Great subject. I'd just like to add that the Mensa-Select games, to be reviewed, must also pay an entry fee of, last time I looked, $125 per title. That leaves out some worthy products who cannot or will not pay for review, such as our own. In using games in class to teach - what? - critical thinking, sportsmanship, strategy, systems organization, reasoning, goal management, rule creation and team play, I would like to introduce one other radical consideration: What values are being inculcated? If you have capturing or other kinds of sabotage towards the other players, you are perpetuating a predatory social ethic. Fostering even subliminally that the other players are the "enemy" proliferates, propagates and legitimizes an adversarial attitude toward those who share this world with us. That kind of thinking leads to accepting and even endorsing wars and conflict, conquest and expropriation. Games that bring players together to collaborate towards resolving problems, finding mutually beneficial resolutions, and overcoming hardships and obstacles in the game environment rather than within each player, would be the kind of educational experience that reinforces the positive values. Competition where each player gains is great; competition that motivates to put others down or to impede them rewards the wrong values. That's my soapbox. Thanks for listening, and I hope it will add something to your thinking when you choose games for your classes. By the way, I love Looney games; they are truly enlightened. The only other game I would like to see is where everyone wins. The winners/losers paradigm needs to go. -- Kate Jones Kadon Enterprises, Inc. www.gamepuzzles.com -----Original Message----- From: edu-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:edu-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of pat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2007 10:58 AM To: Looney Labs Education Discussion List Subject: Re: [Edu] It's official First - congratulations! Just a place to start - look at the Mensa Select games that you can still get - and use these to your advantage - you can hit most of the core skill areas through these games. We do this for the gifted and talented programs in our area and have a 3 month curriculum developed (1 quarter of 1 hour/day) that is designed to hit the local standards for most of the 6th grade. Start with the easiest ones to teach and pull the students together with and then work to the more difficult to learn and play. Using the Mensa select games adds credibility to your curriculum plan and you can then select other games to meet specific standards or to evaluate the students preformance / comprehension of them. Many other 'awards' may seem to offer a high level of worth, but in reality are paid for the label type of awards. One 'trick' we use us Apples to Apples as a ice-breaker and use it over the entire course to introduce new vocabulary. It's quick, easy and very social and extremely easy to teach. Also if you have time do a capstone type project where the student create a game themselves. It forces them to understand the dynamic relationship of rules, probability, and social aspects of the game in a way that no game itself can teach. Good luck and keep us posted! Pat Fuge The Head Gnome Gnome Games www.gnomegames.com