"Failure and learning from that failure is an important component."

~Paul Waelchli,
St. Norbert College
De Pere, WI

Tips from the Expert Panel

Advocacy

Understand the link between gaming and literacy. Be prepared to answer hard questions. A lot. Staff learning is required to participate. Stay alert to adults sticking their nose in to see what’s happening, and be prepared to talk, talk, talk. Never give up. Be positive, always.

Planning

• Plan early.
• Communicate regularly and clearly.
• Collaborate.
• Be flexible.
• Ask the community what they want and be ready to respond.
• Set limits and provide structure, but keep rules to a minimum.
• For shared game kits, organize the equipment in a plastic tub and include a list of where it is to go next as well as a check off list for receiving the equipment.

Marketing

• If possible, be visible from passers-by entering the library, and audible with the music – people step in to see what’s going on.
• Put up a whiteboard sign in the lobby (ideally) that says “Open Gaming!” with popular game titles, age limits, time.

Implementing

• Don’t be discouraged by governmental purchasing processes.
• Start small. Pilots. Pilots. Pilots!
• Do not be afraid of initial failure.

Play games yourself, for fun.  There is no substitute for this; gaming is experiential. Even if you stink, they appreciate you for being “game” – and they can take delight in “pwning” you or helping you learn to get better.

• Complexity results in higher appeal – and value -- to an established audience.
• Have at least two staff available, but be flexible with “staff” -- youth workers at two locations lead gaming, but in other locations it is librarians or teens themselves. Perhaps the Game Club can host!
• Feed them and they will come. Don’t stint and risk running out, especially of liquids.
• Make sure noise level is on the loud side, as much as feasible in your particular setting. They don’t like it too quiet.
• Offering variety--board, card, electronic, online--helps keep those occupied who can’t get a turn on the most-favored game fast enough.
• Tournaments always draw a bigger crowd than open play events.
• Let the players get involved with production, especially as commentators.
• Where practical, intergenerational programming can be a great opportunity for fostering relationships.

Board Game Specifics

Put games out on tables, set up – don’t leave them in boxes. Assign someone to act as a game maitre’d to provide gaming advisory and direct participants to ideal game experiences.

• Start with modern board games in school settings – fewer issues.
• Purchase multiple copies of board copies for instruction (two copies) and tournaments (3 or more, depending on number of teams).

Videogame Specifics

• For Pokémon, find a knowledgeable kid in the audience that you trust. Bulbapedia can’t tell you everything.
• Watch cartoons or other related media for gaming program ideas.
• Always let players choose their difficulty.  They’d rather not win than suck.
• Presentation matters.  Have a good sound system and let it be loud.
• Don’t let the hardcore players talk you out of items or other random elements-- randomness gives less skilled players hope.  Libraries should give people hope.
• Consider offering headphones or earbuds for computers in same gaming experiences
• Offer socks (for DDR).

Evaluating

• Target a few gaming strategies.
• Include traditional outcomes.
• Remember to evaluate the whole experience, including the ripple effects on self-esteem, how gaming is unique to each teen (anecdotal but powerful evidence surfaces here).
• Keep records! A wiki is great for staff to share marketing materials, rules of the game, and a timeline for organizing the tournament, and
• Build momentum to negotiate for other teen programs in the wake of gaming success (like starting a book group or a Teen Advisory Board). Gaming provides a population that might not have consistently been there before.