Five years ago on September 2, 2014, we opened our doors and game library to the public for the first time. We had intended to open on September 1, but that was a Monday (we were closed on Mondays then) AND Labor Day (we were closed on major holidays then, too). With this background, we then let everyone who pledged on our spring 2014 Kickstarter as a 1-MONTH MEMBER to have their membership last from September 2 through October 31 since October would technically be our first full month of being open. Clearly a technicality, but an important point: we would not exist without the tremendous support of so many backers and volunteers.

Five years later this point remains true even though much has changed from our first days. We are now open almost every day of the year with consistent hours (9am open, 11pm or 1am close). Our library has over 2500 games catalogued – around 300 new games donated every year! And the building itself is very different – a new roof, new booths and tables, and a new gorgeous mural. But the biggest change was having Spielbound no longer run the café, something our board of directors were happy to do after having to meet monthly for a few years in our early days as we obtained 501(c)(3) legal status.

This split was difficult, and it took a couple years to fully understand how two companies could best work together for the same mission yet be independent. Spielbound Board Game Cafe, LLC runs the commercial café and has a separate website and ownership, while Spielbound, Inc owns the game library and directs all of the nonprofit programs. As we were the first organization of our kind dedicated to the benefits of board game play to apply and obtain charity status, the IRS wanted to ensure that the first organization like this did not rely upon the same business model of existing for-profit businesses.

And 5 years later, here we are, with 5 important, interconnected, yet distinct, programs (and hashtags):

1. Education #learnthroughplay
2. Spielmasons #spielmasons
3. Everybody Plays #everybodyplays
4. Stay Sharp #staysharp
5. Library #gamelibrary

Each has grown and developed through the help of donations and a ton of volunteers, of which we are constantly welcoming more to join our teams. In Education, we have several teachers who have developed lesson plans using games in our library and provide teachers with games to use in their classrooms. Spielmasons have published several games and are hosting their 2nd-annual Protospiel Omaha 2019 convention September 20-22. Everybody Plays continues to get volunteers to lead daily game demos in our library and teach games to the public at other community events. Stay Sharp has become incredibly active in the past year with an infusion of talent around occupational therapy and game modification for increasing access to playing games by those who are older or with a variety of limitations. And last, but not least, our Library is the foundation for all that we do with monthly cataloging/repair events, an on-line database, and archives in what is likely the largest playable game library in the country.

So in 5 years MUCH has changed – our hours, spaces, people, and organizations. But possibly the best example of how we have improved our community comes with the change in our mission’s purpose from “Spielbound strives to educate…” to “Spielbound educates, engages, and creates community through board games.” Our first 5 years has been us finding our footing in trying to make a positive difference in Omaha and beyond. I’m so very excited about our next 5 years! Thank you for your help, and if you haven’t already, please join us and let’s grow our community that is truly making a difference for people of all ages – Play on!

This summer we will be hosting a three-day board game camp for middle school students (June 26 – June 28).

Spielbound Board Game Essentials Day Camp

From June 26-28, Spielbound will be hosting a three-day board game camp for middle school students. Board games can be an instrumental tool to grow and encourage skills in spatial reasoning, math, critical thinking, group work and cooperation. Throughout the days, students will have an opportunity to learn games from multiple genres with the help of Spielbound staff and volunteers. The games selected for the camp will give students a comprehensive understanding of the skills and fun to be gained through collaboration and play. The final day will end with a session where parents and Spielbound volunteers will learn games from the students in the camp.

Lunch will be provided each day, send any dietary restrictions or accessibility requests to greg [at] spielbound.org and we will work to accommodate them in advance.

Hi Spielbound audience! I recently interviewed an accomplished colleague in education about how he perceives the use of games for learning opportunities. The interview has been split into two parts, each with a theme. In this first part, Andrew will describe two broad categories in which games can be used to enhance classroom experiences. He will also recommend some resources that teachers can investigate for options and inspiration.

Research shows playing board may provide protection against this dementia. Here are five Stay Sharp suggested games to bring to your holiday celebrations. These games make great holiday gifts in addition to providing physical, cognitive, and emotional benefits for all ages and abilities.

Interested in getting involved with Spielbound beyond the games? Most importantly, do you love creating and building the Spielbound community? Then please, for the sake of all the meeples, join our Spielbound team!

Spielbound is looking for a communications intern to get involved with our mission. You would be a part of marketing via Social Media platforms, creating and assisting in the coordination of community events, and helping to build not only the Spielbound community, but its connections with the entire Omaha area! See our full description here for more information.

Also, Spielbound is looking for new volunteers for several of our programs including game demoers, library catalogers, web page editing, and, for those with greater ambitions, board members and staff. If interested, please contact Kaleb, the director of communications, at [email protected].

Hello educators and friends of Spielbound!

I am pleased to be returning to my role as Education Coordinator for Spielbound after a short sabbatical! One the goals of this blog is to continue to share my passion for the interaction between games-based learning and curriculum design. I teach science at a high school in the Omaha Metro Area and have incorporated standards-based, games-based learning into several of my content sections for my physical science course. If you are a teacher in the audience and would like to discuss gamification, games-based learning, or curriculum design, you can contact me at [email protected]. Part of my role is to help area teachers reflect on game options for their classroom.

My goal for this blog is to kick off the coming school year with some science options for classrooms. The three games that I’m going to feature here are interesting in that they will really ask us to confront the purpose as to why we bring games to a classroom. I’ve found that it can be easy for teachers to fool themselves into thinking that a game will “teach for them.” It is actually rare that a game will do everything that is necessary to help students understand a particular standard, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t other benefits. We must always be aware of the goals and challenges that games present.

During June 1st-3rd, Omaha will be hosting its first Protospiel board game convention at the Sheraton Omaha Hotel. The convention, sponsored by Spielbound and The Spielmasons (Omaha’s board game design organization and part of Spielbound’s non-profit outreach program) is part of a national chain of board game conventions that focuses on playing

Coming May 23rd!

It's that time of year again!

Omaha Gives! is a 24-hour online giving event organized by the Omaha Community Foundation to grow philanthropy in Douglas, Sarpy, and Pottawattamie counties. The goal is to inspire the community to come together for 24 hours to give as much as possible to support the work of public 501c3 nonprofits in the metro area. We have a few community members who truly LOVE what Spielbound does, and they want to encourage others to learn more about us, too! They will match every donation to us through Omaha Gives! up to $5,000! So if you donated $100, it will turn into a $200 donation!

The funds raised here will be a big help as we:

1. Prepare for Omaha Protospiel
2. Prepare for increasing demand for curriculm games for teachers
3. Create a new part-time administrative position to handle all of our growing community programs

Please take advantage of this once-a-year opportunity!

Spielbound strives to educate, engage, and create community through board games. We are a thriving community center for people of all ages, featuring a library of over 2,000 donated board games. Funds received support:

1. Education - providing teachers games and lessons for their classrooms.
2. Stay Sharp Seniors - providing games for seniors to prevent dementia.
3. Spielmasons - game creation and play-testing group.
4. Everyone Plays - teaching games almost every day of the year!

What is Protospiel Omaha?

Protospiel Omaha is a convention that brings together board game designers and players to play test unreleased prototypes which are under development. We are excited to bring you Omaha's first Protospiel June 1-3, 2018 at the Sheraton Omaha Hotel!

Designers Get Crucial Feedback.

Protospiel events are conventions for game designers to test their prototype games. If you have a work-in-progress prototype you'd like to get feedback on, this is one of the very best ways to do it. This is also an ideal way to get last looks before setting a meeting with a publisher or launching a Kickstarter campaign.

Here's what to expect: A bunch of designers and playtesters in a room of open-play tables, informally taking turns playing each other's games and providing feedback. There are no assigned tables or schedules. Just bring your games and get them played, then reciprocate by playing other designers' games.

Players Have So Much Fun.

If you're a gamer and would love a chance to play new games and shape their direction before you can buy them, sign up to be a Spielbound, the only nonprofit dedicated to improving communities though play of board games. Spielmasons is Spielbound's game design group and has several members who have already published games and won a number of game design competitions. They meet weekly in Spielbound's game library and invite all to present and/or test original game designs for constructive feedback. As frequent attendees of board game design conventions, we are excited to host the inaugural Protospiel Omaha and provide both designers and playtesters with a great experience.