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    UNBORED Games: Serious Fun for Everyone
    UNBORED Games: Serious Fun for Everyone
    UNBORED Games: Serious Fun for Everyone
    Ebook376 pages2 hours

    UNBORED Games: Serious Fun for Everyone

    By Joshua Glenn, Elizabeth Foy Larsen, Tony Leone and

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    UNBORED Games has all the smarts, creativity, and DIY spirit of the original UNBORED (“It's a book! It's a guide! It's a way of life!” -Los Angeles Magazine), but with a laser-like focus on the activities we do for pure fun: to while away a rainy day, to test our skills and stretch our imaginations-games. There are more than seventy games here, 50 of them all new, plus many more recommendations, and they cover the full gambit, from old-fashioned favorites to today's high-tech games. The book offers a gold mine of creative, constructive fun: intricate clapping games, bike rodeo, Google Earth challenges, croquet golf, capture the flag, and the best ever apps to play with Grandma, to name only a handful. Gaming is a whole culture for kids to explore, and the book will be complete with gaming history and interviews with awesome game designers. The lessons here: all games can be self-customized, or hacked. You can even make up your own games. Some could even change the world.

    The original UNBORED has taken its place as a much beloved, distinctly contemporary family brand. UNBORED Games extends the franchise -- also including UNBORED Adventure -- in a new handy flexibound format, illustrated in full color throughout. This is a whole shelf of serious fun the whole family can enjoy indoors, outdoors, online and offline.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBloomsbury USA
    Release dateOct 14, 2014
    ISBN9781632860460
    UNBORED Games: Serious Fun for Everyone
    Author

    Joshua Glenn

    Joshua Glenn is cofounder of the web sites Significant Objects, Hilobrow, and Semionaut, and has authored and edited a number of books. Together with Elizabeth Foy Larsen, he writes a parenting column based on Unbored for Slate. He lives in Boston and has two sons, 10 and 13. @UnboredGuide

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      Book preview

      UNBORED Games - Joshua Glenn

      For Amanda, Susan, and Walter

      THINK LIKE A GAMER!

      by Chris Dahlen

      GAMES MY SON & I PLAY

      BEST EVER QUICK BOARDGAMES

      MEMOIR ’44 HACKS

      by Tony Leone

      WHO’S IT?

      HISTORICAL COUNTING-OUT GAMES

      BACK OF THE CLASSROOM

      • Circle-Hand

      • Coin Hockey

      • Paper Football

      • Ker-Punch

      BIKE RODEO

      • Slalom

      • Coaster

      • Figure 8

      • Paper Carrier

      HISTORY’S ROUGHEST GAMES

      DAIFUGO

      MINDGAME

      by Patrick Cates

      THE JEWEL GAME

      Kim excerpt by Rudyard Kipling

      HIGHLAND GAMES

      • Tug-of-War

      • Hammer Toss

      HOT DICE

      CUSTOM DICE GAMES

      JUMP ROPE!

      • Water Splash

      • Helicopter

      • Snake in the Grass

      A comic by Heather Kasunick

      OH SNAP! COMPLICATED CLAPPING

      • Concentration

      • Boom, Snap, Clap

      • Bo-Bo-Ski-Watten-Tatten

      DANCE-OFF

      SECRET-RULES GAMES

      • Mau

      • Scissors

      • Whose Triangle?

      • Penultima

      MORE SECRET-RULES GAMES

      APP FUN WITH MARK & JANE!

      Q&A with Mark & Jane Frauenfelder

      THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT

      GAME NIGHT!

      by Catherine Newman

      GAME-NIGHT FAVORITES

      PARLOR GAMES

      • Wink Murder

      • First Sentence

      • Coffeepot

      • Botticelli

      HAIR DRYER PING PONG

      BAKE A GAME

      EMBRACE SCREENS

      • Scratch

      • Waze

      • Shazam

      BEST EVER APPS TO PLAY WITH A GROWNUP

      A comic by Joe Alterio

      BEANBAG TOSS

      NO-SEW BEANBAGS

      TWENTY QUESTIONS

      Peter Pan and Wendy excerpt

      by J.M. Barrie

      CROQUET GOLF

      KNOW YOUR CROQUET LINGO

      DRAW!

      • Exquisite Corpse

      • Telephone Pictionary

      INVENT A GAME!

      Q&A with Andrew Innes

      MINDGAME

      by Patrick Cates

      ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS HACKS

      • Bear-Hunter-Ninja

      • Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock

      • Teeter-Totter

      • Bird-Water-Rock

      MINDGAME

      by Patrick Cates

      SPIT THE PIT & OTHER BACKYARD CHALLENGES

      • Spit the Pit

      • Reggae Musical Chairs

      • Doughnut on a String

      CARNIVAL GAMES

      • Squirt Gun Shooting Gallery

      • Toilet Paper Toss

      GAME THE SYSTEM!

      by Stephen Duncombe

      TOP 10 GAMES FOR ACTIVISTS

      CO2 SMACKDOWN!

      • Go Green!

      • Recycle This

      • Dumptown

      • Green Up

      • Joulebug

      GUERRILLA KINDNESS

      • Guerrilla Kindness

      • Cruel 2 B Kind

      • Face Value

      BEST EVER COOPERATIVE BOARDGAMES

      MINDGAME

      by Patrick Cates

      ALASKAN BASEBALL

      QB RESCUE

      THE GLAD GAME

      Pollyanna excerpt

      by Eleanor H. Porter

      SURVIVE! PREDATOR & PREY

      MINDGAME

      by Patrick Cates

      CHILL! STRESS-RELIEVING GAMES

      • Cloudspotting

      • Line Up

      • High Count

      • Meditation Flowers

      • Silent Ball

      CIRCLE OF DOOM

      v

      NINJA WAH!

      A comic by Heather Kasunick

      HUNGER GAMES

      • EVOKE

      • 3rd World Farmer

      • Freerice

      TRICK YOUR MIND

      MINDGAME

      by Patrick Cates

      THE WORLD’S GAME

      Q&A with Tony Sanneh

      MINDGAME

      by Patrick Cates

      GAMIFY YOUR FAVORITE CAUSES

      • Chore Scores

      • Change Combat

      USE APPS TO MAKE CHANGES

      DUCT TAPE ADVENTURE!

      by Richela Fabian Morgan

      ROCKET RACING

      ALKA-SELTZER BATTLE

      BEST EVER GLOBAL GAMES

      GOOGLE EARTH CHALLENGES

      • Monster Milktruck

      • GeoGuessr

      • Ships

      SMARTPHONE SCAVENGER HUNT

      QUEENING

      Through the Looking-Glass excerpt by Lewis Carroll

      PLAY FOURSQUARE (THE APP)

      FOURSQUARE BADGES

      A comic by Joe Alterio

      GEO-GAMES

      • Geodashing

      • Waymarking

      • Benchmark Hunting

      • Confluence Hunting

      MINDGAME

      by Patrick Cates

      MAKE & BREAK A PIÑATA

      HIDE-AND-SEEK HACKS

      • Dots

      • Fox in the Field

      MINDGAME

      by Patrick Cates

      PLAY A ROLE!

      Q&A with Lizzie Stark

      LARPING & ARGS

      MINDGAME

      by Patrick Cates

      MINDGAMES ANSWER KEY

      RESOURCES

      Our favorite gaming books, websites, and more

      GAMES INDEX

      Search this book for: Indoor Games, Outdoor Games, Apps, Boardgames, Card & Dice Games, and more!

      TEAM UNBORED

      The folks who brought you this book.

      CONTRIBUTORS

      Six gamers—and parents of gamers—who contributed their expertise to this book.

      DISCLAIMER

      The information contained in this book is for informational and entertainment purposes only. We have done our best to be as factual and accurate as possible, but we do not guarantee that any of the information contained in this book is correct or workable. Be responsible, exercise good sense, and take every safety precaution—not limited to the precautions that we suggest. Also, we do not advocate the breaking of any law.

      Note that when following our instructions, switching materials, assembling improperly, mishandling and misusing can cause harm; also, results may vary.

      It is important that you understand that the authors, the publisher, and the bookseller cannot and will not guarantee your safety. Physical or mental harm is not intended so be cautious and use at your own risk. The authors and publishers expressly disclaim liability for any injury or damages resulting from the use (proper or otherwise) of any information in this book.

      RECIPES, FORMULAS, ACTIVITIES, AND INSTRUCTIONS IN THIS BOOK SHOULD BE FOLLOWED EXACTLY AND SHOULD NOT BE ATTEMPTED WITHOUT ADULT SUPERVISION.

      Because of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), most major websites are restricted to users 13 and older. We do not advocate lying about your age in order to access websites, games, apps, social media services, and anything else online mentioned or not mentioned in this book. Parents should not help their children lie about their age online; if underage children make use of email, instant messaging, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, or any other website, game, app, or social media service, including web searches, they should only do so via a parent’s account and with close parental supervision and collaboration.

      While the authors have made every effort to provide accurate internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the authors assume any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

      Here’s our Top 10 list of reasons for kids and grownups to take games—from boardgames to active outdoor games to videogames—seriously.

      1Gaming encourages you to develop skills and expertise, by practicing something over and over. More importantly, gaming challenges you to teach yourself how to do something.

      2Although we live in a throwaway culture, gaming is all about hacking, modifying, and improving stuff you already own. If you don’t like the way a game works, instead of tossing it out you can make it work better.

      3Active games not only help you improve your coordination and develop agility and flexibility, but they also build self-confidence. There is no more enjoyable way to get and stay fit than to run around playing a game.

      4Games exercise your imagination and develop your problem-solving skills. Plus, playing games encourages you to hack, modify, and improve your own mindset and behavior.

      5Gaming makes you resilient and determined; you have to develop grit. Why bother? Because developing grit helps you to become independent. Gaming teaches you to actually do what you say you’re going to do.

      6What are you really good at? What motivates you? What makes you happy? Gaming teaches you the answers to these important questions: not just who you are, but what makes you tick.

      7Gaming teaches you that your environment is modifiable. You realize that everyday life is a puzzle to be solved: the more difficult the obstacles, the more fun you’ll have figuring out how to beat them.

      8Sharing games with others—teaching and learning the best strategies—is very rewarding. Whether you win or lose the game doesn’t matter, because although gaming is competitive, playing a game is always a collaboration.

      9Jumping in and making mistakes is the fastest way to learn how to play a game. Not worrying about being perfect, and just trying your best, is known as fun failure.

      10Each time you play a game, you enter a world in which grownups aren’t in control. When it comes to games, there are no teachers or coaches—it’s up to you, with a little help from your friends.

      THINK LIKE

      A GAMER!

      By Chris Dahlen

      Follow the rules sounds like an order. But if you’re a gamer, you know that a game’s rules pose an exciting challenge: What can I do within these limits that nobody has done before?

      The following gamer’s guidelines apply to every sort of game—including life itself.

      Learn the Rules

      When you’re young and everything’s blurry and shapeless, your first job is to discover the rules. An adult hides behind his own pair of hands, and then he springs out and shouts, Peek-a-boo! You laugh, and then he does it again. After a while, you realize that the joke here is that he does it the same way every time—that the hiding precedes the peeking and booing. Running through the grass screaming is fun, but it’s not a game. If you add a simple set of rules to your play—first, hide; then, shout Peek-a-boo!—you get a new kind of fun. A game called Peek-a-boo.

      Enforce the Rules

      On the playground, a PE teacher might lay down the laws of various games: That’s against the rules, or Here’s how you play Four Square. But kids can teach each other the rules, too, by telling each other how to survive a game of dodgeball, say, or win at Scrabble by always going for triple letter scores. Even with a game as complicated as baseball, most kids don’t sit down and read a rulebook—they learn it as they go. When the baseball coach isn’t there, the players keep each other in line.

      If you’re a gamer, then you never break a game’s rules. Instead, you try to play the game—within the rules—your way. You learn which tactics work well and then, just when others think they have you figured out, you switch everything up and surprise them. You keep a straight face when you’re holding a winning hand of cards (or a losing one, for that matter).

      The better that you get at playing a game—whether it’s soccer or Apples to Apples or two-player Skylanders—the more important it becomes to enforce the rules. If you break the rules, you break the game. But stick to them, and you can win fair and square! There’s no more satisfying feeling.

      Modify the Rules

      Although gamers don’t break a game’s rules, they know there’s nothing wrong with modifying the game—sometimes to the point where it becomes a new game. If you’ve ever lowered a basketball net to help smaller kids compete, or changed the house rules in Monopoly to share the wealth from the Free Parking space, or used the specialized dice or figures that came with one game in order to create a completely different game, then you’re a gamer. A few years ago, someone invented a version of Tic-Tac-Toe where you’re playing on nine grids at once; with that one simple change, a boring game for little kids became interesting again.

      Pay attention to how your fellow players act, react, struggle, fight, and have fun. Game designers do this all the time, when they’re playtesting a new game. If the rules feel too easy, a gamer tightens them up; if they’re too frustrating, a gamer gives people new options.

      Rewrite the Rules

      A gamer understands that when a game’s rules aren’t working, cheating or quitting doesn’t help. If the rules aren’t fair—when the same person or team wins the game every single time—then stop everything and write new rules. The game of chess has changed over the centuries; so has the Constitution of the United States.

      The rules that we take for granted in everyday life—about how to wait in line, for example—were invented at some point in the past. A gamer understands that it’s important to follow these rules when they’re fair, and when they make life enjoyable and rewarding. But a gamer also understands that sometimes life’s rules need to be modified, even rewritten.

      As a gamer, you already know how to step up and demonstrate a better way. Whether in your backyard, on the school playground, or in life generally, think hard about the rules of the game, and propose changes to the unfair ones. If you can convince others to agree with your new rules, then everyone can come out a winner.

      GAMES

      MY SON & I PLAY

      By Chris Dahlen

      Machinarium

      machinarium.net

      The first game we ever played. We sat side-by-side at the computer, helping a robot save his friends and his city.

      Eets Munchies

      eetsgame.com

      A charming 2-D puzzle game that challenges us both. I swear my kid is the one who keeps hitting the Hint button, not me.

      Portal 2

      thinkwithportals.com

      This clever puzzle game casts us as two slapstick robots who are forced to work together—and I mean really cooperate—in order to solve a series of challenges. You can also just knock each other’s heads off.

      The Adventures of Kodu

      The first game that my kid ever designed, using Microsoft’s Kodu platform (soon to be supplanted by Project Spark). I’m even prouder of the game than he is.

      Skylanders

      skylanders.com

      I’m too old for toys. But this franchise, which crosses physical figures with video games, gives us a chance to play with action figures.

      Android: Netrunner

      This high-stakes two-player card game was designed for adults. So why does my kid beat me every time?

      Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends

      ubi.com

      Michel Ancel’s platformers make you feel

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