My latest classroom board game project - Part 1

Submitted by Michael Fryda on Fri, 2016-04-08 14:55
A traditional Battleship game.

Whilst perusing social media a few months ago, I came across a person who had taken the game Battleship and grafted a periodic table of the elements across it. The rationale behind this move was that by calling out elements on the periodic table as you play the game, students would learn the periodic table. The person who designed this game was well meaning, but clearly not a science educator.

I am. I teach my students about the history, meaning, and uses of the periodic table. The periodic table is not just a collection of chemical symbols and numbers. There is a reason why it isn’t just one long list. The periodic table of the elements is arranged so as to show off the periodicity or trends within groups of elements. Different elements, based upon their electronegativity, electron orbitals, and ionization energy, behave similarly when they have these things in common.

New Hours!

Submitted by Adam Cornish on Tue, 2016-01-19 09:43
Open 9am
Close 11pm; 1am Fri-Sat
Closed Open Mondays

We're going to have new hours!

Has it ever been a Monday and you think, "Curses! Spielbound isn't open! Where will I play a rousing game of 7 Wonders?! Where will I get the finest selection of beverages in town?!" We know your pain. So get ready, because starting February 1st, Spielbound will be open on Mondays! Don't contain yourself, we expect you to be there!

Looking for a New Year’s Resolution?

Submitted by Michael Fryda on Mon, 2016-01-04 14:32
Design your own game!

Hello teachers! With a New Year come new opportunities. Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? Even if you don’t, the turn of the calendar is a great time for professional educators to think about tools that they could use to enhance their student’s classroom experiences. Let’s start second semester off with a positive and engaging tone!

A critical focus of Spielbound for 2016 is to continue to support teachers in finding ways to use play, games, and strategic thinking in their classrooms. As a teacher myself, I’ll be the first to admit that it can be a challenge. But it is a surmountable challenge when you have Spielbound and other great teachers backing us up.

I often find myself considering enhancements to my classroom and hesitating. When that happens, I challenge myself to identify the barriers to my thinking that are stopping me from accomplishing what I originally had in mind. If you are considering “gamifying” parts of your student’s classroom experiences, but you are a little hesitant as to how to go about doing that, the first question may be to ask where you see the roadblocks. This is a healthy exercise. Teachers usually hesitate because they have high expectations for themselves and want to do the absolute best to bring their students great experiences.

Bananagrams Tournament!

Submitted by Adam Cornish on Sat, 2016-01-02 13:12
Bananagrams Tournament!

What do the words Quixotry, Za, Syzygy, and Xi have in common? They will help you win at Bananagrams! This fast-paced word spelling game is a favorite here at Spielbound and we're sharing our love with a Bananagrams tournament on Sunday, January 17th from 1 to 4pm.

In the game, players race to be the first to complete a "tableau", a configuration of connected words looking much like a crossword puzzle. Players are encouraged to change letters around between words and create new configurations on the fly, while also incorporating more and more letters. Be the first to finish your tableau when the letter pile is empty and you'll be the Top Banana. However, if it discovered your tableau is incomplete or contains illegal words, you are a Rotten Banana and the win is nullified.

We have some intriguing prizes, including the newer games Zip-It® and Bananagrams WildTiles®. The tournament will have 5 rounds, with seating changing each round. During a round players will play games until one person at the table is the first to secure three wins. Most wins throughout the tournament and you'll become Top Banana and have you image immortalized in the Spielbound Hall of Fame. And, of course, have your pick of the prizes, too!

A membership or day pass costing only five dollars is required to participate in the tournament and our exemplary cafe staff will be on hand to provide refreshments, as usual. Don't know how to play Bananagrams? It's basically "Speed-Scrabble" and very easy to pick up. Stop by Spielbound on Thursday, Jan. 14th at 6:30 for a demo and to get some practice in before the big event. This tournament is intended for players of all skill levels and the primary goal is to have fun, so we hope to see you there!

End of year game list!

Submitted by Kaleb Michaud on Tue, 2015-12-29 15:29

Splendor, Camel Up, and Ticket to Ride. Splendor, Camel Up, and Ticket to Ride were some of our favorite games this year!

Unscientific end of year game recognition list! We didn't list games in multiple categories (even if they would have won), but lots of you commented about and played these games in particular!

After only being open for 16 months, we now have over 1700 board games in our library, and it continues to grow from donations from our great supporters like you! Thank you all for a wonderful 2015! We'll have more to share with you from our year, and we're very excited about what 2016 has in store!