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Ron Hale-Evans
rwhe@ludism.org
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As I mentioned, I'll be a guest of honor at the Dragonflight XXV gaming convention from 13-15 August at Seattle University. Here's a list of events I'll be hosting. Consult the Dragonflight site for scheduling if you want to attend any of these.
Following the list of events is a short bio Marty wrote about me for the convention program.
Philosophy of Games - Not a seminar about game strategy, but about philosophy as it applies to games and gaming. Should we play games? If so, why? Why do people have an innate urge to play? What makes a game good? Can lessons learned in games be used in life, and vice versa? Is life in fact a game? Ron will describe a philosophy of gaming called Ludism, then open the floor to discussion. Remember: it's not the hand you're dealt, but how you play it.
The Glass Bead Game - Is it a game disguised as an artform, or an artform disguised as a game? Come learn about the many "playable variants" inspired by Hermann Hesse's Nobel-Prize-winning SF novel, The Glass Bead Game. Connecting everything to everything else, the GBG plays "with the total contents and values of our culture... as, say, in the great age of the arts a painter might have played with the colors on his palette." Ron will give a talk with handouts, demonstrate his own gameform, and announce a contest.
Cosmic Pig - Ron will teach people how to play his Cosmic Encounter variant based on the cult SF novel Interstellar Pig by William Sleator. Multiple Cosmic Encounter sets will be available for play.
Monster Cosmic Encounter - One giant Cosmic Encounter game with 10 or more players and tons of non-standard expansions. (Ticketed.)
Game Systems - A game system is a set of components that function together in multiple games. The standard deck of playing cards is a well-known game system. Come play some of the oddball game systems mentioned in Ron's articles on this subject for The Games Journal, and some he hasn't written about yet.
Piecepack Games - The piecepack is a relatively new but increasingly popular game system. Come learn several piecepack games, including some of the award-winning games designed by Ron and his wife Marty.
Ron Hale-Evans has been an avid board gamer since 1978, when he received Cosmic Encounter as a Christmas present at the age of 13. Since then, his pursuit and development of a ludic philosophy has led him through many game-related adventures and areas of study.
In the late '80s, Ron and his college game group Y Nomic created a game of Nomic that lasted 2-1/2 years. Ron also encountered Hermann Hesse's book The Glass Bead Game in college, and began to study it seriously in 1995, leading to his work with the Bamboo Garden GBG workshop in Seattle and the development of his game form, Kennexions.
More recently, Ron has added his work with the piecepack game system; aside from writing about and promoting the piecepack, Ron has authored six games for it (most with his wife Marty) including the winner of the first piecepack game design competition. Ron also writes a respected ongoing series of articles on game systems for The Games Journal.
Ron and Marty started Seattle Cosmic Game Night in January 2000, which began as a way for Ron to play more Cosmic Encounter and has grown into a vigorous local gaming group that meets weekly to play and discuss a wide variety of new and old games.
For more information about Ron, see his webpage at http://ron.ludism.org and/or his blog at http://ron.ludism.org/annex.
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