above the actual game equipment.
We recently learned that our game Fireball Island, marketed in the late 80’s by Milton Bradley, is considered a cult classic, one of the best board games to come out of the 80’s, and the subject of at least two websites: www.fireballisland.net, and http://www.fireballisland.com/. Whaddaya know? I’ll be dogged. A cult classic.
This was one of the first products we did way back when we first started out. I use the royal ‘we,’ as it was pretty much just me working on it way back then. It was a hit in its day and has followers still. I was inspired by a 3-D distortion print, vacuformed map, and spent weeks, maybe even months in development. The end product prototype was very close to what was made, with a few exceptions. Instead of caves, we had a helicopter which flew from landing site to landing site on the island. My best friend Randy, may God rest his soul, was instrumental in suggesting changes that radically improved the game play. It is still an intensely fun game experience. Play Fireball Island if you get the chance.
And on the subject of games, I believe that game playing is a very important medium throught which kids, and by extension adults, learn about the concepts of fairness, competition, playing by the rules, the benefits of both graceful defeat and being a gracious winner, the consequences of cheating or other ill mannered behaviors, the pain of losing, and the joy of being a winner. Games teach us as children many important lessons not learned elsewhere, or otherwise.
Play games. It is an investment in fun.
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