Category Archives: Symposium

Symposium, December 2nd – Outer Wilds

Posted on November 29, 2021 by Steve Gillham

We launch once more into the void on Thursday at 8:30 EDT / 7:30 CDT / 5:30 PDT, with voice chat over Discord, to continue our exploration of space through the clockwork universe of Outer Wilds.

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Symposium, November 4, 2021: Zombies, Run!

Posted on October 29, 2021 by Dan Cox

Zombies, Run! (2012) is an exemplar of an often-ignored genre of games named exergaming. Created by combining “exercise” with “gaming,” the portmanteau describes a classification of experiences using forms of gamification to encourage exercise and other health-related activities. In the … Continue reading →

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Symposium, October 7, 2021: Bowser’s Fury

Posted on October 3, 2021 by David Carlton

In this month’s Symposium we’ll be discussing Bowser’s Fury. Some topics I’d like to hit on: This is the first Mario game to go all-in on being an open world; that both to broader trends but also has points in … Continue reading →

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Symposium, 2 September 2021: The Cooperative Adventure Card Game

Posted on August 28, 2021 by rogertravisjr

“Cooperative Adventure Card Game” (CACG) is my term for the genre that includes the LCGs I’ve been bringing to my last few symposia. What is it, though? Clearly the genre comprises not only The Lord of the Rings: The Card … Continue reading →

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Symposium, 5 August 2021: Super Metroid

Posted on August 3, 2021 by rogertravisjr

For this month’s symposium, new moderator Captain Quasar will lead our discussion on this classic. He writes: Thank you for allowing me to lead this symposium, especially for a game I love so much. Super Metroid is considered one of … Continue reading →

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Symposium, July 1st: The Crew

Posted on June 28, 2021 by Steve Gillham

When someone thinks of the final frontier, I’m reasonably sure that trick-taking card games are not the first thing that come to mind. And yet, with its clever unraveling of a Legacy-style game narrative structure, the simplicities of Thomas Sing’s … Continue reading →

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Symposium: Crypt of the NecroDancer, June 3, 2021

Posted on May 30, 2021 by Dan Cox

This month, let’s examine Crypt of the NecroDancer (2015). In our pursuit of a vocabulary around what makes a roguelike game like the game Rogue (1980), let’s put Crypt of the NecroDancer (2015) up adjust traditional views of what makes … Continue reading →

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Symposium: Eastshade, May 6, 2021

Posted on May 2, 2021 by David Carlton

For the May Symposium, we’re talking about Eastshade. The main topic that I want to discuss is what Eastshade has to say about genre conventions: it’s an open-world game, but one without combat, and it differs from open-world conventions in … Continue reading →

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Symposium, March 4th: Crusader Kings II and III

Posted on March 1, 2021 by Steve Gillham

It would be easy to take one look at the byzantine UI prompts and the arcane systems of territorial stewardship in Crusader Kings and conclude that the game was a purely abstract exercise, a grand strategy game far too grand … Continue reading →

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Symposium: Tetris, February 4, 2021

Posted on January 31, 2021 by Dan Cox

Tetris has been around in one form or another since 1984. In the 36 years since its first creation, it has been ported to everything from the Game Boy to the iPod. It is, at least according to the listing … Continue reading →

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