Games Archive

Seinfeld is not, as people often claim, a “show about nothing.” It is a television show about four narcissists whose seemingly petty dialogue and ripple-effect exploits produced a significant impact on the modern pop culture landscape.

I confess―I’m a Seinfeld devotee. In fact, I recently completed my own personal “Summer of George,” where I re-watched every episode from the pilot through the finale. While I frequently caught myself reciting the lines along with the characters, I realized the brilliance of the […]

Continue Reading about “I’m Sorry, the Card Says ‘Moops’”: Play in Seinfeld Published on:
October 27, 2014

My friends and I embrace game nights: snacks, beverages, stuffed mascots, inspirational posters. Some people don’t, probably because not everyone can handle it when (not if) their true colors emerge in the throes of battle. Similarly, television series use games as plot devices to place characters in opposition to each other, draw out the best (and worst) in their personalities, and reinforce the show’s central themes. Here are some clear winners.
Seinfeld: “The Label Maker”
Quirky Kramer and slimy Newman play Risk, […]

Continue Reading about Screen-Play: Television Characters Ruin Game Night, Too Published on:
September 29, 2014

What is your game? There seem to be an infinite number of games to play with one simple deck of playing cards. What game did you learn, perched on your parents’ or grandparents’ knees? What game brings you feelings of home and belonging?
My family’s game was Rummy. After we had mastered Go Fish, we were armed with egg carton card holders (30 years before the collective creativity of Pinterest) and introduced to the game, “according to Hoyle.” My sister and […]

Continue Reading about Let Me Teach You the Game of My People: Card Games, Identity, and Finding Home Again Published on:
September 16, 2014

Today gamers often seem immersed in their favorite games. But serious, focused gaming is nothing new. Just after the turn of the 20th century, many Americans concentrated and deliberated in a similar manner trying to assemble the latest plaything for adults and families—jigsaw puzzles.

Continue Reading about A Family of Meticulous Puzzle Cutters: Fiss Puzzles at The Strong Published on:
August 29, 2014

Pendulous grey clouds loom ominously to the west. Today is not an outdoor day. Salvation is in the closet, where colorful boxes of boards, cards, and tokens beckon us into other worlds. Games pass the time, make us laugh, and strengthen bonds among loved ones. The Strong is proud to preserve the history of games and inventors. As I tend to do, I turn to television and find characters having a grand old time creating their own games, too. I […]

Continue Reading about Screen-Play: Games Only Fictional Characters Could Invent Published on:
August 15, 2014

It’s time to play the music
It’s time to light the lights
It’s time to meet the Muppets on the Muppet Show tonight
It’s time to put on makeup
It’s time to dress up right
It’s time to raise the curtain on the Muppet Show tonight
Why do we always come here?
I guess we’ll never know
It’s like a kind of torture
To have to watch the show
And now let’s get things started
Why don’t you get things started?
It’s time to get things started
On the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational, […]

Continue Reading about Muppets Among Us Published on:
July 7, 2014

Some of my fondest childhood memories date back to the 1970s and 80s when my grandparents would take my sister and me to Friday night bingo at the local fire hall. The moment we stepped into the building, we were enveloped by the sights, sounds, and aromas of bingo. Hot dogs, popcorn, and refreshments were served and lines formed to purchase the requisite bingo cards. Often we sat with my grandparents’ “bingo buddies” at long tables lined with metal folding […]

Continue Reading about Bingo! Published on:
April 21, 2014

In my last post, I examined television’s stereotypical un-cool Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) player who doesn’t conform to mainstream standards of attractiveness or sociability and fits more comfortably within the fantasy world of role-playing games (RPGs). But “dork” is not a four-letter word as far as these characters are concerned. In fact, television programs offer audiences deeper experiences with D&D players than some viewers might allow themselves in real life. The shows create nuanced, three-dimensional, universally sympathetic characters who earn redemption […]

Continue Reading about Screen-Play: Walking a Mile in Magic Boots Published on:
April 8, 2014

When you hear the term “game show,” what comes to mind?  A theme song? A colorful set? Enthusiastic hosts and fabulous prizes?
Whatever your answer, chances are you’ve watched a game show at least once. Growing up, my mother and I often watched game shows together and our viewing included everything from $25,000 Pyramid and The Price Is Right to Wheel of Fortune, as well as old black and white episodes of Password featuring the comedic—and now iconic—Betty White. Now daily […]

Continue Reading about Let’s Make a Deal Published on:
March 27, 2014