Tag Archives: library

Fighting Censorship in a Puzzly Way!

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[Image courtesy of Business Insider.]

One puzzly video game arena we haven’t covered much in the blog is Minecraft, save for ThinkFun’s Minecraft Magnetic Travel Puzzle. If you’ve never heard of it, Minecraft is a blocky adventure/building game where you can create virtually anything, given enough time, patience, and cleverness.

There are galleries online exploring the massive, intricate, and honestly mind-blowing structures puzzlers have built in Minecraft. You’ll see everything from meticulous recreations of famous landmarks, fictional buildings brought to life (like the castles from Lord of the Rings), and wholly original designs that demanded dozens of hours to realize.

The game has even moved beyond the digital realm, expanding into novels, LEGO sets, and more. Minecraft conquered the world through creative expression, and now, the virtual playground of Minecraft is becoming a safe haven for free speech and self-expression as well.

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[Image courtesy of the Uncensored Library.]

BlockWorks, a team of gamers, architects, and designers, teamed up with Reporters Without Borders to launch a space online for people in countries suffering from online censorship to access books and articles that are banned through the usual channels.

The loophole allows them access through the shared Minecraft servers to bypass the firewalls and other systemic tools of oppression that hamper free speech and equal freedom of information.

This collective space is known as the Uncensored Library.

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[Image courtesy of the Uncensored Library.]

According to an article about the Uncensored Library, “journalists from five different countries now have a place to make their voices heard again, despite having been banned, jailed, exiled and even killed.”

So how does it work?

Forbidden articles penned by the above journalists have been republished in books within the Minecraft world, where readers can find them censorship-free.

By adding more articles and books to the Uncensored Library, BlockWorks and RWB hope to increase access to information and encourage users around the world to “stand up for their right to information.”

It’s a remarkable idea, an incredibly clever way to use the world’s most popular video game to battle oppression, and yet more proof that there’s absolutely nothing a puzzly mind can’t accomplish.

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International Games Week is Almost Over!

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All week, libraries around the world have been celebrating International Games Week, an event about bringing people together through games.

Whether we’re talking about games with educational value or just games that help forge friendships (and friendly rivalries), it’s a terrific way to introduce people to new games and fellow gamers. Not to mention it drives attention toward local libraries, which is always a good thing!

As a huge proponent of game-fueled socializing, I love events like this. You can introduce people to games they’ve never seen before — potentially even styles of games they’ve never seen before, like wagering games, cooperative games, and more — and helping to build a community of gamers.

I myself have hosted Dungeons & Dragons demos in the past as a way of introducing new players to one of my favorite pastimes in a way that is welcoming and inclusive, and hopefully inspires them to play again!

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Who knows, you might end up forming a game club, or making new friends, or even discovering something that inspires you to create a game or tell a story on your own!

You can find listings for events all over! For instance, my Friendly Local Game Shop — Gamer’s Gambit in Danbury — is actually providing games to play for the Danbury Public Library, including staff to teach the games and encourage gaming fun in groups.

International Games Week continues tonight and tomorrow, so it’s entirely possible you haven’t missed out on a fun time with fellow gamers! Keep your eyes peeled for events in your area.

And hey, if you’ve already attended a library event for International Games Week, let us know what you did and how it went! We’d love to hear from you!

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A Secret Code Lurking in the Library Stacks!

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[Image courtesy of Wonderopolis.]

The best thing about secret codes is that they can hide in plain sight. In the past, we’ve referenced all sorts of ciphers and codes that were employed to pass secret messages across open channels.

But, as it turns out, clandestine communication isn’t the only end to which secret codes can be applied.

Recently, I stumbled upon a series of Tweets that detailed a mystery at a library involving a secret code.

[Image courtesy of Princeton.edu.]

Take it away, Georgia:

So there was a MYSTERY at the library today.

A wee old women came in and said “I’ve a question. Why does page 7 in all the books I take out have the 7 underlined in pen? It seems odd.”

“What?” I say, thinking she might be a bit off her rocker. She showed me, and they did.

I asked if she was doing it, she said she wasn’t and showed me the new book she was getting out that she hadn’t even had yet. It also had the 7 underlined! “I don’t know, maybe someone really likes page 7?” I said, assuming of course that there is a serial killer in the library.

I checked some other books. Most didn’t have it, but a lot in this genre did – they’re “wee old women” books (romances set in wartime Britain etc). Lots of underlined 7s. The woman who pointed it out shrugged and went on her way, “just thought you should know”.

[Image courtesy of MovieSteve.com.]

What could it mean? Was there a secret message spelled out somehow across the seventh page of all these books? Perhaps the seventh word? What could the message be? A warning? A threat? A great universal truth? A clue to a hidden treasure? The start of a symbol-laden journey across European with sinister forces hot on your heels?

Well, no. Calm down.

As it turns out, there wasn’t a secret message or a hunt across Europe or a threat from a diabolical library-obsessed serial killer on the loose. There was simply an elderly client with her own unique code.

Apparently, she was underlining page 7 in every book she read, in order to keep track of which books she’d already read, in case she comes across it on the shelf again.

And she’s far from the only one! Upon further research, the librarian uncovered a number of different tracking systems, many of them pre-dating the use of computers to keep library records!

Whether there’s a little star on the last page, or an F on the title page, or a page 7 underlined, each code reveals a different, dedicated reader with their own system.

When she posted this story on Twitter, other library employees and former employees piped up to share their own encounters with secret library codes that patrons employed!

I think it’s fascinating that systems like this seem to have been around as long as libraries, probably discovered (and re-discovered) periodically as different patrons and librarians alike notice them.

Better living through secret codes. Who knew?

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International Tabletop Day Is Only a Day Away!

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Tomorrow is International Tabletop Day, and although we celebrated a bit early around here, there are numerous options for things to do on the day in question.

Saturday, April 28, is the sixth annual International Tabletop Day, and whether you play board games, role-playing games, card games, dice games, puzzles, or logic games, this is the holiday for you, family, and friends to come together and enjoy games.

And there are events happening all over, so if you think you won’t be able in indulge in some tabletop gaming delights, you might be mistaken. There’s a searchable map of Tabletop Day events on the official holiday website, and with even a cursory search, you can find so many awesome, fun events being held tomorrow!

For example, let’s look at my home state, Connecticut. There’s plenty of cool events to check out all over the state.

Gamer’s Gambit in Danbury is hosting all day, including game demos, raffles, a Settlers of Catan tournament, and competitions for games like Codenames and Kingdomino!

In New Haven, our friends at Elm City Games are offering a two-for-one day-pass deal, a potluck meal, and more!

If you don’t have a regular gaming group, Hawkwood Game Cafe in Milford is hosting an open table meetup at 3pm on Saturday! It’s a great way to meet fellow game fans, try out some new games, and socialize! Plus they’re running a contest to see who can build the tallest Jenga tower!

And in Middletown, The Board Room, a board game cafe, is running demos all day, so you’ll have opportunities to sample games as diverse as Codenames, Spyfall, Illimat, and Dungeons & Dragons!

But it’s not just game cafes and local game shops participating! Libraries are also getting in on the fun.

For instance, Stratford Library is showing off their new board game collection at their Tabletop Day event. Learn games like Settlers of Catan, The Resistance, and Tsuro while enjoying snacks with fellow game devotees! And feel free to bring your own favorite games to show off!

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to International Tabletop Day events, my friends. With stores and communities hosting game sessions all over the world — including online! — there has never been a better time to get out there and hang out with fellow board game, card game, and RPG players.

Are you attending an event (or hosting an event) tomorrow? Let us know, we’d love to hear from you!

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International Tabletop Day is almost here!

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Saturday, April 29 is International Tabletop Day, a day that has been set aside for family and friends to get together and play games. Board games, card games, role-playing games, puzzles… anything that involves gathering in person and having fun around a table fits the bill!

Although the actual holiday is Saturday, we’re celebrating early around here! The PuzzleNation Crew is getting together with our friends from Penny/Dell Puzzles for a few hours of Tabletop Day fun this afternoon!

Games will be played, snacks will be consumed, and fellow puzzlers and PuzzleNationers will be introduced to some terrific games.

(Sadly, a lot of personal favorites will have to be excluded — Forbidden Island, The Oregon Trail card game, choice offerings from Cheapass Games and other great companies — because they take more than 30 minutes to play. It IS a work day, after all.)

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[The Nashville Public Library has an Eventbrite page up for their Tabletop Day Event.]

And as for the day itself, there’s a plethora of events to enjoy! Check out the official International Tabletop Day Facebook page for information, as well as your local library, community center, and friendly local game shops! There are sure to be events, game demos, get-togethers, parties, and more if you just go looking for them!

Heck, the crew at The Loft Game Lounge in Ottawa is even hosting a Tabletop Day Prom!

Oops, gotta go. It’s almost time for our Tabletop Day celebration. Let us know how you’re celebrating in the comments below! We’d love to hear from you!

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It’s Follow-Up Friday: Games Across the World edition!

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Welcome to Follow-Up Friday!

By this time, you know the drill. Follow-Up Friday is a chance for us to revisit the subjects of previous posts and bring the PuzzleNation audience up to speed on all things puzzly.

And today, I’d like to revisit International Games Day!

The American Library Association has been promoting community through gaming for years with International Games Day, and last Saturday, November 15, was the latest edition of this marvelous holiday.

Libraries across the world opened their doors to puzzle fans, board game devotees, card players, gamers, and especially families, inviting them to socialize and share culture through a common medium: games!

I’ve been meandering through photo archives, checking out all the great events and fun ways people have gotten into the IGD spirit.

Check out this giant-sized Settlers of Catan board, created by one intrepid dad so more kids could get in on the fun!

Each year, game and puzzle companies donate to libraries, giving both needy libraries and newbie game players the chance to try out some terrific games. This year was no exception, as Ravensburger, USAopoly Games, Steve Jackson Games, and Looney Labs all donated games to various libraries in support of this terrific holiday.

[Two tweets from a grateful librarian after some awesome donations to their upcoming IGD event.]

But, of all the anecdotes I’ve encountered, my favorite concerns an event hosted at last year’s International Games Day: the Global Gossip Game.

You know the game Telephone, right? Where you whisper a message in your friend’s ear, and they whisper what they heard to another person, and so on and so on, and eventually, you see how the original message has changed from the beginning?

Imagine that, but touching all 7 continents.

From the ALA.org site:

The game began in Geelong, Australia, as “Play is training for the unexpected” (from a paper by biologists Spinka, Newberry and Bekoff).

It then traveled through Antarctica, Asia, Africa and Europe, then branched twice in the Americas. The three endings on the day were:

“I love the world” in Washington, DC;
“Zombie” in Winlock, Wash.; and
“Clouds travel around the world” in Talkeetna, Ark.

In all, the GGG had 840 participants and ran for 29 hours straight, through 74 libraries in 18 international jurisdictions and 6 languages. The longest branch traveled 114,609 kilometers (71,230 miles), and the total distance traveled was 151,927 kilometers (94,423 miles).

Now THAT is some international community building.

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