On Friday 12th October we will be hosting our next Board Game Cafe as part of the IF Oxford Ideas and Science Festival (https://if-oxford.com/). We will be at the Weston Library from 7-10pm and will be contributing in our own way to the ‘200 Years of Frankenstein – it’s alive!’ theme by presenting some games that deal with laboratory science, the requirements for creation of life and how we work to protect life. Here I will highlight a few of the games and themes we will have on offer on the day.
Lab Wars: Dr Frankenstein is considered the archetype Mad Scientist, though has he been misunderstood? Modern scientists are also somewhat misunderstood, and are often wrongly presented in the media and in stock photos (https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/scientists-are-sharing-the-worst-stock-photos-of-their-jobs-and-theyre-hilarious/). This game designed by scietists gives a somewhat dark comedic look on the structure of modern laboratory Science. Remember publish or perish (and try and avoid your freezer defrosting)!
Bad Stock Photos: We really don’t stare at coloured tubes all day (Photo: VideoBlocks).
Peptide: In this game by Genius Games players compete to link amino acids side-by-side, forming what’s called a Peptide Chain (another fancy word for a protein). Proteins are important building blocks of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood, essential for life.
Cardiac Contraction: One of our Original games designed by Charlotte Hooper. Find out how signals in the heart cause muscle contractions that lead to a heartbeat and how misfiring signals resulting from genetic mutations can lead to problems in this process.
Doctor Panic: In this App led, timed game (which is like an advanced version of Operation) players co-operate as doctors trying to save the life of the patient (a certain Mr Frank Enstein in this case). Complete the tasks in turn while making sure the patient doesn’t flatline.
DECsions: Winner of first prize at the IT Services OxTalent Awards 2016, Ellie Morgan-Jones’s game takes players through the process that diagnostic manufacturers need to go through to get a diagnostic testing device from initial idea to having doctors using the device to diagnose patients. You can even download and play this one at home. https://www.community.healthcare.mic.nihr.ac.uk/reports-and-resources/decisons
All the games above will be hosted on the day by our team but we will hopefully have a few more for you browse and perhaps try out.
See you there.
Sean
Oxford University Board Games & Public Engagement 