MAKE Strategy: Game On!

Every October, ArtSpace New Haven's City Wide Open Studios encourages the community to visit the region's many artist's studios. (more at https://artspacenewhaven.org/xwos-home/). To add to the celebration, ArtSpace has commissioned artists to create Game On! original games for visitors to play.

Take that challenge – create and play games. Mix strategy, art, invention and practice. There will be games that you can play by yourself; there will be games that require an opponent. There will be games that require mostly strategy; games that require practiced hand skills.

Start by building a strategy game that has been developed by long tradition: for example – Nine Men's Morris, Alquerque, Fox and Geese/Asalto, or the Towers of Hanoi. Decorate it, learn its rules.

Construct a traditional dexterity (hand skill) game. For example – Pigs in Clover, Rebound, or Finger Twister. Decorate it, learn its rules and play.

Then start with a blank board and some marbles. Invent a game, decorate, and play. If the weather allows, join the class in creating hopscotch pitches from around the world with chalk and sidewalk paint. The, of course, hop.

In two sections: Beginners 6 – 8; Advanced 9 – 12.